May 22, 2019 — After loving Pinnacles National Park after visiting a few years ago, I decided to take another trip out there to see the remaining trails I hadn't done yet. I was excited to see some of the fun ladders and steeper sections within the High Peaks region of the park. On my last visit, I took the northern route into the High Peaks via the Balconies Cave Trail, but this route would follow the High Peaks Trail from the south and descend on the Condor Gulch Trail.
Starting from the Bear Gulch Day Use Area, I headed along the Bear Gulch Trail that parallels the park road, and then headed into the mossy and lush section that drains from the Bear Gulch Caves. It's a unique area where bright mosses and algae lay on orange and brown rocks. The High Peaks Trail heads northwest out of the lush section shortly after entering, then switchbacks up a pretty ridge before getting to a saddle where there was a bathroom and a park bench. From here, I continued north into the heart of the High Peaks, passing a bunch of little staircases carved into the rock, weaving around a bunch of obstacles in the interesting way the NPS creates trails in order to prevent any real scrambling. The views are great.
After a fun hike along the High Peaks Trail, I took a short detour to check out Hawkins Peak, a YDS 5.6 flake climb to the high point of the High Peaks. I didn't climb it, but was scoping it out. Anyway, the trail intersected with the Condor Gulch Trail and led me down to the east on a mellow trail with some nice views of the surrounding rolling hills.
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