Crown Prince Lookout - 12.27.2020
We parked just off of Park Boulevard... less than a quarter mile SW from the entrance to the Jumbo Rocks Campground.
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Hiking across the desert from where we parked... heading SE toward Crown Prince Lookout... just a matter of finding a reasonable way up to the top of that huge rock pile... and I don't think the route will be on the NW end that we are looking at.
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We have reached the NW base of the Crown Prince Lookout... now lets go around to the NE side of the rock formation.
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Not so obvious from here, but our route is in the center of the photo.
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The crux of the trip is dealing with this 25 foot scramble... Star Dancer and Denali Girl are ready to give it a try.
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After the 25 foot scramble there are six or eight rock steps that are very easy to negotiate.
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Almost up to the lookout.
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On the Crown Prince Lookout summit (4581')... here looking west to Ryan Mountain on the left... and north to Queen Mountain on the right.
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Denali Girl on the Crown Prince Lookout... I'm looking east beyond her to the Pinto Mountains and Pinto Basin.
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Looking NW and watching the sunshine hit the Wonderland of Rocks... sitting between Ryan Mountain (out of frame on the left) and Queen Mountain (out of frame on the right).
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Denali Girl and me sitting on all that is left of the Crown Prince Lookout structure... it was built in World War II and used as an aircraft warning station... certainly provided incredible views in every direction.
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Time to head down from the summit and rejoin Star Dancer... a nice sidewalk kind of surface will lead us back to the scramble section... that is Point 4558 out there on the left.
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We are standing above the scramble section... looking out there to where Star Dancer (white shirt) is watching us come down to join her.
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Back to the scramble section... one step at a time... and don't be afraid to get the seat of your pants dirty!
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Almost done with the scramble section.
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After we got down from the scramble section of the Crown Prince Lookout we hiked over to the NW side of Point 4558 and found a huge maze... I relaxed while Star Dancer and Denali Girl walked the maze.
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Heading back to the car now... where we found some very interesting rock.
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Continuing to follow the interesting rock slabs back to the car.
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I swear that I haven't taken any kind of drugs... but isn't that a woman lying on her back on top of the rock... wearing a floor length dress?
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Almost back to the car... the loop hike was 2.5 miles, gaining 395 feet of elevation.
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