INCH Hike: High Peaks Trail

6. High Peaks Trail (06/29/96)

Hikers (3): Matt, Russ, Steve
Distance: 9 miles
Rating: 4 difficulty, 10 beauty
Park info: Pinnacles National Monument south of Hollister

Write-up by Russ

It was a hot day down in Monterey county. We stopped at the local donut shop in the very small town of Tres Pinos to get our food because Matt didn't have breakfast and wanted a donut and we needed food for the hike. Unfortunately the owners of the store didn't know the meaning of "hold the mayo."

The difficulty rating of 4 is justified on this hike. And though the hike is listed as 5 miles, we had to make things more difficult for ourselves by doing a couple of extra loops around the Pinnacle Rocks. One time this was done just so we could settle a wager as to whether there was enough light in one of the tunnels for a person to be able to go through it without a flashlight. Fortunately for Esteban, the answer was "yes".

There are steep climbs up the Pinnacle Rocks and Scout Peak. Anyone afraid of heights would have a hard time. Still, the view from the peaks is worth it. We were warned that there was no water on this hike and it could get hot under the afternoon sun. That is definitely true. By the end of the hike (9 miles instead of the 5 miles originally listed), we were crawling back. The last half mile seemed like 3 miles.

We later found that the temperature was 104 degrees that afternoon. Our reward upon return to the car was some boiling Gatorade.

The lesson for this hike was: Bring a cooler!

Milestones:
Matt's 1^st leaf