Pinnacles National Park is the 50th National Park I visited. I believe there are 63 National Parks total (National Park Service keeps adding them yearly, so…). As with all the parks it is rare to be disappointed with a visit to any of them. In fact, I have visited some of the parks numerous times just to be sure to fully embrace each part of them as many are quite large.
Pinnacles National Park is one of the lesser visited National Parks, which I find refreshing since there are fewer tourists than other National Parks, like Yellowstone and Yosemite where the crowds can be almost overwhelming and detract from the experience. For Pinnacles I had reserved two nights camping so once I arrived late in the day, I could knock out a shorter hike and complete a long hike on the spare day. The longer hike I chose was to summit the highest peak in the park, Chalone Peak, which reaches 3,304 feet in elevation. That isn’t that bad because there is only a 2,034-foot elevation gain from the base. This is a 9-mile trail that snakes through beautiful hills. Every turn provided an incredible panoramic view of the fields below and the mountains that stretched to the sky.
Once summitting the peak, it was time to rehydrate and fuel up with lunch for the hike back. As I sat down, I heard what sounded like someone vomiting. Looking to my left I saw I was sitting about 25 feet from a California condor. It was tagged with No. 89. The National Park Service tags these rare birds to track and follow them at a level not seen since Facebook started tracking me. Having researched No. 89, I learned this guy was born in captivity in Idaho in 2011. There are under 600 of these massive birds remaining in the world. To have the rare opportunity to see one was magical, but to be able to sit next to one for 30 minutes as I ate lunch was something spiritual, equivalent to petting the gray whales in Baja.
As I sat eating my lunch the condor and I constantly exchanged gazes. Every so often it would spread its wings to show off its true size. Not only did it not seem bothered by me, it seemed to enjoy my company (I mean, who doesn’t?). After about 30 minutes I began wrapping up lunch and as I packed up, No. 89 silently turned away, spread its wings, and leapt off the rock like a hang glider sailing down about 100 feet and then turning upward it flew off into the distance.
This magical encounter reinvigorated me for the 4.5-mile hike to the base of the mountain. I had a solid buzz from the encounter for the remainder of the day. Just like all the close encounters I have had in nature, that buzz never seems to fade and it has me looking forward to National Park Number 51.
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