Point 4243 and Temple Ridge - 1.11.2021
From the north entrance pay station to Joshua Tree National Park... drive Park Boulevard for 3 miles and park in an unpaved turn-out next to the road... and start hiking toward the hill on the right side of the photo.
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Denali Girl hiking cross-country... heading for the gap in the center of the photo.
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After hiking three-quarters of a mile the wash begins to narrow.
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After hiking .9 miles I noticed the impressive pile of rocks and boulders on the left.
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After hiking a total of 1 mile, we will leave the wash and head up to the gap in the left foreground... there are some impressive boulders up there.
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Denali Girl has left the wash and is gaining elevation in a southern direction... it is slow going in this terrain.
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We will continue past this first bump and continue deeper into the canyon and try to get up to the ridge on the left.
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Hiking south into a canyon... here looking at the rocks to the west.
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Hiking south into a canyon... here looking at the rocks to the east... continuing south is the only reasonable alternative.
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Heading SW now... gaining elevation... Denali Girl in the lower right corner of the photo... and yes, we are still married.
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Denali Girl is coming up to the ridge... standing on a large rock at the very bottom of the photo.
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Denali Girl is gaining elevation in the lower right corner of the photo.
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I'm nearing the ridge that I will call Temple Ridge... and that is the Temple over there on the right.
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After hiking 1.5 miles I have reached the SE end of Temple Ridge... there is an interesting bump directly ahead in the center of the photo... with Point 4243 and The Temple over there on the right horizon.
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Denali Girl is coming up to join me on the SE end of Temple Ridge.
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Denali Girl is on one of the high points on the SE end of Temple Ridge... with Point 4243 and The Temple out there on the right.
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Heading for Point 4243 and The Temple... hiking west on Temple Ridge... the highest monolith in the Temple is the gray colored one in the center of the photo... looks like we will need to go a bit to the left in order to get around the huge boulders in the foreground.
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Going around to the left of the huge boulders in the previous photo.
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A clear path to the highest monolith on Temple Ridge.
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Here comes Denali Girl as she hikes in The Temple.
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I'm standing on Point 4243 as Denali Girl poses next to the highest monolith on Temple Ridge.
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This pano was taken from Point 4243... looking north to the town of Twentynine Palms in the distance on the upper left... Park Boulevard runs left to right across the photo... with Twentynine Palms Mountain (center) and part of the Pinto Mountains on the right... and of course the highest monolith on Temple Ridge in the right foreground.
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Time to leave Temple Ridge and head south... one very careful step at a time.
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Coming down on the south side of Temple Ridge.
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The big picture of our southern route off of Temple Ridge... find Denali Girl if you can.
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From below Temple Ridge this huge boulder caught my attention... I think it is the head of one of the Temple Ridge Guardians.
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A pano shot showing the Temple on the left... with what Star Dancer calls 'Oz' on the far right.
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After hiking a total of 1.9 miles we are down from The Temple and heading NW in a canyon.
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Looking back at our route down the canyon... I think we came through the slot on the left.
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Now heading north in the canyon on the west side of Point 4243 and Temple Ridge.
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There were plenty of challenges in the canyon on the west side of Temple Ridge.
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Looking back at our route down the canyon on the west side of Temple Ridge... I think dealing with this canyon was every bit as difficult as getting up to and then dealing with Temple Ridge.
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After hiking 2.6 miles we have reached the canyon wash on the NW side of Point 4243 and Temple Ridge.
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Out of the canyon wash into the great wide open... leaving an easy mile walk back to our car.
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Denali Girl is a stone's throw from our car... the hike was 3.6 miles, gaining 969 feet of elevation.
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