Hiking Pinnacles

Dave took a couple days off work over spring break. We knew we wanted to go on a little trip, but we didn't know what. We decided to hike one day and rock climb the other. Some wanted Pinnacles (where Spencer went recently with the Scouts), while others felt strongly about Big Sur (coastal redwoods). There was rain in the forecast, so we decided not to rock climb - we'll have to do that on a Saturday sometime soon. We ended up hiking both Pinnacles and Big Sur, which was cool because they're completely different kinds of hikes! 

Chloe did great hanging out on Dave's back the whole time.

The first half of the hike up the mountain was stunning - huge rock formations everywhere. It kinda reminded me of Yosemite or Zion's Canyon.

We went to the west side and hiked from the day use area to the top of High Peaks and back. It was 3.6 miles round trip and had about 1,100 ft of elevation. If you go to Pinnacles, make sure you know if you want to go to the East or West side; you can't drive from one side to the other. The Scouts hiked the entire loop, and Spencer said this was the best section.

Brennan often has a hard time keeping up with the group. He gets very tired and easily distracted. Tyler always stays behind with him and helps him along by holding his hand and gently encouraging him. It's so great to watch.

We took a snack break in the shade, about 2/3 up the mountain.

I loved all the bright, colorful lichen.

We ate lunch at the top, and Chloe was happy to get out and walk around. She crawled up a really steep rock to be with the boys. It made me a tad nervous.

There were tons of birds circling at the top. We were hoping to see California condors, but apparently it's mating season for the black crows.

We had to stop on the way back down to allow some horses and mules to cross. They were carrying materials to build fences. Apparently there's a big problem with erosion from people not staying on the path. We didn't do any more shortcuts after that. Just kidding, we were good the whole time.

The riders were very nice and let us pet the horses.

 Chloe was THRILLED!

This place had so many cool plants and animals. I especially liked this plant. I have no idea what it is, but it looked like sharp, shiny metal.

 I kept falling behind to take pictures. It was so pretty!

There were tons of wildflowers. This was a good time of year to go. It probably got up to about 85 degrees that day, but it gets MUCH hotter in the summer.

After we got back to the car, we took a little break and refilled water bottles. Then we headed to another little trail over to some caves.  

This hike was totally different from the first one but just as amazing. There were humongous boulders resting between even bigger boulders, put there by earthquakes long ago. 

Eventually the boulders led us to a deep cave. We had to do some bum-sliding and crawling with a flashlight, but it wasn't pitch black for very long. There was a little waterfall in the caves, and the kids could have stayed and explored forever. 

This was a super fun day! Then we drove over to Monterey Bay, picked up Chinese food for dinner and stayed at a hotel with an awesome heated indoor pool. The kids were so excited to swim again. Brennan swam the entire length of the pool! They're so excited for summer. The hot tub felt especially good on our sore muscles. Everyone was so tired - most of the kids fell asleep during scriptures.