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| Hiking | 11.65 Miles |
1,546 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.65 Miles | 6 Hrs 33 Mns | | 1.88 mph |
| 1,546 ft AEG | 22 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Black Mesa Loop
Delightful hike. Nice views, gentle creeks, good length, moderate climbs, great vistas, interesting formations. And while I was just day-hiking, a good number of overnight backpackers.
Just to stay oriented, the Black Mesa Loop, as I took it, started at the Dutchman’s Trailhead and proceeded like so: south basically on Dutchman’s 104 down to the junction with Peralta, then retrace back north to turn left onto Black Mesa, north a good stretch on Black Mesa, then west along Second Water, back to Dutchman, finishing at the parking at the trail head.
The loop gave nice views and great vistas throughout. Sometimes rocks and ravines right-in-your-face close-up, and other times cascading sequences of mountains and valleys far into the distance. Sometimes rounded hills and knolls covered in flowing green vegetation, and other times jagged cliffs and crags with multi-hued exposed rock.
Good stuff.
I started early morning, and caught a magnificent sunrise reflecting a brilliant red-orange on the clouds to the east, and back reflecting in a wispy orange-white on the clouds to the west. And as I proceeded the rising sun cast light across the terrain and formations, and at the creek crossings, I could catch reflections of the sunlit clouds and rocks.
I had nice early winter temperatures, 30’s and 40’s, just about perfect. And First Water Creek on Dutchman flowed nicely, strong enough for the gushing water to be heard a couple hundred feet away, but readily crossed via rock hopping.
About mid-hike, luck granted me an unexpected pleasure. I had put a small spur on what the books show as the traditional loop. The Black Mesa Loop, as I saw generally listed, turns north up Black Mesa trail as soon as you get to that junction on Dutchman’s. My route stayed south on Dutchman a bit. Now someone experienced in the Superstitutions would know Weaver’s Needle comes into view down that way; I didn’t. So by chance I was treated to the needle rising out in the distance.
On Black Mesa trail at the level part, on the way north, the terrain surrounded me in a bit of a desolation. By that time of the day, an overcast had set in, and in that section of the trail the views become blocked by nearby hills and trees. A bit of a chilly breeze picked up. And no other hikers. So just me, grayness, a bleak terrain, a dull sameness all around. But still good. Nature arranges itself by its rhythm, not for our pleasure, and that is part of a hike, going through the different ambiances of nature’s rhythms.
After that stretch, though, the vistas opened up again, and in particular Second Water at one point curved in and around a large tilted and uplifted formation. For me, I could image in the formation a great Starship rising out of a cold, deep sea on a distant planet. Others might picture a giant whale emerging in the Pacific ocean. Just interesting.
A quick final note. The trail head for this loop sits about 5 kilometers deep on a dirt road. But no matter. I had a sedan (rental car, no SUVs available to pick from), and navigated the dirt surface no issue. I mention this since not all dirt roads are forgiving. |
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