Hiking Bear Gulch - part 2
Our trek through Bear Gulch at Pinnacles National Park- see previous blog for the start of the trail- didn't end with traversing just a tunnel and a cave or two. The final bit involves exiting a cave by ascending a narrow staircase blasted into the rock opposite a waterfall pouring into the crevice.
A Short Walk To Daylight: out of the last cave and up these narrow stairs to the lake
The stairs are strictly single file; there's no room to pass. And the metal handrail is crucial for not falling off the side.
Once atop the stairs we arrived at Bear Gulch reservoir. It's popular today, like the rest of the park, so I found a spot atop some rocks that could be reached only by a bit of bouldering.
Bear Gulch Reservoir is a popular destination on a beatiful day like this
Up here my only immediate neighbors were an occasional squirrel and a large blackbird that landed on the branch just outside the left edge of the frame. I tried my best gravelly Ock! Ock! to scare it away. Apparently my blackbird-speak isn't very good and I said something like, "Sit down and rest your wings for a spell."
Hawk spent a while down at the water's edge before coming up to join me. She snapped this picture:
Rock scrambling at Bear Gulch to get slightly away from the crowds
I'm just a rock scrambler. That means hands and feet, mostly feet. No technical equipment. Except sturdy footwear and occasionally gloves. I'm not wearing my gloves in the pic above though I did put them on minutes later to protect my hands from scrapes as I lowered myself down the rocks.
The Pinnacles happens to be a Mecca for rock climbers. They were out in droves on this beautiful Saturday. Here are a few groups on the cliffs lower down in Bear Gulch:
Rock climbers at Bear Gulch in Pinnacles National Park
They have ropes wrapped around that boulder atop the ledge. Good thing none of them is Wile E. Coyote or that boulder would surely come down.
The adventure continues... on the drive home!
A Short Walk To Daylight: out of the last cave and up these narrow stairs to the lake
The stairs are strictly single file; there's no room to pass. And the metal handrail is crucial for not falling off the side.
Once atop the stairs we arrived at Bear Gulch reservoir. It's popular today, like the rest of the park, so I found a spot atop some rocks that could be reached only by a bit of bouldering.
Bear Gulch Reservoir is a popular destination on a beatiful day like this
Up here my only immediate neighbors were an occasional squirrel and a large blackbird that landed on the branch just outside the left edge of the frame. I tried my best gravelly Ock! Ock! to scare it away. Apparently my blackbird-speak isn't very good and I said something like, "Sit down and rest your wings for a spell."
Hawk spent a while down at the water's edge before coming up to join me. She snapped this picture:
Rock scrambling at Bear Gulch to get slightly away from the crowds
I'm just a rock scrambler. That means hands and feet, mostly feet. No technical equipment. Except sturdy footwear and occasionally gloves. I'm not wearing my gloves in the pic above though I did put them on minutes later to protect my hands from scrapes as I lowered myself down the rocks.
The Pinnacles happens to be a Mecca for rock climbers. They were out in droves on this beautiful Saturday. Here are a few groups on the cliffs lower down in Bear Gulch:
Rock climbers at Bear Gulch in Pinnacles National Park
They have ropes wrapped around that boulder atop the ledge. Good thing none of them is Wile E. Coyote or that boulder would surely come down.
The adventure continues... on the drive home!