May 28 - Pinnacles National Monument Photo Gallery by Bryan Murahashi at pbase.com

May 28 - Pinnacles National Monument

We arrived at the Pinnacles NM campground around lunch time. After lunch, we hiked up to the
High Peaks and took a little break enjoying the scenery around us. There were still plenty of wildflowers along the trail.
It was a sunny day, but a cool breeze made it an enjoyable hike. After the break, we hiked up the stone staircase to traverse the narrow and tight trail under the High Peaks. We then proceeded to descend back to the campsite for dinner.

After dinner, we did a short hike to the Bear Gulch reservoir to watch the Full Moon Rise.
Before the Moon Rise, we enjoyed the stars under the dark skies. We waited as long as we could at the reservoir before deciding to return to the campsite. We did see the Full Moon on the drive back to the campsite.

On the second day, we broke camp and hiked up to the reservoir again and did the long hike up to Chalone Peak with views of the fertile Salinas Valley. There was a person at the top with a antennae tracking the Condors around the park. After lunch, we descended back to the cars for the drive home.

Thanks to Bill and Sandy for making the camping arrangements.

May 28 - View from the Camp Ground	The Cliff Walls	View Back
Edith's Checkerspot Butterflies	Hiking upwards	Still hiking upwards
The Pinnacles	Pussy Paws wildflowers	View of the High Peaks
Still hiking upwards	Pinnacles National Monument	A view of Bear Gulch Reservoir
Taking a break at the High Peaks	View of Scout Peak	Larkspur
Climbing the Rock Stairs	Narrow Trail under the High Peaks	High Peaks
Hiking along the High Peaks	Balconies Cliffs	The backside of the High Peaks
Starting our descent	At the Observation Point of the High Peaks	Backside of the High Peaks
Yellow Brodeia	Venus Reflection at Bear Gulch Reservoir	Night sky at Bear Gulch Reservoir
Starry Night at Bear Gulch Reservoir	The days hike from Google Map	May 29 - Morning at the Campsite
Some Rock Climbing Cliffs	Looking down the Canyon	Hiking under the Alcove
Entering the Cave	Staircase to the Bear Gulch Reservoir Dam	Bear Gulch Reservoir
View at the Bear Gulch Reservoir	Starting our ascent to Chalone Peak	View of the High Peaks
Wildflowers	Our destination - Chalone Peak	View of the High Peaks
Gray-ball Sage	Hiking toward Chalone Peak	The fertile Salinas Valley
Fire Lookout at Chalone Peak	GPS to Chalone Peak	Fire Lookout at Chalone Peak
South Chalone Peak	Salinas Valley	Tracking the Condors
View of the High Peaks	Mariposa Lily	Starting our descent
Hike Back	Bear Gulch Reservoir	Rock Climber
Trail map to Chalone Peak

click on thumbnails for full image