Pinnacles National Park

We picked up our friends, the Wynn's, from their home this morning and set off for Pinnacles National Park, approaching from the east entrance. 
Located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California, Pinnacles, originally a National Monument, became a National Park in 2013. 

The notable feature about Pinnacles is that this terrain is the remains of part of an ancient volcanic field that was torn asunder by the San Andreas Fault.
Twenty three million years ago, multiple volcanoes erupted resulting in the 30-mile-wide volcanic field shaped by explosions, lava flows, and landslides. Then the west side was pushed 195 miles north as a result of the San Andreas Fault, traveling at a rate of 3-6 cm per year. Over the millennia, erosion and weathering eventually carved the the rocks and the pinnacles we see today.

view of the Pinnacles from Peaks View

The reader board at Peaks View gave a good overview of the geology. We were in fact standing on a section of the fault that had slid, just like in the diagram.

heading along the trail with Leda and Ray

We hiked the Bear Gulch Cave Trail that took us through a talus cave, created by the monoliths that cracked and tumbled down, becoming wedged and stuck in a canyon, blocking off the path. It was quite an experience to squeeze our way through the cracks left between the fallen rocks. All I could think of is that if the San Andreas Fault awoke while we squeezed our way through the tumbled rocks to get to the other side, we would be just a little squashed. We needed to use a flashlight in a couple of sections. The parks department did a great job of creating a trail, carving steps out of the rocks in parts.

exposed rocks

entering the talus cave to get through the canyon to the other side

looks like it will be a tight squeeze in places

some spots were easier to squeeze through than others

glad that the San Andreas Fault remained quiet this morning

view from the other side at the top of the canyon

As we emerged from the underworld, we climbed up to the top to look down at Bear Gulch Reservoir. 
It was quite muddy, yet looked like it belonged in this rugged terrain. 

Bear Gulch Reservoir, reflecting the brown rocks around it

The views of the exposed pinnacles and the massive boulders from the other side were more impressive. We continued along the trail that followed the rim of the canyon.


Looking across the valley from this elevation, it was easier to see how the earth buckled and folded to form the hills here, and also to view the filled in canyon that we had come through.

gigantic rocks stacked like blocks

a real live tarantula spider

I spied this furry creature on the path out on his morning walk too - and promptly avoided stepping on him.













We had a snack at the picnic site and enjoyed chatting with the park ranger. He told us that there are no longer bears in the area but there are mountain lions. There is also a large population of condors, though we did not see any today. 

Back at the RV Park, the sunset was spectacular, a fitting ending to our stay here. Tomorrow we head off down the road, traveling a short distance to Greenfield where we plan to stay for a couple of days. From there we will head back to Pinnacles National Park to see the rock formations from the west side. There is no direct route from one side of the park to the other because of the ridges created by the fault zone.