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| Heading into the desert hills. |
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| Southern California Map |
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| Driving Map. |
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| Parking Map. |
Trailhead coordinates: 33.20185°N, -116.90783°W.
Summary
Since this hike offers three destinations in one outing, the entire hike held my interest as I plotted my progress along the way. Camel Rock was right near the starting point, but I made sure to save it for last. I had visited Pinyon Ridge once before, so I made sure to get to Wilson Benchmark first. Then, if I was still up for it, then I would make a return visit to Pinyon Ridge. This meant that I would be hiking 6 miles before making my first stop at Wilson Benchmark.
Hiking Stats:
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| Hiking Map. |
Since this hike offers three destinations in one outing, the entire hike held my interest as I plotted my progress along the way. Camel Rock was right near the starting point, but I made sure to save it for last. I had visited Pinyon Ridge once before, so I made sure to get to Wilson Benchmark first. Then, if I was still up for it, then I would make a return visit to Pinyon Ridge. This meant that I would be hiking 6 miles before making my first stop at Wilson Benchmark.
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| A trailside rock monster. |
The hike starts on a well defined dirt road. It eventually devolves into a single track trail. By the time it reaches Wilson Benchmark, it gets reduced to use trail and cross-country boulder scrambling. A pole, a coffee can register, and benchmark sits on the summit of Wilson Benchmark. When leaving the summit, I found a use trail that connected with the nearby trail that I took on the desert floor. In a way, I discovered the actual summit trail that avoids the cross-country scrambling. Better late than never. At least it made for a non-bushwhacking descent.
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| The summit of Wilson Benchmark. |
While heading back and reaching the junction with Pinyon Ridge, I decided to go for it. It is a short climb up the ridge to reach the high point of Pinyon Ridge. There is a large boulder on the summit. I didn't actually stand on the boulder, but I reached my hand up to the top (It wasn't worth risking my health scaling a boulder in the desert when nobody was around). After making quick work of Pinyon Ridge, I headed down the opposite slope and worked my way back to the trail (I did that instead of backtracking to the start of the ridge).
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| Wilson Benchmark. |
It is a long hike back to the start from there, but it is generally flat. Before reaching the parking area, I veered off the trail to approach Camel Rock. When viewing it from a certain angle, it does resemble a camel. However, when approaching it, I was more interested in finding a way up its side. After encircling it, I was easily able to work may way up to the top to claim my third summit of the hike. From there, I descended and quickly wrapped up the hike.
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| Camel Rock. |
Video:
Video (Narrated Version):
Simulated Hike:
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