Auszeit zu zweit... Unterwegs im Pinnacles Nationalpark

The Pinnacles National Park was only 1 ½ hours away from my accommodation in Morgan Hill. Since I had a rental car, I took the opportunity to plan a trip. And one trip turned into two. I started with the sunrise on my first visit and hiked up in the late afternoon to watch the sunset on my second visit. They were definitely two great ideas! 😊

On my first trip, the alarm clock rang at 4 a.m. (it was so early... I've gotten used to sleeping in :-P). But as they say, "The early bird catches the worm." Yes, there's something to it. When I arrived at the park, there was not a soul in sight (except for a few campers who were still asleep). The first rays of sunlight illuminated the mountain peaks with a golden yellow glow. It looked fantastic and I couldn't wait to hike up! The silence, the nature and wildlife, and then the incredible reddish-colored rock formations that sprout like mushrooms from the ground, did not diminish my amazement and fascination. I could hardly move forward in the first few hours. I had to capture these impressions with the camera over and over again... After the first meters of ascent, the sun slowly emerged over the wide mountain ridges in the east. I felt the warmth of the sun's rays on my skin. Slowly, I could take off my long-sleeved shirt. But I enjoyed the morning freshness because the temperatures rose to 36°C at noon! And since there are hardly any shade-providing trees in this area, it feels like being in an even hotter oven. I started early, but I still had 20 km with 633 meters of elevation gain ahead of me. Of course, I chose the long loop to enjoy the entire beauty of the National Park. Occasionally, I came across a hiker or two. They looked at me surprised and admiringly when they heard that I was taking on the big trail loop. But I had no regrets! Well, except for one... not enough water...!!!! With 3 liters in my backpack, I had underestimated it. Hey guys, never, ever, never do I want to experience this again!!! :-D There were still 6 km and nearly 400 meters of elevation gain ahead of me when my water reserves were running out. The sun had already reached its zenith. I felt like I was in a desert, with no water in sight... I took one last sip from my hydration bladder, encouraged myself to continue the final ascent without drinking anything, and then take the final sip for the descent and the last 3 km (a cool water bottle was waiting for me in the car. Yay!)... Yeah right! I couldn't stand it anymore. After 1 ½ km, I sank down in a shady spot and literally squeezed the last drops out of the hydration bladder! Shit, there was even less in it than I thought... Now what? I looked at my phone again to see how much further it was and found out that I could have skipped the ascent because there was another way down below to the parking lot. And it was even shorter. Maaan eeeyyy, why didn't I see that right away! So I hurried back down the trail and turned onto the flatter trail. There wasn't much of a path left, but the dry spell was long... I thought I would soon be crawling on the ground with my arm outstretched, a dry mouth, and groaning the last words: "Water, waaateer!" But luckily, there were white knights here with water bottles!!! :-D
I turned onto the road to the parking lot for the last few meters and hoped for a passing car. And sure enough. I waved to the super friendly driver. I must have looked completely dried out because he gave me a lift for the last few meters and handed me an ice-cold 1.7-liter water bottle. I have never emptied so many liters within seconds 😊

A week later, I drove to the park for a second time. The decision was quite spontaneous. I only had a few days left with the rental car and wanted to visit the beautiful National Park around the corner once again. I started in the afternoon to watch the sunset in Pinnacles National Park. However, I only did a smaller loop, hiked up to the High Peaks again, this time with 4 liters of water, observed the California condors, enjoyed the view, the silence, and the solitude (I only encountered one hiker), went off-trail at an already scouted spot, climbed up a small section between two rocks, and voilà: VIP seat with a guarantee of solitude and a beautiful view facing west 😊
2 more hours until sunset. I made myself comfortable on my inflatable pillow. Just right for older people :-D I wrote a few postcards to friends and family, let my eyes wander over the mountains, caught the last rays of sunlight, and let the condors circle and observe me from time to time... and no, I'm not dead yet, dear birds! As long as I don't fall off here :-P

The last rays of sunlight brushed the mountaintops. I climbed down again and made my way downhill to the parking lot. Even though I had already walked along here, I was still fascinated by the view and in the setting sun, the rocks shimmered even more red. Happy and in the twilight, I reached my car.

The National Park definitely showed its most beautiful side in the morning and evening...