[Joe]

We camped 5 nights at Pinnacles Campground on the east side of the park. There is limited parking at the east side trailheads, the park service runs a shuttle service from the Pinnacles Visitor Center to the Bear Gulch day use area

Our campsite at Pinnacles Campground

Turkey Vultures soaring over campground

Western Bluebird

moon through the trees

Getting ready for dinner

rabbit

soaring Turkey Vultures

3/24/2018 - Bear Gulch Cave/Rim trail loop hike Since it was Sunday and we got a late start, we walked from our campsite to the visitor center and rode the shuttle bus to the trail head. The Moses Spring trail climbs gradually and around 3/4 mile you enter the cave. The route through the cave is generally not too difficult, but there were a few tight squeezes. I had to remove my daypack and crawl on my hands and knees a short distance. Exiting the cave, you climb up stone steps to a trail that leads to Bear Gulch Reservoir. From the reservoir, we hiked the rim trail back to the Moses Spring trail. Trip Stats: 2 miles with 490 ft. gain.

woodpecker

barb checking out tunnel

Tunnel on trail

Barb on trail

Bear Gulch Cave

Bear Gulch Cave

barb in cave

Stone steps out of the cave

Bear Gulch Reservoir

enjoying the views

views on rim trail

Bear-Gulch-Cave-route

3/25/2018 - Balcony Caves Parking is very limited at the trailhead and the shuttle service does not make a stop at this trailhead. On Monday, we got one of the last parking spots at 10 am. The trail is pretty flat to the entrance of the cave, a little over 2 miles. Originally we were told there was a foot of water in the cave, but there wasn’t much water in the cave. The final portion of the trail leading to the cave was the wettest. This cave is about 500 ft. long and the way is marked by white arrows to keep you going in the correct direction. There were a few scrambling spots and a few spots where I had to crawl. After the cave, we hiked balconies cliff trail around the cave. Returning to the parking lot, a couple cars had tickets for parking illegally. Trip Stats: 5.6 miles with 480 ft. gain.

Balconies

Entrance to caves

Balcony Caves

exit of the caves

tight squeeze

out of the caves

Balconies

Machete Ridge

views on the trail

below the Balconies

Machete Ridge

two trees on ridge

Machete Ridge

views on the trail

some type of shooting star

Scrub Jay

woodpecker

Balcony-Cave-route

3/26/2018 Condor Gulch/High Peaks Loop We got an early start and found a parking spot at Bear Gulch day use area. This hike offers the best chance of seeing California Condors and we saw lots of Condors soaring and sitting on rocks. We stopped several times and just watched the Condors; sometimes soaring in groups of 5 to 6 birds. At a few places, the Condors soared over the ridge only 30 feet above us. The high peaks portion of the trail has some steep rock steps with guard rails. Trip Stats: 5.1 miles with 1650 ft. gain.

woodpecker

hiking Condor Gulch trail

first California Condor sighting

flowering bush

Condor Gulch views

Condor Gulch views

Condor Gulch views

Condor Gulch views

Flower

Condor Gulch views

Balconeis

somebodies home

zoomed shot of California Condor

close up of California condor

barb on first set of stone steps

Steep stone steps

Are we done with the stairs

Tight fit

Views toward Condor Gulch trail

California Condor

Last of the stone stairs

views on High Peaks trail

Barb in tunnel

Condor-Gulch-High-Peaks-loop-route

3/27/2018 - Bacon Ranch/Butterfield Homestead This is a hike to late 1800s - early 1900 settlements in the valley that are now part of the national park. The trail starts in the day use area at the visitor center and follows an old road. Trip Stats: 3.6 miles with 140 ft. gain

lizard

Bacon Ranch

Bacon Ranch house

Bacon Ranch

Butterfield homestead

leaving Butterfield homestead

oak trees

Butterfield homestead

lizard

Bacon-Ranch-Butterfield-Homestead-route

[RichP]

Interesting looking area that I've never heard of. I see that it became a National Park in 2013 which would make it the latest addition to the system not counting Gateway Arch (2018) in St Louis.