Pinnacles National Monument

We drove about two hours south of Mountain View last Saturday for and overnight camping trip to Pinnacles National Monument. The Pinnacles are too hot to visit in the summer but are a perfect fall, winter or spring destination. We went on two lovely hikes. On the first day we climbed through the pinnacles on a 7 mile hike with a few sections not for the acrophobic. We also saw a few California Condors, one was even resting on a rock pinnacle near the trail. It was especially inspiring to see the California Condor as there are only 155 in the wild and there were only about 30 in the wild in 1983. On our second day we climbed 3200 foot North Mount Chalone, one of the higher mountains in the Galiban Mountain Range, which lines the east side of the Salinas Valley. The climb was strenuous but the views were worth it.

Pinnacles National Monument