Subburdenite chooses to call it "the Pinnacles". My marine mammal obsessed friend dubbed it "the Pinnipedicles". I am going to opt for the simpler Pinnacles. It all makes sense to me and it could hardly be important.
Damn this place is crowded! Groups of teens, groups of kids, parents with toddlers, and an elderly woman with one knee in a brace, one knee wrapped in elastic, and a cane that was masquerading as a hiking stick who we happened upon, all of us flushed with exertion, at the top of a ridge. It was surprising considering that most of the hikes are graded moderate to the is of strenuous and the heat is intense. *pant pant* Some reputable weather site claims the high was a mere 62 F the day we exerted and I cannot prove them wrong, but I would stake several valuable things on the falsity of this claim.
I have been here before. Maybe 6 years ago? It feels like a lifetime ago and if the criteria chosen to measure this were hiking style, then I think few would choose to accuse me of hyperbole. My previous journey was a hike along the Old Pinnacles Trail (at the time I went there was water in the creek) to the Balconies Caves and back. I remember being rather tired and pleased with myself for having exerted the effort. This trip we walked the park almost in its entirety. We missed some of the second halves of the small loops (to backtrack would be silly), but saw everything but Chalone Peak and the 7.0 mile North Wilderness Trail, on which it is suggested that one use topographic maps and be otherwise slightly better prepared than our crew.
When I was in Peru, I was driven to climb to the top of Huayna Picchu at the end of a 4 day hike through the jungle by knowledge of the likelihood of my not returning, and an obsession with Herzog, Kinski and the movie "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (I really wanted to see the stairs from the opening shots of the movie, but was unable to locate them with certainty. Should have researched it before I went, but I thought it would be obvious.). Here I am at the top. It's a little hard to tell, but Macchu Picchu is many many feet below me.
When I went to Pinnacles, my decision to take a left and add 4 miles to the hike back to camp at 6:00pm was driven purely by ego. A decision that was placed upon me by my friend Tom. It drove all of us to take the extended journey back to camp and there is no doubt that it was worth it. Pride pushes me to try a harder with a positive result. On the other hand, the casual statement that I walk quickly and am, perhaps, a natural born hiker is a very proper example of pride gone, um, slightly off course. I sped through the park like there was a fire on my ass. Afraid to lose the lead and eager to not disprove my friends' friendly observations. I took some photos, but I could have lingered a little longer. This is a shot taken in the Bear Gulch Caves, looking up. Initially I thought it looked like a Georgia O'Keefe painting, but now that I have it full size I have lost confidence in this assessment.
And I am pretty sure I saw a Condor, but it is possible that it was just another turkey vulture. We debated the sightings until we saw the final bird. If you go be sure to watch the Violet Green Swallow's flight pattern and to stand on the large rock at the Outlook and make a loud, shrill noise - the echo is awing.
