Pinnacles NM - Bear Gulch Area

After the elephant seal guided walk we planned to go to Julia Pffeifer Burns SP, but there was a mud slide on Hwy 1 blocking access to it, so we decided to go to Pinnacles NM instead. We arrived there in the late afternoon, with enough daylight hours left to go for a short hike.

I wanted to hike to the Bulch Gear Reservoir and explore Bearch Gulch Caves on the way, but due to extreme rains that we had in California during the previous five weeks, both proved to be impossible. The Bear Gulch Cave was completely flooded, and the upper part of the trail leading to the Reservoir was not passable either as it became a waterfall... It was pretty scary actually and as soon as we saw it, we started running in the other direction, fearing for our lives.

Still, the hike was lots of fun. It was beautiful, lash green, and there were no other people. I guess most of the other tourists got scared by the weather forecast. Also the campground was almost completely empty, even though usually during this time of a year it would be completely full.


Blooming trees in Hollister, on the way to Pinnacles:

Picnic tables in Bear Gulch Area:

Moses Spring Trail:

Entrance to the Bear Gulch Cave:

Recent rains created many seasonal waterfalls:

Sun + rain = rainbow: