SIR Hike to Bear Gulch Cave & Reservoir in The Pinnacles National Forest

SIR hikers are having such a fun time and this hike was probably without a doubt one of the best ever.  The 8 members that came: John Caldwell, Bernie Coullahan, Pete Eppolito, Fred Jones, Doug Krause, Kelvin Thomas, Bob Thompson, and Floyd Wolfe described it as: “A Great Time” from Floyd, “Great exercise, great views and adventures with fun camaraderie and great food” from Fred and Bernie said: “I would give the hike 2 thumbs up. The weather was ideal, clear blue skies, wonderful rock formations and a serene reservoir. The cave was an added adventure bonus with a bunch of old guys wearing headlamps, ducking and weaving and even enjoyed the short crawl.” (was about 25 feet). “The lunch after was a real treat. With all that hiking, we were able to eat whatever we wanted.”

It was a crisp, clear 51 when we arrived with not a cloud in the sky. Great California weather. At the end it was 65 degrees, hardly broke a sweat. The path was level at first and then we climbed for about 1 mile. There was the talus cave, Bear Gulch ahead. The first challenge was to stay dry when walking over a shallow amount of water via stepping stones, good balance practice. BTW, a Talus Cave, also known as a boulder cave, is formed by gaps between many boulders. We weaved left and right. We turned sideways to go through narrow passages between boulders. There were many dark chambers that went back out of sight along with rays of sunshine coming through the ceiling at parts. We ducked down in parts to avoid low ceilings. There were 2 areas where we climbed up via steps carved into the rock. Nice to have steel guardrails there to help us along. We got to the point where all but this week we would have to exit but the gate to the upper section was open and we continued on to more of the same. There was one spot where we had to crawl for a short distance on the packed dirt.  At the exit of the cave, we climbed up a set of steps and there was Bear Gulch Reservoir in all its splendor.  Some of the water leaches through the cave in various spots. We hiked along the reservoir and came back to the dam and then took the Rim Trail to go back to the cars. Along the way we diverted for 0.4 miles 1 way on the High Peaks Trail to a total elevation of 1,620’. We climbed another 260’ to 1,880’. The reward was the spectacular views and even the majestic flight of 2 California Condors soaring with their wings wide apart. What a sight and lucky us to see them in the wild!  After returning to the car we drove to Hollister at a local favorite Harley bar: Johnny’s Bar & Grille where we ate ½ pound hamburgers and tasted some great brews such as “Johnny’s Dark Ale”.  The camaraderie from start to finish added fun to an experience we will all remember.  A great time and Kelvin described it as:  “a spelunking adventure on a beautiful day followed by a great lunch and wonderful companionship.”  Spelunking?! You’ll have to ask Kelvin what that means.  Isn’t this part of what SIR is all about?

To join the fun on our next adventure, email Doug Krause at diamondtub@sbcglobal.net to be put on the hiking email list.