Pinnacles Hikes

Monday: (03/15) Lou dropped me off at the Bear Gulch trailhead. I hiked up to the reservoir then up to High Peaks. At the saddle where the trail meets Juniper Trail it was snowing. The valley to the West looked like heavy rain and the wind was blowing hard. The two girls ahead of me on the way up I met coming down and said they thought it was too stormy. I decided to change my plans of going through the High Peaks then down the tunnel and Juniper Trails and instead came down the Condor Gulch Trail. Once off the top I still had squalls of heavy hail. I wasn’t able to stop for lunch Until i was most of the way home when the Bear Gulch Trail Met the Bench Trail. I was home about 1430. After a nice shower I relaxed the rest of the day. It was windy with occasional showers all the rest of the afternoon. Most of the RV’s that were neighbors last night left today. New neighbors filled the campground coming in all afternoon. Leftover burrito for breakfast. Trail snack for a very late lunch. Roast beef with rice and fruit salad for dinner.

Tuesday: (03/16) Our last morning here. It was 28 degrees outside when we awoke at 0700. We relaxed most of the morning. We moved the RV from our campsite over to day use parking by the store. Then I took off about 1100 on an exploratory hike I have titled "North Pig Fence to Three Peaks". I wanted to check out a possible hike route to new areas of the Pinnacles NP. No trails were tread on doing this walk. The route follows the pig fence North of the Entrance Road starting at the Old Entrance Station. When the pig fence route got bad I diverted to some deer trails through the chaparral. I definitely have a lot more respect for the hiking ability of deer now. Getting through chaparral is not easy and route picking only helps so much. I only went up to the first peak but can see that the way to the other two peaks may only involve distance. Lou wanted me back by 2pm and I didn't start until 11 so I had to cut this hike short. Not a hike for tick season. Lou made ham and cheese omelets for breakfast. We had lunch at the Longhouse Restaurant in Gilroy.

Wednesday: (03/17) St Patrick’s Day. Granola for breakfast. I took Ernie over to the VA for an appointment. Back home I just relaxed inside. It was very cold outside and this wimp didn’t go out. I enjoyed a ham sandwich for lunch. I picked Ernie up about 1630. Lou was off this morning to get her 2nd Covid shot in San Jose. She explored thrift stores and visited a friend for lunch. Lou was home when Erne and I returned. Dinner was corned beef and cabbage.

Thursday: (03/18) I made popcorn for breakfast. I was off early to South San Jose to get my 2nd Covid shot. It took about 20 minutes to get through the line and then some observation time and I was out in 50 minutes. I stopped for a donut afterwards and picked up Chinese lunches on the way home. It rained last night and continued throughout the day. I just relaxed inside the rest of the day. Leftovers for dinner.

Friday: (03/19) A rainy day. I did tinker little outside. I turned on the water in the backyard to look for the leak. Nothing showed up immediately. Later in the afternoon it did show some water but looks to be in the middle of the run along the rock wall. I also added some mortar under some of the bricks where they hang over the edge of the base. May help support if it sticks. I transplanted a couple of tomato plants to a larger pot in the greenhouse. And I repaired the broken closet rod hanger again in the RV. And, of course I supervised some of the work on the construction project down the street. Granola and banana for breakfast. Dawn made a squash casserole for lunch. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for dinner.

Saturday: (03/20) No rain but partially cloudy. I made ham and eggs with toast for breakfast. When I got outside I cut some tubing for Ernie’s ramp. Some fine tuning of the jig and learning the technique and it looks doable. I cut enough to weld up part of it, but… This is an opportunity for a new tool. We all headed off to do some shopping. I dropped Lou and dawn off at World Market and I visited Harbor Freight. I bought a multi-process welder and a helmet. I have a gas welding outfit and have always wanted an electric welder as well but power was always one of the problems. This welder can run on a 20 amp 120volt circuit. It does everything: stick, wire feed, MIG, TIG and stick. I’ll be using the wire feed with flux core wire to weld the tubing. I haven’t done any electric welding for 40+ years so this may take a while. This welder, even with the learning curve, should make this project easier. I also have some other projects for it in the future. As I get older, I tend to get new toys as needed and don’t put up a good argument against buying what is wanted for a project, even if other ways are possible. I had a roast beef and cheese sandwich for lunch. Tomorrow is the first day of self teaching. I didn’t even open the box today because I’ll need to set it up outside and about the time I got it set up, I’d have to put it away. Pot roast and the fixings for dinner.

Sunday: (03/21) I reorganized my shop a bit to get the shop workbench/cart out to use for the welder. I managed to make some floor space. I unboxed the welder and set it up on the roll around cart. After reading the manual I headed off to Harbor Freight for a couple of things and ordered a welders apron from Amazon. No sparks made today. Dawn and Lou made ham with fried eggs and some kind of julienne vegetables. I made a hamburger for lunch. Leftover pot roast potatoes and carrots with sausage for dinner.