W6/SC-153 South Chalone Peak

North and South Chalone Peaks are the highest peaks in Pinnacles National Park. They are also the last two peak I needed to climb in order to activate all the peaks in Pinnacles this year. I started in the Bear Gulch area, then hiked up through the caves to the reservoir. This section of the trail climbs up a narrow canyon, with some nice views.

Climbing up to the Bear Gulch Reservoir.

The trail then goes across the dam and climbs with many switchbacks three miles up the Chalone Peaks Trail to a fire road. There is a fence at the top with an easy to climb stile, then the trail continues along the ridge-top road. The views open up on this section of the trail. Just after a gate and fence, near the summit of North Chalone, the trail to South Chalone leaves to the right.

Fence at the top of the trail.

The trail goes down the ridge to the col between the peaks, then starts climbing up the east side of South Chalone. When it reaches the ridge, a short distance below the summit, the trail ends. This area is in the activation zone, and where I activated from last year. This time, however, I wanted to get to the true summit. From the ridge, I saw an area without much brush that looked like I could use it to get close to the summit, so I hiked back along the trail a short distance.

Open area I took to get to the summit.

This turned out to be an easy bushwhack. There was enough grass on the slope to hold the rocks, and it wasn't as steep as I feared. There were some openings at the top, and they led right to the summit. There is a small cairn with a red can that has a register on top, which I signed before setting up. Sticking my pole in a bush, I was soon on the air.

Summit of South Chalone Peak.

There was enough service to send out spots, and I worked the pileup on 30 before trying 20 and 40. I tried calling on two meters and 70 cm, but didn't get any takers. Having successfully activated the peak, I packed up and headed back down and over to North Chalone, retracing my steps.

In the col, with North Chalone behind me.

Trailhead: Bear Gulch day use area, east side of the park.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. I took my Tom Harrison Map.
Route: Hike up to the Bear Gulch Reservoir. Walk across the dam and take the Chalone Peaks trail up to the top. Just after a gate near the summit of North Chalone, go right and follow the trail to South Chalone. Shortly before reaching the ridge, there is an open area on the right that can be followed up to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Pinnacles is very busy in the spring, so parking and waiting for shuttles can be an issue then.

Looking up at the peaks for the day.