Pinnacle Peak Trail

Day 353: The trail to Pinnacle Peak saddle isn't long (only 1.3 miles), but it gains about 1200' in elevation, approximately half of that on terrain similar to what you see here in this photo. The more ambitious hiker can continue on to Pinnacle's summit, a class 3 scramble I've done half a dozen times, but now consider foolhardy given my age. My late husband always refused to attempt it, and would stay at the saddle watching with trepidation as I spider-walked my way up what from his vantage point looked like a vertical pitch. Up was never an issue with me, but down was sometimes worrisome. On one notable occasion, he was joined by another Park visitor, a woman whose concern for my well-being inspired her to ask Bruce, "Is she NUTS?" Bruce assured her that yes, I was definitely certifiable.

Today, however, I contented myself with going up and over the saddle and out as far as I could follow a fading social trail to the west. The day was beautifully serene until on my return, I sat down behind a roll of terrain to have my lunch. I'd only been there fifteen minutes or so when a pair of loud-mouthed young women shattered the perfect silence with a conversation better suited to social media than to the backcountry. I think (and this grieves me terribly) that the possibility of solitude in the Park is now beyond the reach of my aging legs and hips. There was a time, though, when I could imagine that I shared the whole 235,000 acres with nothing but the wildlife. For a few minutes today, I recaptured that feeling as a raven spoke his secrets to me and uttered a call to adventure which, sadly, I could not answer, "Lead, and I will follow you."