What to do (and what to avoid) during your next visit to the National Park

Shimmer in the night in a sleeping bag with a cover cover while wearing a swollen jacket, boots at the bottom and a hat and borrowed gloves was not on my bingo card outside for the year. But it’s probably just my Californian money that speaks.

Living here, it is easy to take the comfort of outdoor adventures all year round for acquired. And when I imagined myself while heading south of the Baie region at Pinnacles National Park for a weekend getaway – opting for a two -night stay in the housing of the tent cabin of the park park which includes beds and a small radiator – I thought it was probably going cold at night, but, like the region of fresh bay.

I was wrong, but the trip was still worth it.

When we arrived late Friday evening, we enlisted our friend Bulleit to keep us at least spiritually toasted. The next morning, of course, we regretted looking so strongly about the whiskey warming effects. Consequently, we completely neglected the advice that I had obtained earlier to Park Ranger Rich Moower, who advises to start soon each time you visit Pinnacles.

The parking lot of the area of ​​use of the popular Bear Gulch de Pinnacles is regularly filled within 9 hours most weekends, and the only way to access it – unless an additional hike of 3 miles in each Sense – is to wait for a camping shuttle that works every half hour. As we arrived, the line was long and we had to wait a few cycles to get on the bus until the path. (Fortunately, we had a crossword puzzle at hand to entertain ourselves.)

Since the start of the path, we have directed the Moses Spring Trail to the Bear Gulch tank, then took the High Peaks path up – and up (about 1,300 feet) – towards Scout Peak, where The crest path and gives a panoramic view of the Wilderness. We finally opted for a 5.6 mile loop, going down the mountain on the Condor Gulch Trail.

The hike in climb while the sun’s rays were heated throughout the afternoon for perfect hiking conditions. This alone makes a winter visit to Pinnacles a worthy consideration – one of the most common safety problems in the park is the trend of hikers to underestimate heat in Pinnacles. During the summer, people are regularly caught when they leave San Francisco at 60 degrees and aegis with regard to 605 degrees, where it is a roasting at 105 degrees, says Moower.

Acrophobes, take note: Several sections of trails are presented as “steep and narrow”. They are not kidding – and some sections include staircases carved in the rock with cables to serve as necessary by hand necessary while you cross the path.

As we hiked, we have kept an eye on the California condors, the vulture in critical danger of being considered the largest North American land bird. They are the most active in the morning and in the evenings, so our timing was shifted, but we saw turkey vultures and other wild animals. Looking at the birds hovering on the valley in shape by an old volcano – rock formations are the remains of a volcanic eruption 23 million years ago and almost 200 miles – was simply spectacular.

While the park’s condor population is perhaps the most famous, the territory also houses bats in the big ears of Townsend and others and a diversified range of bee species. With nearly 500 different species, it is among the population of the most diverse bees in the world.

Back at the start of the trail, the shuttle line had grown up for the end of the afternoon, so we extended our hike by walking through the last three kilometers of the campsite. There, we prepared a hearty dinner, we joined a board game and shivered all night. We woke up to a campsite covered in frost, a reminder of not underestimating this rugged and old landscape.

In addition to its spectacular hiking possibilities, the National Park is also a popular climbing destination, known for its rock arrows and separate slope caves. We arrived via the eastern entrance to the park, which offers access to the Pinnacles campsite and the Bear Gulch region, leading to Hollister and continuing south of 30 miles on highway 25. There are A completely different hobby entry on the west side near SOLEDAD, which offers even more hikes, as well as easier visualization of the rocky formations of Pinacle and more practical access to the Balcony cave, according to Moorer.

Maybe next time. This special Sunday morning, we excited our equipment and returned to Hollister, where a hot coffee and a friendly brunch service expected at Country Rose Cafe.

Details: The east entrance to Pinnacles National Park is located at 5000 East lensence Road in cheese near the junction of highways 146 and 25. $ 30 entrance fees; nps.gov/pinn/. Campsites cost $ 55 per night. Tent cabins start at $ 129.

Good to know: There is no mobile phone service in the park, but you can buy wifi access, as well as limited snacks, at the campsite store at the Pinnacles reception center on the east side of the park. There is no road connecting the eastern and west entrances to the park; If you use GPS for directions, make sure that the instructions go to the entrance you had the intention.