Terry Ambrose

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The Pinnacles High Peaks revealed

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Have you ever witnessed nature do something absolutely incredible? We did when we walked the Prewett Trail and saw the High Peaks revealed.

The High Peaks revealed

We’d heard about how spectacular the High Peaks at Pinnacles National Park were. That’s why we planned to stay at the nearby Inn at the Pinnacles. The Inn, located high above the Soledad in the Salinas Valley, is just minutes from the west entrance to the park. October isn’t normally a heavy fog month in that area, but on October 15, we awoke to thick, gray soup that cloaked everything with drops of water.

Fogged in

At 9:10 AM, we began our walk along Prewitt Trail. Even spider webs are not immune to the morning mist.
At 9:10 AM, we began our walk along Prewitt Trail. Even spider webs are not immune to the morning mist.
Another web with only drops of water caught so far
Another web with only drops of water caught so far

Undeterred by the fog at the Inn, we took off for the west entrance of Pinnacles National Park. The normally jam-packed parking lots were empty. And with good cause. The fog had taken over the park. Deflated by the idea of having no views, we drove to the end of the trail, took two of the shortest hikes, then turned around and headed to the visitor center just inside the park entrance. We were still somewhat in shock. It was nine o’clock and the parking lot was almost empty. This was not the Pinnacles we’d read about.

From concealed to revealed

We’d travelled 400 miles to see this place and were determined to give it a final go. And so we began our trek along the Prewett Trail. The trail was named after Fred Prewett, a local rancher who also supervised the construction of several trails in the park in the 1930s. Prewett Point trail is the newest trail in the Pinnacles National Park system. At only one mile long and with a 70-foot elevation, it’s also one of the easiest and most accessible.

By 9:30 AM, only a few wisps remained.
Panning east, the fog is now in full retreat

The two photos above show a panoramic view of what we saw. It’s important to note the times that these photos were taken. In a way, it felt much like we were taking part in a home-improvement show that was being put on by Mother Nature. The High Peaks revealed themselves in spectacular fashion in a grand total of about ten minutes. We were the only two people on the trail at the time. And the only two who witnessed this incredible event.

With the fog gone, the view of the High Peaks is crystal clearPanorama shot of fog rolling backPerfect timingTwo minutes later, at 9:22AM, we went from completely covered to a view of the top of the peaks9:20 AM and we got our first inkling that we would see the High PeaksThis shot was taken at 9:14 AM, just as the fog began its retreat.fog still hanging on!

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About Terry

I started out as a skip tracer. Just in case you don’t know, that’s the guy who finds the people who don’t want to be found. It was the little things—getting paid to lie—that made skip tracing the fun part of the job.

Those years of chasing deadbeats taught me many valuable life lessons, such as liars come from all walks of life, and always keep your car in the garage.

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