Pinnacles National Park

Last time we visited the Pinnacles National monument turned National park, was in 2013 and it was in May. We promised that if we ever return, it will be in cooler time of the year! 

Our hiking group has been planning this for a long time and given my new penchant for singing, the trip was interesting for me. I was in a live singing class (more on that later) from 4:30-6 AM and we left Cupertino at 6:30AM and came back at 4PM. The place is almost an hour and 45 minutes away. We climbed 2200 feet and walked for 3 hours with almost an hour for photo breaks and lunch! 

It was beautiful.. clear skies, cool weather and just before it got really hot we were on the way down. 

As a bonus, we got to see three California condors, one at close range.. wish I had lugged my camera bag to capture close ups of the Condor.. these days I am just going with the iPhone.. the conversation and the laughs on the hike are the star attractions as are the views from the top..

Got some artistic shots, thanks to a crappy work phone which has some lens defect!! Still, the laughs were the highlight!

We did get to see the sun rise through the fog as we drove to Pinnacles.. it was amazing.. it was like we were driving into a fire!

the rock formations here are amazing! 

beautiful views from the top..

and we kept going..

we saw three of the condors.. one came within 200 feet and sat on this tree.. Thinking of going to a personal iPhone 13 and have separation of work and home numbers.. if you use your phone for more than work, it makes sense to have one with a better camera!

The condors are amazing to watch in close range! Majestic birds! The way they take off effortlessly and cover distances is a treat to watch!

we were debating the logic of using pinnacles in plural.. maybe it is pinnacles because the top has four or five little humps?! that is still being debated within the group!

giving the finger to everyone in the park... this rock sticks out!

One thing that is not obvious on the zoomed out nature shots is that when you walk on the trail, every rock is very colorful.. it is like walking through fall colors on rocks.. 

The "we were here!" photo..

My cap was wet.. had to make a bandana out of my handkerchief to avoid sweat from going to my eyes! It was reasonably strenous at places because we were stop and go.. to make up for photo break times, we had to walk faster.

Once we get to the scout lookout, it is all downhill from there..

walked past more scenic points..

and to the reservoir trail.. we saw what was possibly the largest natural ganesha in rock on the way down.. pullaiyaar rock rocks!!

the place is popular for mountain climbing.. we watched folks climb.. you can see one in the right on the top in this photo..

after a brief break at the reservoir, we continued down through the bat caves.. 

it was nice and cool in the caves! no bats, but saw nicely camouflaged lizards.

We came out, had a nice lunch at a picnic table and drove back. It was a day well spent! 

A few panoramic views..

and a video of the trip..

Strongly recommend this park for a day trip in fall. If you start early enough, you can have a fun time and be back down by lunch time! Kids can make it too if you go at a steady pace!

Loved it!

Pinnacles National park - a day trip

We went on a day trip to Pinnacles National park (Monument as it is called) with the cousins. The weather report said 85 F and we thought it would be nice weather to go on a 2+ mile hike and maybe another 2+ mile hike.

The park website promised interesting views, including a network of bat caves. 

 The first trail to Bear Gulch was great. The rock faces were really colorful..

 we got to descend into the caves through narrow crevices and the temperature drop was a palpable 30+ degrees. There is water running under those caves and it is really cool down there!

It was not easy to take pictures without a tripod but the bouncing lights off the water and rocks did make for some interesting pictures!

We were hit by 106 F heat as we exit the caves through a near vertical staircase carved into the side of the caves. It truly reminded me of the Batman movie when we looked up towards the exit!

Poor bats, no wonder they are blind. We were blinded for a few seconds when we went from nice cool darkness to scorching heat and bright sunlight! 

We went on to see a beautiful resevoir which was abuzz with all types of dragonflies!

and one type of butterfly in the 100's or thousands! This guy posed for me without realizing it. Caught him with a 400 mm Zoom (which is why the background is all Bokeh'ed out).

It was an enjoyable trip. Next time we shoud hit it earlier in the year when peak temperatures are closer to 70's or 80's. The park pamphlet promises views of great falls and rock formations, but guess those are longer hikes and will have to wait till the adults are in better shape. The kids seem to be doing fine with the trails. 

Even the little one managed to walk for 4 hours with a countable "daddy, please thooki(carry) me!" instances.

Will definitely recommend this place for  day trip. 

ps. Apparently the caves will be closed soon for bat baby season.. so check before you go.

pps. Take a flashlight. It is dark in those caves and another visitor in front of us said they saw snakes in the caves which is not surprising. We used one flashlight and one iPhone app to navigate the caves. Two or three flashlights would have been better.