Valhalla Dome in the Wonderland of Rocks - 3.11.2019
From the west entrance pay station of Joshua Tree National Park... drive 8.9 miles on Park Blvd and turn left onto Hidden Valley Road... then drive 1.7 miles and turn left on the unsigned dirt surfaced Wall Street Mill Drive... then drive .3 miles to the dirt parking lot at the end of the road... it was 43 degrees when we started at 10:30am.
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After hiking a short distance we came to a 'Y' in the trail... the people out there on the right are heading for the Wall Street Mill... but we will go to the left and take the short walk over to the Wonderland Ranch.
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A lot of the joshua trees are blooming.
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tomman and BarbE visit the Wonderland Ranch... aka the 'Pink House' or 'Worth Bagley Homestead'.
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After a short hike into the wonderland we have arrived at the kitchen.
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Shortly after the kitchen we turned to the west and headed cross-country.
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We are on the south side of Valhalla Dome, but still need to scramble up a couple hundred feet to get up there.
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Looking for the best place to head up to the dome.
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Up we go!
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A nice bench will help us find the best place to go up further.
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Going up on nice rock... broader views with every step up.
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BarbE 'acting out' below.
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I'm high enough to see Barker Lake out there in the distance.
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Here come the troops.
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I walked over for a closer look at Barker Lake.
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BarbE on top (~4500') of Valhalla Dome.
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Denali Girl and tomman near the summit of Valhalla Dome... amazing how water has carved up the rock over the years.
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On Valhalla Dome with a broad view of the Wonderland of Rocks... looking north to the South Astro Dome in the center of the photo... and looking NE to Queen Mountain on the far right horizon.
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A very large Queen Mountain from Valhalla Dome.
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Didn't expect to find a bird bath on Valhalla Dome.
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Flattish terrain on the top of Valhalla Dome.
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Denali Girl, BarbE and tomman leave the top of Valhalla Dome.
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tomman and BarbE find a nice bench on Valhalla Dome.
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Denali Girl found a nice chair on Valhalla Dome.
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Working our way through a maze of boulders on our way off of the dome.
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Lots of boulders sit on top of Valhalla Dome.
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Denali Girl leads us off of Valhalla Dome... the South Astro Dome is out there in the distance.
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Heading down the north side of Valhalla Dome.
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Heading down the north side of Valhalla Dome.
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Heading down the north side of Valhalla Dome.
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Heading down the north side of Valhalla Dome.
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Heading down the north side of Valhalla Dome.
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Sometimes a person has to go under the rocks.
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And sometimes a person has to squeeze underneath the rocks.
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Still descending... we can see the wash below, but there is still work to be done.
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Just when you think it is all downhill, you have to go up again.
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Butt moves are acceptable in the wonderland.
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Denali Girl scrambling on the north side of Valhalla Dome.
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Denali Girl looks for the best way down.
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Almost down to the wash.
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Down to the wash at last... looking back at the jumble of boulders that we just descended.
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We got back into the wash where 'The Shark' is located.
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On our way out of the wonderland.
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Back at the 'Pink House'... a quarter mile of hiking will get us back to the car.
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The parking lot is in view... our trip was a short, but very fun 1.7 miles, gaining 370 feet of elevation.
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