Pinnacles NP Hikes

Sunday: (11/03) Granola and banana for breakfast. Some final packing, window washing, etc and we were finally on the road around 1100. We stopped in Gilroy at the Longhorn Restaurant for lunch. We arrived at the park sometime after 1430 and were all setup by 1510. Only eight campers in the RV section. Looks like there was a crowd here to hike over the weekend. Lots of people driving out of the park on our way in and quite a few hikers cars still here. Lou made chicken with baked potatoes, carrots and green beans.
(GPS: 36.492429, -121.147332)

Monday: (11/04) Up at 0700 with the deer. A nice 30 degrees inside and out. After warming up the inside and a nice breakfast I gathered my hike pack and was ready quite early to meet my hiker friends for today’s adventure. I wandered over to the Visitor Center at 0900. Only seven hikers for today's hike we were off to the trailhead at 0930. It had actually warmed up nicely by then. In fact the forecast for today is 81 degrees. We hiked up toward the High Peaks going through the Bear Gulch Caves and enjoying the lake views on the upper side of the caves. The sun on the peaks made for nice photos. An advantage of going this opposite CW direction rather than we have in the past is that I was able to point out the Hippo face and Snoopy head on the way. Usually hikers are ahead of me at those sites. Lunch at the top. We sighted two condors flying above during lunch. Going down the carved rock steps was interesting. We bere back to the cars by 1430. When I was dropped off at the Visitor Center I was surprised to see Dave and his wife relaxing there. He is a fellow SJMW hiker and hosts a visit for the group at his ranch every year. He didn’t know of today's hike . They had reservations to camp here but didn’t feel good enough for a hike but decided the views and animals were still worth a visit. They had stopped by our RV and surprised Lou and Dawn. The said they recognized our orange jeep. Granola for breakfast. Nice Chicken burritos for dinner.

Tuesday: (11/05) We drove in to Hollister to the Cozy Cup Cafe for breakfast. I had a nice chili verde and eggs for breakfast. We explored downtown shops and did some grocery shopping. After returning to camp about 1500 we relaxed in the wonderful weather. Dawn made some soup for dinner.

Wednesday: (11/06) Granola and banana for breakfast. I met my 10 fellow hikers at the Vistor Center for a hike. We hiked out the Old Pinnacles Trail, through the Balconies Caves and up Juniper Canyon Trail. We took the Tunnel trail up to the High peaks Trail and returned down the mountain to the Bench Trail and back to our cars. We had lunch by the trail on High Peaks Trail. It was a wonderful day with a wonderful group. The light was good for different photos by going CCW unlike the usual CW. Climbing up through the Balconies caves seemed easier. Many of us got to see one condor as we climbed up Juniper and Tunnel trails. Going up Juniper wasn't as difficult as I was thinking and coming down the High Peaks Trail was a breeze. A very pleasant hike. I enjoyed my usual reward of an ice cream bar after the hike at the store. After a nice shower I relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Lou made spaghetti for dinner.

Thursday: (11/07) I prepared a nice chicken patty with eggs and home fried potatoes for breakfast. Otherwise I relaxed outside at camp listening to Johnny Dollar stories from the Old Time Radio App on my phone. I fixed some PBJ toast for lunch. We didn’t have our usual morning visit from the deer and turkeys. The deer did show up at about 5pm. I observed a couple or more condors in the trees above our camp in the ridge. One even took flight momentarily to change trees. For dinner we headed into the “town” of Tres Pinos for dinner at the 19th Hole road house.

Friday: (11/08) Granola and diced Apple for breakfast. I moved the RV to the day use area. It wasn't easy because the right front jack wouldn't come up. I raised it manually. I met my fellow hikers at 0900 for our 0930 hike. We hiked the North Wilderness loop in The CW direction. Wonderful hike for the five of us. We got back before 1600. I prepared the RV to roll then took a shower we left the park at 1720 and it was dark already. We headed South on Hwy 25 then over to King City the down Hwy 101 to 41 to Morro Bay SP. We stopped for leftover dinner on the way at a rest stop. We settled into our site be 2130.
(GPS: 35.347757, -120.838689)