We left Concord on Tuesday, with the threat of rain behind us and
drove to Pinnacles Campground at the eastern entrance to Pinnacles National
Monument.
We walked from the campground, which by the way is private and not
listed in any of the national directories, to the visitors center. After
a pleasant talk with the Rangers we hiked the Moses Spring Trail and back
along the Rim Trail for an excellent view of the Monument.
Pinnacles which is strewn with massive boulders and is out of sync
with the surrounding rolling green hills was formed when the pacific plate
passed the north american plate and carried part of a volcano 195 miles
north of its original location. For those of you interested in such things
I have scanned the pertinent information from the "Official Map and Guide". There are many
more hikes we could have taken but the rains caught up with us overnight
and we didn't want to be on wet, steep, narrow mountain trails in the rain
so we hooked up and drove on. We drove through King City on our way to Long
Pine and Manzanar. I only mention King City because it was not my first visit
to this sleepy little agricultural town. I once went bowling here on a quiet
Sunday afternoon about forty years ago when I was stationed at Hunter
Ligget Military Reservation, which is only a half hour away.
PS. for those of you who grew up near the Manor of Van Cortlandt and spent
your fall days collecting chestnuts, running strings through them, trying
to shatter your friends chestnuts, the chestnuts at Pinnacles were massive.
However if I remember correctly the smaller one's were usually harder
and thus more often victorious.
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