Gentle Nature
Once, a volcano erupted. It hurled chaos. Boulders were flung, mountains overturned, the sky split.
And then there was silence.
Now the land is still. Gentle plants and calming streams have quietly reclaimed it. The beast has been tamed, returned to nature. Pinnacles National Park, once born of fire, is now calm.
Featured photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cq3bT2tMkzYVihyg9
April 14th, 2023- California Day 7
Our journey began before sunrise. We had a long drive ahead of us, but the scenery did nothing to disappoint. Our road was unmarked and secluded. On either side of us, green pastures meandered over smooth hills. Plump cows grazed contentedly in the mist, looking like something out of an idyllic movie. We passed countless ranches, their homes still quiet and sleeping. We were the only drivers on the road. It was perfect.
Suddenly, it became an adventure. Tyler crested a hill and came to a quick stop, halted by a creek with no bridge. The water ran swiftly over the road, a dry wash that was anything but dry. It was impossible to tell how deep the water was. Could we make it through? We’d already driven an hour and a half. To turn around now would mean a huge chunk of our day wasted. There was only one road to Pinnacles, and we were on it.
My brave, dear husband chose himself as the sacrifice. He climbed out of the car, rolled up his pants, and strode into our watery obstacle. He told me later it was frigid. It was recent snowmelt, so that was hardly surprising. He probed through the creek with his hiking sticks, sounding it out. After several anxious minutes, he returned, uncertain. There was a pothole in the road, a large washed-out sinkhole waiting for a victim. If we stayed to the left, Tyler mused, we might be able to make it.
Thank God Tyler is a good driver! He shifted our rental car into drive and gunned it forward. We plunged into the creek with a resounding splash, sending a cascade of water into the air. He hugged the left and swerved right last minute, flinging us back onto solid pavement. We made it! Thrilled, we looked back at the creek we’d just crossed, only to discover our trunk was open! We slammed to a stop and Tyler ran to check our suitcases. What if we’d lost our luggage in the frigid water? I imagined all of our clothes and food sopping wet, and groaned.
Despite our erratic, bumpy creek crossing, we were grateful to discover everything had stayed put. We later concluded that Tyler’s water shoes must have blocked the trunk sensor when he returned them to the trunk. So focused on getting through the creek, we hadn’t noticed the open hatch until afterwards. What an adventure!
Pinnacles National Park is a land of opposing forces. Enormous boulders, red as the lava that formed them, jumble into hulking mountains. Softly, grass and flowers creep over their feet. Friendly trees filter the sunlight into speckled waves. Creeks burble down from the heights. It’s a happy place.
The most interesting element of Pinnacles is the talus caves. Formed when boulders tumble down into mountain crevices, they’re less like caves and more like slot canyons with roofs. Our first cave was the Bear Gulch cave. It under and through boulder piles, accompanied by a little creek. In the semi-dark, you have to find sturdy stepping stones without hitting your head on the boulders above. In one stretch of the cave, we were forced to crouch on a metal walkway and squat-shuffle between two low boulders. Fortunately, we have good knees!
The Balconies cave was even more of an adventure. Located on the other side of the park, we arrived in the afternoon after an hour drive. There are less trees on the the western side of the park, giving room for more rocky landscape and copious wildflowers. We hiked amongst the rocks in shady glens, enjoying the laughing streams and ever-changing scenery. When we made it to the cave, we were surprised to find that the entire bottom was covered in shin-deep water. Not even stepping stones could help us here. We hadn’t planned for this! Being young and energetic, we decided to jog back to the car, retrieve our water shoes, and hike it anyways.
Finally equipped, we dove into the cave. At first, it was simple- we just followed the creek into a rocky canyon.The water was frighteningly cold, the kind of frigid that numbs your skin and makes your joints ache. Still, we persisted. As the trail went further, the cave ceiling began to form, massive boulders wedged in the canyon above our heads. We ducked low in the water, nearly crawling. As we drew deeper in, the light slowly receded to occasional shafts of white light. It was mysterious. I felt myself grinning- what would be around the next bend? Our path suddenly left the creek, leading us onto a strip of dry stones. I was grateful for the rest- until I saw the hole. Guided by an arrow painted on a rock, our path was plunging straight down. It was a vertical scramble down a large stack of boulders, straight into the unknown. I was nervous. We were wearing flimsy water shoes and had no idea where the path led.
Fortunately, we survived! At the bottom of a rock stack, our creek was transformed into a waterfall crashing powerfully in the dark. Thin rays of light shone through the ceiling of fallen boulders above us. Instinct led us forward. We eventually emerged into the birth of a sunset. The cave had transported us to the far side of a mountain, where heavy shadows covered the glens. The red lava rocks were cast in gold as the sun began to sink. We crested the mountain in time to watch the sun dip low, painting the park in reds and yellows. Our trail kback was quiet, a national park falling asleep. Evening birds chirped, a soft breeze danced with the wildflowers, and we just walked. Under a tree, a wild turkey foraged for his dinner. I clucked at him and he poofed out his feathers, strutting proudly. Tyler caught an excellent snapshot of the handsome bird before we made it back to the car.
It was a day bookended by water, I suppose. We began and ended our adventure with frigid snowmelt, a reminder that nature always has the last laugh. She’s a powerful thing, nature. Even the destruction of a volcano can be gentled by wildflowers if given enough time. Pinnacles is proof of that.
Hiking trails:
Moses Spring and Rim Trail Loop
Condor Gulch Trail to Overlook
Balconies Trail to Machete Ridge
Comments