Shangrila - 1.21.2021
We parked at the Wonderland Ranch parking lot in Joshua Tree National Park... a dirt parking lot located a quarter mile NE from the very popular Barker Dam parking lot... note that before we parked here we left another car 15 minutes back up Park Boulevard at the Boy Scout Trailhead... in other words, this is a thru-hike.
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From the Wonderland Ranch parking lot most people head for the Wall Street Mill... we also head in that direction... but not for long.
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Less than an eighth of a mile from the parking lot the trail splits... there is no trail sign here... the right fork goes to the Wall Street Mill... but we will go to the left.
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After hiking less than a quarter mile we have arrived at the Wonderland Ranch... aka the 'Pink House' or 'Worth Bagley Ranch'... this is where we entered the south end of the Wonderland of Rocks.
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Hiking north into the Wonderland of Rocks.
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Shark Rock in the Wonderland of Rocks.
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After hiking a half-mile or so in the Wonderland the terrain opens up some... the two Astro Domes on the left... with The Camel on the far right... with the 'Lenticular Dome' in the left center.
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Continuing to hike north in the Wonderland of Rocks... passing by the Freak Brothers Dome.
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Now on the north side of The Camel.
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After passing The Camel and Freak Brothers Dome the Wonderland Wash broadens even more.
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After hiking a total of 1.8 miles we will leave the Wonderland Wash and head NW.
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After leaving the Wonderland Wash it didn't take very long for the terrain to get more scrambly.
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Looking back as I watch Star Dancer hiking toward me... Denali Girl is somewhere in those rocks.
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Staying left here... more of a western direction now... in search of Shangrila.
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Continuing to hike west.
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Shangrila is on the other side of those boulders... we will find a route up in the middle of the photo.
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Starting to scramble up to where we can look into Shangrila.
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Looking back as I watch Denali Girl scramble up to join me... and looking back I have no idea how we got here.
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Looking back at Denali Girl from our high point overlooking Shangrila... and the rocks in this photo are not even in Shangrila.
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After hiking a total of 3.25 miles I am looking west into Shangrila... the Matterhorn is the pointy one in the left-center of the photo.
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I'm heading down into Shangrila as I look back at Denali Girl and Star Dancer on the left.
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I'm in Shangrila watching Denali Girl come down to join me in the middle of the photo.
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A closeup of the Matterhorn... we will exit Shangrila in that general direction.
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Now heading SW toward The Matterhorn.
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Scrambling out of Shangrila.
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After hiking a total of 3.7 miles we are leaving Shangrila and hiking south toward an unnamed lake.
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Out of Shangrila now and continuing south in the Wonderland of Rocks... here looking back to where we came from.
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Star Dancer hiking south in the Wonderland... looking for the unnamed lake.
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Looking back at The Matterhorn... the one in the sunshine.
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After hiking a total of 4.2 miles we have reached the unnamed lake... the dam is in the middle of the photo, but the lake is obviously a seasonal lake.
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Leaving the lake we turned to the west and looked for a route out of the Wonderland.
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Looking back at the passage we used to get out of the Wonderland.
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We can actually see the desert floor out there.
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After hiking a total of 5 miles we are getting ready to leave the Wonderland of Rocks.
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After hiking a total of 5.4 miles we have joined the Boy Scout Trail... a little more than a half mile will get us to the trailhead where we stashed one of our cars earlier in the day... the hike was a total of 6.1 miles, gaining 410 feet of elevation.
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