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| Wonderland Wash via Wall Street Mill Trailhead, CA | |
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| | Wonderland Wash via Wall Street Mill Trailhead, CA | | | |
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Wonderland Wash via Wall Street Mill Trailhead, CA
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| Hiking | 4.89 Miles |
274 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.89 Miles | 3 Hrs 7 Mns | | 2.05 mph |
| 274 ft AEG | 44 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | After hiking into the heart of Wonderland of Rocks in the morning, we did a second hike on the southern edge of Wonderland, starting at Wall Street Mill Trailhead. Parking around there and Barker Dam was a nightmare with Thanksgiving hiker traffic, but we managed to find a spot.
We planned to leave the official trail early and check out the Wonderland Ranch and do some exploring toward North & South Astro Dome. There's a lot of interesting history in the area with the ranches and mines, and the first point of interest before leaving the trail was Worth Badgley Stone, a rock that William Keys carved in the spot where he shot and killed Badgley in 1943. There wasn't much to see...the stone had been vandalized and repaired, then broke off at the base and was removed for safekeeping by park staff in 2014, so only a sign remains where it stood.
We could see the pink walls of the ranch about a hundred yards off the trail and headed over there. There are some low walls, a fireplace, and some taller walls with a doorway and window opening remaining, plus a lot of glass and pieces of debris set out on the walls, much like pot sherds set out at Native American ruins sites. There was another concrete foundation nearby and a small, standalone wall made out of stones and mortar.
We continued beyond the ranch ruins and followed Wonderland Wash toward Astro Dome. The next point of interest was a dam built into the wash, then a huge boulder we'd read about that resembled a whale from one side (complete with a hole that looks like an eye) and a panther head from the other side. I wasn't expecting much, but the resemblance was actually pretty strong.
The wash alternates between stretches of flat, sandy, easy hiking interspersed with areas full of boulders that require some scrambling, which was fun. In some places, the piles form arches and tunnels through the maze of rock. Looking at the map, I could see that Wonderland Wash eventually connects with Keys Ranch, and I was hoping we'd have time to check that out. We'd seen signs on the drive over saying that visiting Keys Ranch requires reservations, so it would have been nice to see it, even if only from a distance.
Time-wise, it looked like we'd be able to make it, but the path through the wash became choked with boulders and really slowed things down, much like our hike past Willow Hole earlier in the day. We were ~0.6 miles as-the-crow-flies from Keys Ranch at that point but decided to turn around there as it got later in the afternoon and we could see how long it would take to continue through the mess of boulders. There was some interesting geology along the wash--on the hike out, we saw some hollow boulders and a small arch near the dam. Before we got back to the trailhead, we checked out a rusty old vehicle near the ranch. It was an interesting hike and a good opportunity to get away from the crowds and see some unique spots off the main trail. |
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