February 29, 2020 - Pinnacle National Park



At one point, I had visited every National Park in California.  Not all were long visits, but I was there, took some photos at the very minimum.  And then they got a new National Park.  Pinnacle.  So, had to make an effort to go back.  From what I could gather, Pinnacle is famous for its giant bolders.  These boulders created cavers over time and now its a great park for hiking, rock climbing and a little cave exploration.  It is out in the middle of no where.  Its new, so infrastructure hasn't been developed in the surrounding areas.  If I had money to invest, I would totally build a gas station and small motel at the base of the park.

We arrived late morning and were shocked at the crowd.  The park isn't very big.  I had to wait in line to check into the ranger station.  While I was asking for hiking advice, she got a call stating the parking lot was full.  There were a few spots left over for those of us that were currently parked at the ranger station, but after that they would need to start turning people away.  Admittedly, I was not prepared for a National Park on a random Saturday morning to reach maximum occupancy.  Had I known, we probably would have left earlier.

They had a shuttle that hauled us from the visitors center to the main trailhead.  The trail we were recommended was beautiful.  It had fantastic views, caves, birds etc.  It also had lots and lots of stairs and wasn't really a beginners trail.  National Parks usually have their trails ranked specifically for people like me and Gina.  Lots of injuries and out of shape make hiking a bit more of a challenge.  Honestly, I would have wanted to do this trail anyway, but I probably would have taken a bottle of ibuprofen and hiking sticks if I'd know it was going to be an advanced trail.  I had two park rangers recommend this trail when I asked what the best trail was for wonky knees.  It was not a wonky knee trail.  There were a few hundred stairs involved.  There was cave crawling on all fours.  It was an advanced trail.  Regardless, I made it through and got some great photos.



After finishing up at Pinnacle, we made our way to Disneyland.  We were still many hours away but the drive was beautiful.  We made it through wine country and saw deer and baby livestock and lots of birds.  Got to the hotel later but with enough time to rest up before Disney.


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