Pinnacles–Our Newest National Park

Hi everyone! We have a lot of catching up to do so let’s get started.  Last December a friend and I visited Pinnacles National Park, California, our newest National Park. Pinnacles is the fifth smallest park encompassing approximately 26,606 acres. It is about 50 miles inland from the coast and 80 miles south of San Jose in the Gabilan Mountain Range. It is also only a few miles west of the San Andreas Fault which we’ll talk of later.

In 2003 Pinnacles joined the California Condor Recovery Program when the bird was close to extinction. The park currently co-manages 86 wild condors in central California. It is also home to a number of threatened species including bats, amphibians, and reptiles. I sure hope we see a condor today on our walk to the pinnacles! Check out the green rock used to make the welcome sign.  We’ll discuss geology as we go and, of course, the famous fault.

I’m going to offer a shameless plug for our National Parks. Yes, I have a senior pass that cost $10 and gets me into any National Park, Monument, etc. free for life. However, many days I feel guilty entering for free when our public lands are being threatened by our so called political “representatives.” With all the good work Pinnacles is doing, I will pay the $15 entrance fee today. I challenge you to consider doing the same on your park visits. Possibly consider giving to a local nonprofit partner of a National Park, most all have one, or the “A” rated National Parks Foundation.

Pinnacles is one of the oldest National Park lands, established as a National Monument in 1908 by Teddy Roosevelt. It became our 59th and newest National Park in 2013, signed into law by Barack Obama. It is unique having no road that crosses the park. There is a west entrance and an east entrance, two hours apart by car. We are entering through the easier, most used east entrance today.

We drive along Chalone Creek, however, much of the year the creek has no flowing water. Let’s stop for our first view of the pinnacles, those amazing rocky spires straight ahead. Pinnacles is also known for the talus caves called home by a number of endangered bats species. We will save the caves adventure for another trip.

In the creek bed and meadows there are lots of green rocks of all sizes. They are pumice lapilli tuff–did that help you? Me neither. Tuff is a type of volcanic ash thrown from a vent during a volcanic eruption. That alone tells us a bit of the history here. Lapilli means “little stones” in Latin and speaks of the size of the particles in the rock. Pumice is a type of volcanic rock that is very porous and light due to escaping water and gas bubbles during cooling. The Park Service tells us that the rock was analyzed and found to contain glauconite, a green mineral that occurs in marine environments. So, we have light-weight rocks that contain many small rocks thrown out of a volcano millions of years ago and turning green by coming into contact with a marine environment. Pumice Lapilli Tuff–a geology marvel.

Grey pine (Pinus sabiniana) are everywhere. Native to dry, rocky foothills and valleys in California, they grow fast and range in height from 40 to 80 feet tall and 30 to 50 feet wide. Brushing against them is sweet, the needles are long and soft. The cones are remarkable, growing up to 14 inches long and almost as wide.

Parking areas in Pinnacles typically hold no more than 20 cars and we were a bit late getting here. And it is Saturday. Could have planned that better. We head a mile back downhill from Condor Gulch Trail, our planned hike, to find one of the last parking spots. Our walk will be longer than anticipated, starting now on Bear Gulch Trail. However, we will be walking through the forest along Bear Creek giving us a broader look at the environs of Pinnacles. The bridge (right) crosses the dry bed of Chalone Creek and takes us up into the woods. Here we go.

Lichens are everywhere. I love lichens, as you know. Pinnacles inventoried their lichens in 2003 and found about 300 species in the park.

Up we go. The temperature is around 60° and that’s the beauty of this time of year. From May to late autumn it can be over 100° daily. We should come back in April for the beauty of spring wildflowers.

In a place so hot most of the year, it seems strange to see ferns which I equate to damp, moist environments. Turns out there are ferns that tolerate dry conditions, but many others grow in the shade of the park’s deep canyons and broad-crowned trees. We are standing above Western giant chain ferns (Woodwardia fimbriata). These fronds are taller than me and can get to eight feet tall.

We keep seeing trees with lovely abstract bark. They are  Western sycamore and uncommon in the park. Seen along only two of the park’s trails because they require a consistent source of water, also uncommon. Sycamores can grow 110 feet tall providing abundant shade due to their majestic trunks irregularly branching to form large crowns.  Another fascinating fact is sycamores have separate male and female trees relying on wind for pollination.

It is a hazy day which may contribute to the sunbow. We are getting closer to the next trailhead.

Crossing the footbridge over Bear Creek, we hear flowing water but don’t see any. This Canyon Wren was flitting all over the rocks and only slowed down slightly giving me a chance for a quick, almost unsuccessful capture. Busy, busy, busy after those bugs!

A Stellar Jay trying to hide.

We made it to our planned trailhead. Condor Gulch Trail takes us to the pinnacles.

Along the trail are outcroppings of smooth, rounded rocks, again speaking to their volcanic history. Looks like the back of your hand when you make a fist. What do you think?

Briefly, let’s consider volcanics. As you know , the Earth’s crust consists of plates that fit together like puzzle pieces. The plates are always moving, some sliding under others, some grinding past each other along fault zones. It is believed the Pinnacles volcanic field–thought to be 15 miles long and 8,000 feet high–began 23 million years ago. The volcanoes were not where Pinnacles is now, but 195 miles southeast. The Pacific plate split the volcanic field and carried two-thirds of the Pinnacles’ volcanics north. Creeping over time, this mass sank, and the power of wind, rain, and ice exposed the old volcanic field, eroded the rubble, and the present day Pinnacles was born.

Oh my. It is getting later in the day and is that a condor up there? I don’t have a longer lens with me, but sitting here a few folks walked down the trail and we all thought we might be seeing condors resting in the rocks. So exciting!

Well, good idea, but not happening today. We have to come back to the area and search out condors, the largest flying bird in North American and third largest in the world. They have a wing span of nearly 10 feet, weighing about 25 pounds. We all know and have seen Turkey Vultures, but they have half the wing span and one-fifth the mass of a California Condor.

None of us realized the High Peaks Trail could be seen from here. Must be a spectacular view up there, but disappointment down here.

Heading back, the sun is low in the sky this time of year just peeking over the mountains. As we walk, let’s consider the San Andreas Fault, not many miles to our east.  The Fault is the sliding boundary between the Pacific and North American Plates. The plates move past one another a few inches a year, but this is not a steady motion. Plates can be locked for years, not moving at all. When the built-up strain breaks the rock along the fault, the plates can slip feet all at once. The breaking rock sends out waves in all directions creating the earthquakes we feel. The belief that one day the San Andreas Fault will crack and California will slide into the sea is complete myth. Phew!

Looks like Pinnacles’ version of Stonehenge?

Our car is a few miles away, so time to go. There’s the trail below. What a spectacular December day in our newest National Park. We have to come back to see the caves and search for condors.

Until next time . . .