A small chaparral park whose season is set by heat and by bats — the talus caves close for pupping in exactly the months the weather would otherwise allow.
Bear Gulch Caves16mm · f/6.3 · 1/25s · ISO 100
Pinnacle Towers31mm · f/6.3 · 1/100s · ISO 100
Bear Gulch Lake31mm · f/6.3 · 1/100s · ISO 100
Volcanic Rocks70mm · f/7.1 · 1/100s · ISO 100
Lava Rocks70mm · f/7.1 · 1/100s · ISO 100
Tectonics & Rocks70mm · f/7.1 · 1/100s · ISO 100
Rock Pillars70mm · f/7.1 · 1/100s · ISO 100
Condor Gulch Trail70mm · f/4 · 1/2000s · ISO 4000
Lava Rocks70mm · f/8 · 1/160s · ISO 100
Pinnacles76mm · f/7.1 · 1/125s · ISO 100Best for photography in Mar – Apr.
No road connects the east and west entrances; they are an hour and a half apart by car. Bear Gulch Cave closes seasonally for bat pupping, roughly mid-May to mid-July. Bring a torch.
June through September regularly exceeds 100°F in a park with almost no shade and no water on trail.
7 of 10 frames on the FE 70–200mm: long glass, compressing the landscape into layers.