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| | | Black Mountain Matters, NV | | | |
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Black Mountain Matters, NV
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| Hiking | 7.56 Miles |
2,120 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.56 Miles | 3 Hrs 24 Mns | | 2.45 mph |
| 2,120 ft AEG | 19 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Like a lot of states, Nevada has several peaks named "Black Mountain". In fact the Silver State has 7 P1K peaks with the name Black Mountain, including this one. This Black Mountain is near Henderson, and is in the northern part of the McCullough Range; it is also in the Sloan Canyon Conservation Area, which is administered by the BLM. Black Mountain - McCullough Range has an elevation of 5,092 feet and prominence of 1,612 feet.
I parked at the Shadow Canyon Trailhead (google maps calls it the Black Mountain Trailhead) which is in a nice residential area. There is space in the parking lot for 6 cars, but if the lot is full you can park on the road.
I began by taking the Anthem East Trail for a bit more than a quarter mile. This is a paved, multi-use trail that goes past some houses. Then I entered the Sloan Canyon Conservation area near a retention dam, and took Black Mountain Trail #404 to the top of Black Mountain. Trail #404 is well maintained and easy to follow. It starts off at a modest grade but steepens the closer you get to the mountain. The trail is well constructed and has a number of switchbacks which lessen the steepness. Closer to the summit the trail goes from an easy class 1 walk-up to some class 2 scrambling on basalt rocks and boulders. It is nothing tricky, but there are some knee-to-waist climbs where you will be using your hands for balance. There is a lot of scrub desert vegetation along the trail, and LOTS of basalt rocks. Typical of the northern part of the McCullough Range, Black Mountain is volcanic in origin. This contrasts with the southern part of the Range, which are ancient mountains made of metamorphic rock.
There are great views at the top, so I hung out there for a while. I returned the same way that I came, and when I got back to the TH I drove north to hike up to Gass Peak for my 2nd peak of the day.
Synopsis
I enjoyed this hike and if I lived in the area it would likely be my go-to workout hike. A nice thing about the hike is that you ascend from the west, so if you go early in the morning the mountain will block the sun on your ascent. I imagine that you could do this hike year round, although there is lots of sun exposure so I'd sure start early in warm weather. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. Anthem East is a well maintained trail and very easy to follow. Plenty of signage and areas to explore. I made it up to the TV satellites before realizing I wasn't going to find the Black Mountain trail up there 
. Silly me. Had I looked at the map before I left, I would have realized once you get to the big hole in the ground (wash? Dam? Not sure what it is?) you keep going straight instead of following the Anthem East Trail. Guess I will be back soon to actually follow the Black Mountain Trail. It was a beautiful day for a hike and I certainly enjoyed myself regardless!
