the trip to pinnacles was amazing! i drove for hours despite my freeway anxiety, and when we got there in the early afternoon there was no one else in sight. it was totally silent and peaceful
we hiked past all kinds of wild, craggy rock formations, pretty fall foliage, and a dry creek bed before getting to the part of the hike where you have to squeeze through narrow rock passages and scramble up rugged inclines
that brought us to the highlight of the hike, the balconies talus cave, which requires flashlights because it's (somewhat frighteningly) totally dark inside. you do more scrambling down a pretty intense, rocky descent, pass by some trickles of water, step very carefully, and eventually reach the other entrance. i felt a little freaked out in the enclosed dark but happily pushed through it
from there, a bit sore from the technicality of the hike, we turned around and headed back to the car. i'd never been to pinnacles in fall, and it exceeded my memory of how gorgeous the spot is. i had been planning the trip for six months, and i had worried about overhyping it in my eagerness to go, but i think i actually underhyped it
honestly idk anywhere else in the state that looks like pinnacles. it reminds me a bit of utah geology plopped onto central california chaparral. even though i had to drive home in the dark on slightly scary sections of 101, i'm sooo glad i organized the trip
and honestly the best part was that i got to bring a group this time! pinnacles is one of my very favorite places in california, and i'm so grateful that i got to share it with friends and partners who were all experiencing it for the first time
i'm at my happiest when i'm in nature, and i never enjoy nature more than when i'm in the middle of nowhere hiking through a unique, special landscape, without even the sound of aircraft overhead. i absolutely have to come back