Driving to L.A. used to be a half day chore — five boring hours on Highway 5 and done. Lately we’re on a more relaxed time table, and decided to go south via 101 and stop about halfway at the Pinnacles National Park, about two and a half hours south of Berkeley. Pinnacles is in San Benito County, about as far south as Big Sur, but two mountain ranges and a valley removed from the coast. The more accessible west side of Pinnacles lies about a half hour’s hilly, twisty one lane drive east of the town of Soledad, known mostly for its prison. Pinnacles rewards the effort with a stunning display of volcanic creativity. The volcano, some 23 million years ago, ejected boulders the size of houses like so many spitballs. Falling into crevices, the airborne boulders created pseudo-caves (“talus”) in the space beneath. Jagged sculptures, rounded by the eons, imitate human faces (left) or animal heads. Bizarre minarets and parapets tower a thousand feet high. Turkey vultures and reintroduced wild condors soar in the thermals. The National Park Service has built and maintained as good a trail system as could be expected in this rugged terrain. I’m happy to pay taxes to support this federal government activity. I had the pleasure of hiking just a little bit on two of the trails that start from the west side parking lot. Next time Pinnacles will be my destination, not a stopover on the way somewhere else.
Photos from part of the Balconies Cave Trail here
Photos from part of the Juniper Canyon Trail here
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