• Martha SleutelSequoia & Yosemite Nat'l ParksMartha Sleutel
    Exiting a smaller talus cave earlier on the trail
    Charlie entering the main cave (the only area with a railing!)Nice flat floor area allowed me to take a picture. But we had to stoop to get under those rocks!Another flat area - we climbed up, over and around, even in darkness!An area of the cave trail with lots of lightCharlie made it through!Finally, coming out!Charlie ahead of me as we exit the caveI made it!

    Pinnacles NP - Balconies Cave Trail

    May 19, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    The cave part of this trail, rated "easy", was, in fact, very challenging for us. It was a rock and boulder scramble of about 1/8 of a mile, sometimes in complete darkness. Other parts were partly or even well -illuminated with shafts of light. Footing was iffy - smooth slopes of boulders, rocky paths with us stooped over beneath boulders, and all of it narrow. We had a flashlight (of course Charlie did!!!), but I needed both hands to climb up or down boulders and rocks. We only took a few pics, and only in the areas where my footing was stable. The pics DO NOT show the rock scramble parts - narrow, dark, up, down, around, and over heaps of rocks and boulders!Read more