Before leaving for Monterey, I happened to notice on Google maps an icon for Pinnacles National Monument. I had never heard of it before and we thought about stopping on the way to Monterey, but decided against it in the interest of getting to the race course so Donna would have time to pre-ride the course. Long story short, since Donna decided not to race, we got an early start on Sunday and headed to Pismo Beach via Pinnacles National Monument. When you first arrive, the trail seems very inviting – just this smooth, meandering trail that vanishes into the distance.
Not too far into the hike we happened upon this stunning view. The light was horrible for shooting pictures and at some point I might return just for photography purposes, but I did the best with what I had. Fortunately there was this beautiful blonde who was willing to pose in front of most of the scenery, which of course makes it so much better.
We did have one encounter with a rattle snake – they’re actually more dangerous than the big ones because when they bite, they don’t know how much venom to release and usually end up overdoing it. This guy slithered off as soon as a tried to get closer for a better picture. Smooth move on my part, right?
I know this scene would have looked much better with Donna in it, as opposed to me, but I needed some evidence that I actually cleared this hike too, and didn’t just send my camera up the hill with some stranger who was willing to take pictures of Donna every 1/2 mile. The views got more and more amazing the closer we got to the top.
For some strange reason they called this trail “Tunnel Trail.” It was maybe 40 yards in length (the tunnel that is – the trail is about 3/4 of a mile) and as you might expect, significantly cooler.
This fluorescent orange and yellow stuff was covering a lot of the rocks. I asked Donna to lick it to see what it tasted like. She didn’t go for the idea.
The trail got a little steep in a few parts and we resorted to full-blown rock climbing for a few hundred feet. We weren’t at all prepared for it and didn’t have any of our climbing gear, but we pushed onward (well, upward).
Donna loved it when I would stand on top of a big boulder for sake of a picture – and the closer I got to the edge, the better. I noticed something in the mail the other day about a life insurance policy, but as soon as I started to pick it up, Donna quickly took it away.
Eventually, the ‘trail’ turned into this – a near-vertical climb with a convenient railing that would be waist-level if you were three feet tall. It really was sketchy and Donna opted out. Her vertigo would have gotten the best of her so it’s probably best that she stayed put. I went up to the top while she watched terrified hikers try to come down the steep climb/descent.
Usually, coming down is a lot easier than going up, but most sections of the trail were so steep that coming down was an equal strain on the legs. Regardless, the scenery was amazing the entire way. I was really surprised to see such a variety of rock formations, all in one place.
I intended to count the number of switchbacks but lost count after a while. Of course I would have preferred this ‘design’ at the top, where the trail shot straight up the rock.
After hiking for a few hours and making it back to the trailhead, we decided to head off on another hike, in a different direction. It made sense at the time.
The first hike was to the top of the one ridge line. The second hike was to one of two caves at the park. Knowing we had only one day there, it was hard to leave without at least seeing part of the cave. Lucky for us, it was just under a mile from the trailhead.
The scenery on the way to the cave was just as spectacular as the scenery on our earlier hike. Rock climbers apparently love this place. The monument sits at the end of a dead-end, 12-mile road and given the trouble you have to go through to get there, we really weren’t expecting to run into many other people – we were wrong. Of course we also forgot it was a Sunday, so I’m sure that had something to do with the park’s popularity that day.
As if I didn’t have any motivation to shave a few inches off my waistline, the trail to the cave reminded me on more than one occasion just how ‘thick’ I am. Donna of course had no problems.
The first section of the cave was really cool and exited up a steep staircase. My sister would absolutely love this place. Next time we go back, we’ll be taking more than just flashlights – like maybe our bike lights mounted to our helmets.
This was where we called it quits and decided to leave the adventure for another day. The entrance to the second part of the cave pretty much went straight down into a pitch-black abyss. I went down to scope things out and knew we weren’t well prepared and that Donna would get freaked out without some brighter lights. I called it quits for us.
Getting back out of the cave was just as much fun as getting in. The $1.99 flashlight we picked up on the way there at least served the purpose of illuminating Donna’s face in this photo.
Once Donna saw a way out, she was all over it. It was the best exploring we’ve done in years and it felt great to be in an area we had never seen before. The whole day was only made possible by the fact that Donna didn’t race that day, so I’m glad things came together the way they did.
