Pinnacles National Monument…

So this last Saturday I got to go on another hike led by “V” and even better, Marshall joined me on the hike!  The hike was at Pinnacles National Monument about 30 miles south of Hollister and promised to be “strenuous yet soothing for the sole” (according to “V”).

The first challenge of the day was getting to the park by 10:30 which is about 2.5 hours from Livermore.  Marshall and I needed to pick up a rain resistant jacket and pants and because Target didn’t open until 8, we knew we’d be pressed for time.  Fortunately we were able to find what we were looking for quickly and after grabbing a 5 shot pumpkin spiced latte and scone for me and a java chip frappacino for Marshall from Starbucks we were ready to hit the road.  Even with the delay of stopping at the store and having to slow for some light rain that had begun to fall, we were on target to get to the park by 10:30 and then this happened.

About 10 miles from the turnoff to the park a small animal ran into the road.  It took me a few seconds to realize that the animal was actually a small dog and appeared to be lost and scared.  I pulled over, called to the dog and was amazed when she bounded up to me and immediately started licking my hand.  I looked at Marshall and told him that I was going to try and find the dogs owner.  I couldn’t leave her on the road and fortunately Marshall was completely supportive of me doing what I could to help the dog.

There were only two houses on this stretch of road so I decided to jog down a long driveway to see if the homeowner was also the owner of the dog.  After knocking on the door I was greeted by a wonderfully warm woman named Beth who invited me in and immediately volunteered to call her neighbors to try and find the dogs owner.  She said in advance that by the looks of the dog (dirty nose, matted fur) and the fact that it had a collar but no tags that the dog had very likely been dumped on the road by someone who no longer wanted the responsibility of taking care of the animal.  My stomach turned when she said that and I immediately felt a lump in my throat at the thought of such cruelty.

Fortunately for this dog, when we couldn’t locate an owner, Beth offered to take her in.  She had already adopted 7 cats that had been discarded the same way.  She said she would also watch the newspaper and would ask other members of the community about the animal as they are a very close-knit group of people.  As much it hurt to think that someone could have abandoned this animal, it warmed my heart knowing that there are people like Beth who will open their hearts and homes to animals in need.  I am so grateful that of all the people that could have answered that door I found someone who is an obvious animal lover and was able to help me find a safe place for this dog.  =)

So with the dog safe and sound with Beth, Marshall and I hit the road again.  However not more than 5 minutes after we had left Beth’s house Marshall and I would be stopping again so I could get a picture of this.  Yep, that’s a tarantula corssing the road.  Super cool yeah?  =)  We’d see at least 20 more before the end of the day but it was still cool to see them up close and in person.  They’re amazingly fast and seem pretty friendly.  Not that I’d pick one up although I was kind of tempted to.  Leave it!  😉

Why did the tarantula cross the road?

Luckily even with stopping for Starbucks, the spider and the loose dog we still made it to the visitor center by 10:30.  We were joined on the hike by 6 other people including “V” and a really nice woman named Yin who my mom and I had met on the hike at Castlerock State Park.

The first thing that struck me about Pinnacles was how beautiful the plants and rock formations were.  There wasn’t too much time to admire the scenery however because we had a full day of hiking and weren’t able to hit the trail until about 11:00.

Some beautiful dried flowers along the trail

I was looking forward to the hike and was happy to see that Marshall was keeping a positive attitude even though we would be doing about 4,000ft of elevation change over 15 miles.  The game plan was to do a loop for the first part and then head out to the North Chalone peak and return back the same way.  Sweet.  Let’s go!  =)

Marshall smiling at the begginning of the hike. That

On the move. No time to stop for a picture.

Marshall, Jackie and Sam climb a steep and narrow passage

Marshall and me overlooking the pinnacles

After we had hiked for about 2.5 hours we stopped for lunch.  We then made the relatively quick descent down to the lake which was the starting point for the trail to the N. Chalone Peak.

Me sitting on the bridge overlooking the lake

Marshall and the group take a breather before continuing on up the peak

Marshall taking on the climb to the summit

Yeah!  We finally made it to the top.  It was windy, rainy and cold but we made it.

Taking a break at the N. Chalone Peak summit. No, there was no hot chocolate.

Marshall and me at the N. Chalone Peak summit

Although the view was incredible, we didn’t hang out on the summit too long because it was super windy and super chilly so it was better to keep moving.  Fortunately the rest of the hike was downhill so we were able to get back to the lake within an hour of starting the descent from the summit nearly 4.5 miles away.

Marshall relaxing at the lake before our final 20 minute hike to the cars

Rock'n the lion mane

Once the entire group got to the lake we had about a mile to go to get to the cars and that included heading through one of the bat caves.  No, not like “Batman” bat caves, actually caves where bats live.  =)

Descending slippery stone steps to the bat caves

Marshall navigates the caves without a headlamp

The caves were cool, the hike was awesome but by 6:00pm I was ready to head home.  All that was left was to get a group photo and then load up in the cars to head home.  Normally my friend Ilya would take the group photo but because he wasn’t there I stood in as the “official” trip photographer.  =)

The group (minus Jackie) at the end of the day

So once again, thanks to “V” for another great hike and to the group for making this such an enjoyable experience for Marshall and me.  I can’t wait for the next one.  =)

Oh and on the way back home we had to slow for a wild pig that was running down the middle of the road.  Sorry, I couldn’t really think of a good way to lead into that.  😉  For all the trip photos check out my gallery on Picasaweb.