Hike #16 for the year. I hiked this on April 3, 2026, the day before I hiked my last blog entry hike, Hike #17. I previously hiked Black Mountain in May 2024, and undoubtedly many times before that.
It's a favorite of mine because of the amazing view from the top. Of course, that also makes it a big climb, which makes this hike relatively tough. It took longer than I recalled, that's for sure.
Seven and two-thirds miles, and 2,100 feet of altitude gain. With my other walking that day, I cleared 35,000 steps on my fitbit.
As you might infer from the name, this mountain is dark, the result of volcanic activity. Exposed volcanic boulders and volcanic layers are visible pretty much the entire hike.
This leads to a thin layer of soil most of this hike, with lots of protruding volcanic boulders to kick. Still, the area was still relatively greenish. At the higher altitudes, the creosote was still in bloom, though it had gone to seed at lower altitudes.
Even before you get to the top, you can look to the south and see the top of the solar generating towers in Ivanpah.
Once at the top, you can see far in nearly all directions, including the Las Vegas Valley in one direction, Boulder City in another, and a slice of US-95's route to the south, toward Searchlight, in a third direction.
You can make this a loop hike. But the loop that goes over Black Mountain runs along the ridge to your north, before then going west, towards the detention basin where this trail begain. That means lots of ups and downs, and the exposed boulders are even more common along the ridge route than they were below the incline. I kicked and tripped over lots of rocks, the one time I went that way. I didn't like it, so I haven't done it again.
Instead, I just returned the way I came. Even then, I did plenty of tilting over on the way up, due to the whipping wind. Because you're on the highest peak in the area, it's gusty up there even when it's not generally windy, below. When it is generally windy, it's super windy up top.
Still enjoyed the views, and got a fair variety of wildflowers photographed. And, as usual, a flag waved atop Black Mountain, albeit a rather ragged-looking one.
I still have my Big Morongo Canyon Preserve hike to blog. I still have a Mount Wilson Trail to First Water hike, as well, but I'm not sure if I'll blog it, because it's a recent repeat.
On an unrelated note, it's now over nine weeks since my brush with Hantavirus. That was while I was scrambling amongst the Hall of Horrors, and slid under some rocks, kicking up plenty of dusty where seed husks and rodent droppings were very thick.
That was basically the recipe for contracting hantavirus. It led to a period when I was pretty concerned over my own mortality. But, as the weeks went by, I started feeling a lot more confident that I was not yet at the end of my story.
I was concerned because the early symptoms for hantavirus are you usual flu-like symptoms: cough, body aches, etc. And the incubation period (between exposure and symptom onset) is given as between one and eight weeks, which is a long time to have something hanging over your head, particularly if the actual flu is circulating, and people are coughing all around.
But, here I am, finally on the far side of the upper range for infection, so, YAY!
Haven't had time for much hiking recently, unfortunately. Hopeful for at least some astronomy this weekend.
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