Get a Grip on the Pinnacles

The Civilian Conservation Corps built many miles of trails throughout our western national parks and forests during the 1930s. Some of the very best efforts can be enjoyed today in the High Peaks area of Pinnacles National Monument.

The corps constructed “pigeon hole” steps in order to ascend the dramatic escarpments and installed handrails along high ledges. While walkers wary of heights might want to hike elsewhere, those not predisposed to acrophobia will relish the adventure of scaling the High Peaks.

Pinnacles National Monument is the rocky crown of some small mountains called the Gabilan Range, which extend behind and south of the area from Salinas to King City, and which form the boundary between Monterey and San Benito counties. The Pinnacles are located about 150 miles south of San Francisco, 300 miles north of Los Angeles and about 25 miles from nowhere.

No doubt about it, Pinnacles is one of the more off-the-beaten-path, less-visited scenic gems administered by the National Park Service. Best known as a volcanic wonderland, the national monument also offers a wide diversity of ecologies from dark caves to sunny, wildflower-strewn meadows.

Pioneers moved into the valleys surrounding the Pinnacles in the mid-19th Century. These early settlers called the great rock backdrop to their homes and farms the Palisades. During the 1890s, local ranchers began efforts to save the region from exploitation by miners. Local guide and tireless lobbyist Schuyler Hain, along with Stanford University President David Starr Jordan, sparked the preservation effort, which was successful in 1908 when President Theodore Roosevelt established Pinnacles National Monument.

As a young man in the 1930s, the great conservationist, Sierra Club director and Friends of the Earth founder David Brower was an accomplished rock climber who made several first ascents of various pinnacles. Brower speaks fondly of his climbing adventures in the Pinnacles in his autobiography, “For Earth’s Sake: The Life and Times of David Brower” (Peregrine Smith Books).

The rock-climbing boom of the 1980s brought increasing attention to this national monument--among climbers anyway. Dragonfly Dome, Condor Crags, Swallow Crack, Toilet Seat and Spasm Block are some of the colorfully named rock faces reached by the monument’s more than 500 climbing routes.

For me, the best hike is a circuit through the High Peaks area that begins from the visitor center on the east side of the monument. By combining a couple of different trails you can climb brushy ridges, penetrate oak-dotted gulches and get great views of--and from--the Pinnacles.

The high point, both literally and figuratively, of the hike is High Peaks, a reddish-orange collection of cloud-piercing crags. Stair steps carved into stone aid your ascent of the peaks.

Condor Gulch Trail, which leads to High Peaks, is also the first half of the 3.8-mile-long Pinnacles Geological Trail. Those hikers interested in lava flows, plate tectonics, the nearby San Andreas Fault and the 23 million yearlong geologic story of the Pinnacles, should purchase a pamphlet from the park visitor center. (The second half of the Geological Trail drops down to Chalone Creek.)

Directions to the trail head: From U.S. 101 in King City, take the First Street exit and travel a mile north through town to California G13. Head east on the highway (called Bitterwater Road in Monterey County and King City Road in San Benito County) 15 miles to a junction with California 25. Turn left (north) and continue 14.2 miles to Pinnacles Highway (146). Turn left and drive five miles to the Pinnacles National Monument Bear Gulch Visitor Center.

The hike: Signed Condor Gulch Trail ascends three-quarters of a mile up a manzanita-blanketed slope to a view point. Take in the view upward of the towering Pinnacles and the view downward of the park visitor center, then continue the stiff ascent on a series of switchbacks. A long mile’s climb brings you to a ridge-crest junction with High Peaks Trail.

The trail’s right fork heads east back down toward the Chalone Creek picnic area, but you turn left toward the jagged spires of High Peaks. Jagged spires frame views of Chalone Creek Valley and the Balconies Cliffs area of the west side of the national monument. After 0.6-mile of travel, the path splits; a right branch leads to a meeting with Juniper Canyon Trail and passage to the west entrance of the park while our left branch enters the maze of Pinnacles.

Occasional handrails and steps hewn into the stone help you negotiate the steepest sections of High Peaks. After surmounting two sharp ridge crests, this 0.6-mile section of trail delivers you to a saddle and a junction with Juniper Canyon Trail.

At the saddle is a restroom constructed of rock and a bench from which you can take in the spectacular view. It’s all downhill from here as High Peaks Trail rapidly descends a long, brush-covered ridge. Near the bottom, in Bear Gulch, you’ll pass a couple of rock climbers’ access trails, then join Bear Gulch Trail and continue through a long picnic area back to the visitor center.

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Condor Gulch, High Peaks Trail

Where: Pinnacles National Monument, near King City.

Terrain: Volcanic landscape of crags and spires.

Highlights: Memorable trail, close-up views of Pinnacles.

Distance: 5.2 miles round-trip loop with 1,400-foot elevation gain.

Degree of difficulty: Strenuous.

For more information: Superintendent, Pinnacles National Monument, 5000 Highway 146, Paicines, CA 95043; tel. (408) 398-4485.