Crown Prince and Point 4558 - 3.14.2023
We parked along the side of Park Blvd... about 50 yards SW of the entrance to the Jumbo Rocks Campground in Joshua Tree National Park.
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We couldn't see Crown Prince or Point 4558 from where we parked... but hiking SE from where we parked we got this view of the peaks within 10 minutes of hiking... Crown Prince is on the far right and Point 4558 is in the left-center of the photo.
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Getting closer to Crown Prince... the summit had a warning station for airplanes in World War II.
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rocman leads the way as we hike along the north side of Crown Prince.
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Continuing to hike along the north side of Crown Prince.
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Looking for the easiest way to scramble up to Crown Prince.
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After hiking a total of one mile we have reached the scramble section of the hike... in World War II there was a wooden staircase that handled this 30 foot section of rock.
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rocman nears the top section of the 30 foot scramble.
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A nice rock staircase at the top of the 30 foot scramble.
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rocman leads the way as we head for the summit of Crown Prince out there on the right.
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Nearing the summit of Crown Prince.
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After hiking a total of 1.1 miles we are on the summit of Crown Prince... here looking across Queen Valley... SW to Lost Horse Mountain on the far left horizon... west to Ryan Mountain in the left-center of the photo... and north to Queen Mountain on the right-center horizon.
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On the summit of Crown Prince... here looking east at the Pinto Mountains from the far left horizon to the middle of the photo... and looking SE to Pinto Basin on the horizon in the middle of the photo... and looking south to the Hexie Mountains on the right.
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Our next target will be Point 4558 in the foreground.
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Greetings from rocman and ragman on the summit of Crown Prince... good friends since meeting at the University of Washington in 1972... whoa... that was 51 years ago!
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Leaving the summit of Crown Prince and heading down to the scramble section.
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Hiking down the rock staircase.
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Working the 30 foot scramble section.
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Almost done with the 30 foot scramble section on Crown Prince.
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Hiking NE from Crown Prince... heading for the plateau on the right (east) side of Point 4558.
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Working our way up to the plateau on the east side of Point 4558.
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We have reached the plateau on the east side of Point 4558... and we will head over to the far right to begin our scramble up to the summit.
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We have left the plateau and are heading up toward the summit of Point 4558.
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Almost on the summit of Point 4558.
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Easy terrain now as we near the summit of Point 4558.
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After hiking a total of 1.5 miles rocman is walking in the labyrinth on the summit of Point 4558.
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A closeup of Crown Prince from the summit of Point 4558.
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From the summit of Point 4558 we are looking beyond the Jumbo Rocks area of the park to Queen Mountain on the horizon.
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More or less tracing our steps from the summit of Point 4558 back down to the plateau.
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Leaving the plateau on the east side of Point 4558 and continuing to give up some elevation... with Crown Prince out there in the distance.
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Hiking west on the south side of Point 4558... here looking at a huge pile of tailings from one of the mines in the area.
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Passing by a huge labyrinth on the west side of Point 4558... with Crown Prince on the right.
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Hiking to the car... here looking back at Point 4558 on the left... and Crown Prince on the right.
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Interesting terrain ahead.
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Continuing to hike back to the car on this interesting terrain.
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Hiking back to the car.
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On the way back to the car.
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We will follow this wash over to the Jumbo Rocks Campground.
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After hiking a total of 2.5 miles we have reached the Jumbo Rocks Campground... the largest campground in Joshua Tree National Park... with 124 campsites that are well situated in the rocks.
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We can see our car parked along the side of Park Blvd... the total hike was 3.2 miles, gaining 503 feet of elevation.
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