Story:
An absolutely stunning hike across the Pinnacles themselves and then out through the Northern Wilderness section.
We arrived about 7:45 after a long drive down from San Jose. I was in shorts and a Tshirt so the 46F temp was a bit chilly but later on I was wishing that it was still cold as it got quite warm back on the North Wilderness trail.
We headed straight up the outhouse which took us about 45 minutes. On the way up we were treated to a Tarantula that Dave had spotted on the trail. After a quick rest at the outhouse and getting some cool photos we headed across to the crack and the near vertical walls that must be climbed and descended (there's handrails and steps have been carved into the rock face so it's not too difficult). The views and rock formations on High Peaks trail are amazing and well worth the drive down. Unfortunately we didn't spot any Condors in Condor's Crags.
After some fun enjoying the views and taking pictures we headed down to eat lunch across the wash from the Old Pinnacles Trailhead.
The route back to the car was a longer and warmer hike through the North Wilderness trail. It was hotter than I expected and I ran out of water at the top of the last climb despite bringing 3Ls of water. Fortunately it was a 2 mile downhill hike back to parking and more water.
The afternoon light on the pinnacles made the hike out a bit easier but if you come out here on a warm day be sure to have way more water than you think you need.
An absolutely stunning hike across the Pinnacles themselves and then out through the Northern Wilderness section.
We arrived about 7:45 after a long drive down from San Jose. I was in shorts and a Tshirt so the 46F temp was a bit chilly but later on I was wishing that it was still cold as it got quite warm back on the North Wilderness trail.
We headed straight up the outhouse which took us about 45 minutes. On the way up we were treated to a Tarantula that Dave had spotted on the trail. After a quick rest at the outhouse and getting some cool photos we headed across to the crack and the near vertical walls that must be climbed and descended (there's handrails and steps have been carved into the rock face so it's not too difficult). The views and rock formations on High Peaks trail are amazing and well worth the drive down. Unfortunately we didn't spot any Condors in Condor's Crags.
After some fun enjoying the views and taking pictures we headed down to eat lunch across the wash from the Old Pinnacles Trailhead.
The route back to the car was a longer and warmer hike through the North Wilderness trail. It was hotter than I expected and I ran out of water at the top of the last climb despite bringing 3Ls of water. Fortunately it was a 2 mile downhill hike back to parking and more water.
The afternoon light on the pinnacles made the hike out a bit easier but if you come out here on a warm day be sure to have way more water than you think you need.
Comments (1)
That was an awesome day and hike. Definitely harder that it seems, but beautiful!
by Vaudesir on Nov 03, 2009
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