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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

High Peaks Trail

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High Peaks Trail
The High Peaks trail passes trees and cliffs, Pinnacles National Park

High Peaks Trail. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The High Peaks trail passes trees and cliffs, Pinnacles National Park.

This trail and this park have a special place in my California outdoor experience. I’ve live in the state since I was four-years-old and my parents moved here from Minnesota. From the earliest I can remember my family visited a bunch of outdoor locations in the Northern and Central California area, and I always regarded a trip to Pinnacles National Park (then Monument) as a special treat. It seemed like a very long drive to the east side entrance, and once we got there a visit to the caves was always the highlight. But we also took longer hikes, including memorable walks up to and across the “high peaks.” I continued to visit over the intervening years, but I’ll save a few of those experiences for another post.

The Pinnacles get their name from the striking rocky outcroppings found in the park. In the “high peaks” area they literally sit on the summit ridge, but they are found elsewhere in other settings, including the walls of some small, deep canyons. The trail mostly crossed familiar chaparral terrain, but here it passes beneath some impressively large rock faces and under the branches of some trees with new spring growth.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

From the High Peaks

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From the High Peaks
Central California spring terrain viewed from the High Peaks Trail at Pinnacles National Park

From the High Peaks. Pinnacles National Park, California. March, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Central California spring terrain viewed from the High Peaks Trail at Pinnacles National Park

When I was a lot younger I used to visit what was then Pinnacles National Monument, a quiet little park well south of the San Francisco Bay Area, known for its remarkable rock formations, for being too hot to visit in the summer, for spectacular spring wildflowers, and as a place for rock climbers. For various reasons the place had sort of slipped out of my consciousness, and I had not been back there in the past thirty years or so. A few years ago I began to think that I should return and begin to photograph the place, especially now that it has been promoted to national park status, and it was this month that I finally returned for the first time.

Many things were largely as I remember them, though there have been changes – to the park and to my recall! I arrived at the west side trailhead (where there was a campground when I last visited — but no more) and decided to begin the renewal of my relationship with the park by doing the High Peaks Trail. The photograph was made near the high point of this trail. The hike begins with a 1500 climb from the parking area to a high ridge, followed by a traverse through ridge top terrain of giant towers and sheer drop-offs. I chose to take the “steep and exposed” route, and was surprised that I had forgotten just how steep and exposed it really is. There were some spots where getting past while carrying my large and heavy camera pack was a bit tricky!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.