Friday 17 August 2018
We sleep in late this morning after our drive back from Santa Cruz. O and I finish leftover nutella pancakes accompanied by our remaining strawberries. As we retrieve all of our breakfast goodies from the van we are careful to close the door whenever we are not right in view. We were warned when we arrived yesterday that the raccoons here are quite brazen. Last night, when we returned from brushing our teeth one was already lurking about Vincent’s door.
Already this morning, while we have been preparing and eating breakfast, we have been raided by a Stellar’s jay, and visited by scrub jays, a mother deer and two fawns, juncos, and another covey of California quail. As the animal visits taper off we study the Pinnacles brochure to choose some hikes. It is much too hot to hike midday. Peak temperatures in the campground will be in the low 100’s. Up on the ridges it tends to be about 10 degrees hotter due to lack of shade and heating of the rocks. We decide on a short 2+ mile hike this evening and a longer ridge hike tomorrow. The ranger in the visitor center recommends starting the longer hike at 5 am.
O and I drive up the road to find the trailheads for both hikes. There are many shady California Live oaks there, these with acorns. These are the same kind of prickly leaved oaks that provided shade for us at Los Padres National Forest. They acquired the name “live oak” because they are evergreen, so they look alive year round.
After our brief explore we return to camp for a late lunch so we will have time for our evening hike. We note the temperature dropping a bit as we clean up from lunch. We drive up Bear Gulch road to the trailhead for the Moses Spring Trail which leads to the Bear Gulch Cave Trail and up to a reservoir. By 6 pm we are on the trail, headlamps on in case we need them. It is still warm, but the hike is easy and the caves are cool. We enter the dark caves and turn on our headlamps to find the way. These are talus caves. Water has carved a narrow gorge here and boulders crashing down from above provides the roofs. The caves are excellent habitat for many of the species of bats who live in the park. Part of the cave is closed this month to protect a breeding colony. We emerge from the other end of the caves and climb a rocky path to the reservoir. Bear Gulch Reservoir is picturesque. The surrounding rocks and trees are golden in the evening sun. Near the lake O and I find a flower neither of us has spotted before. Another puzzle to investigate later. We complete our hike by walking down the Rim Trail. By the time we return to camp we are ready for an early bedtime in preparation for tomorrow’s hike.
