About two hours southeast of Silicon Valley is Pinnacles National Park, the historic home range of the California Condor and of high peaked rocks ejected from volcanoes. We visited Saturday afternoon to take some quick hikes, including of a talus cave. To reach the park you pass through many Monterey County vineyards, plus a few fields of broccoli, and then a 9-mile roller coaster of a road to the park entrance. One of the lesser known national parks in California, it nonetheless reminded me of Yosemite, with it's massive boulders the size of mountains. Unlike the better known Yosemite, these boulders are not made of granite, but mostly rhyolite breccia, a type of volanic rock.
Rock climbing is a favorite sport here, and we saw two climbers on a sheer cliff. Can you spot them?
The landscape also has a rust tinge to it and mixed with green juniper trees and white grasses, it is a beautiful mix of colors.
We took the 2.5 mile hike to the Balconies, one of several talus caves at the park. Talus caves are formed when huge boulders collapse into a canyon, and then the smaller rocks are washed out by flowing water. This leaves a rather treacherous cave occupied by Townsend's big-eared bats and (hopefully) sure footed visitors. Flashlights are required and be prepared for crawling under low boulders, slipping through narrow corridors and climbing slippery wet rocks.
Unfortunately, Steven slipped and fell in the cave, hitting the side of his head and scraping his shins. A good Samaritan nearby provided gauze and bandaids, and Steven mopped up and limped out. Looks like he will fully recover, but it was an unexpected drama, and Steven has quite the shiner.
