BKiser90 - Jun 13, 2020 11:04 am Date Climbed: Jun 12, 2020
Snowdrifts, Downed Tress, and a Flat, Snow-Covered Summit
Started up the trail around 12:30 pm. We were on our way back home from Utah and thought this may be a fun detour. A downed tree blocked the road about 1/4 mile from the trailhead. The route had many snowdrifts and downed trees to navigate. When we gained the summit of the mesa top, we discovered that the entire top of the mountain was covered in at least three feet of snow in places. It was impossible to ascertain exactly where the true summit was. We are pretty sure we were in the general area, and, since there was so much snow, we actually were standing above the summit. Great views south and east from near the summit
Left at 6am to get up there before the heat and ran into a co-worker with the same idea. Hit East peak and then a short hike to the west side. Some grouse out and a few deer made for a great day to clear the head!
Jeremy Hakes - Jun 27, 2010 8:58 pm Date Climbed: Jun 26, 2010
Serendipitous!
Nice hike to a nice summit. :) Didn't know it was the county HP until later.
Dean - Aug 15, 2009 7:15 am Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2009
SE ridge
Driving up highway 13 on the 13th was a bit strange (if you are superstitious). Following the directions found here and in the Colorado Highpoint book, I easily found my way to the top of Black Mountain (thank you Scott, your SE ridge page was super - 6 miles with 900'elevation gain made it a nice hike). I did Flat Top near Yampa on the 14th before I had to head for home.
Larry V - Jul 19, 2009 10:13 am Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2009
Back to Black
July 4, 2009: Southeast ridge. Occasional snow patches until I reached the summit area where the trail was 70% snow covered, with deep drifts. Walked all the way over to the true summit which I determined by GPS was the west summit, 15' higher than the east summit.
June 11, 2005: Failed attempt from Freeman Reservoir due to deep snow. It was after this experience that I invested in a pair of snowshoes.
kavak - Sep 5, 2008 10:34 am Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2000
Southeast Ridge Route
I climbed this with my youngest son. The mosquitoes were thick, but we persevered. It is hard to tell what is the true summit so I went to three different areas.
Shaylee - Aug 17, 2008 11:05 am Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2011
Black
June 18 2017
With Kessler, mom, and dad from the Southeast Ridge.
September 11 2016
With Kessler and dad from Freeman Reservoir.
June 26, 2016
SE Ridge with mom and dad.
August 22, 2015
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Kessler.
July 19, 2014
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Kessler.
June 30 2013
SE Ridge with mom, dad, and Kessler.
July 4, 2012
SE Ridge with dad and Kessler.
May 31, 2012
SE Ridge with dad, mom, and Kessler.
July 9, 2011
Climbed via the SE Ridge with my parents and brother.
September 27, 2008
Climbed via Freeman Reservoir with my parents and brother. It was a long hike for me, but I enjoyed it. I also liked seeing the beaver.
July 20, 2008
Climbed with my dad and brother. There were way too many mosquitoes, but I had a lot of fun.
June 24, 2006
Climbed with dad, mom, and Kessler. I liked to play in the snow on top.
grandwazoo - Aug 12, 2007 11:08 am Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2007
Southeast Ridge
Well, this was the first of a three peak outting with a ton of miles to be driven. Dale Millsap and I had just finished flying a proposed pipeline route in the Greasewood area and decided to hit hit Moffat, Garfield and Rio Blanco county high points.
We made the TH at 2:00 pm and made it back to the truck by 4:00 pm. This is an extremly easy hike with many chances to jog most of the route. It was then off to Flat Top with a 8:30 pm summit of that peak in the same day.
Kessler - Dec 12, 2005 11:21 am Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2005
My ascents
June 18 2017
With Shaylee, mom, and dad from the Southeast Ridge.
September 11 2016
With Shaylee and dad from Freeman Reservoir.
August 22, 2015
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Shaylee.
July 19, 2014
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Shaylee.
June 30, 2013
SE Ridge with mom, dad, and Shaylee.
July 4, 2012
SE Ridge with dad and Shaylee.
May 31, 2012
SE Ridge with dad, mom, and Shaylee.
July 9, 2011
Climbed via the SE Ridge with my parents and sister.
July 3, 2010
Climbed with Dad and Grandpa.
September 27, 2008
Climbed via Freeman Reservoir with my dad, mom and sister. My favorite part was seeing the five beavers near the trailhead.
July 20, 2008
Climbed with my dad and little sister Shaylee. It was a good hike but with too many mosquitoes.
September 21, 2007
Climbed with dad in 3 hours 15 minutes round trip. Fast ascent for preparation for our Peru trip.
June 24, 2006
Climbed with dad, mom, and Shaylee.
August 26, 2005
Climbed with dad.
Scott - Jun 20, 2005 6:11 pm Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2004
Ascents listed below
October 15 2019
Starting in the dark and at 8 PM, I hiked on Black Mountain, but I didn't reach the very summit since it was so late. The moon was really nice and almost full. I saw two racoons.
July 28 2018
Kimberly and I climbed Black Mountain. It was a nice hike, but some motorcycles came along the trail and were really ripping up the trail (the trail is closed to motorcycles). This is the second time in a row we saw them on Black Mountain. On our descent, it rained, snowed, and hailed a little.
June 10 2018
Kimberly and I climbed Black Mountain from the Southeast Ridge. There was much less snow on the trail and on top than there usually is in June. Unfortunately, two motorcycles were also illegally on the trail and really ripping it up.
June 18 2017
Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly, and I climbed Black Mountain from the Southeast Ridge. We were on the snow for maybe 25% of the time, but it wasn't a serious problem.
We ate lunch on top while enjoying the views before descending.
September 11 2016
Shaylee, Kessler, and I climbed Black Mountain, this time from Freeman Reservoir. It had been a long time since we had climbed Black Mountain via that route. We were hoping that the leaves had turned, but most were still green. There were several sections of the trail though where the leaves had turned.
We made it to the summit in the afternoon and tried to view raptors at the raptor viewing area. It was probably too windy for them. We did see a few raptors and the way up and down though.
It was a nice hike.
June 26 2016
After church, Shaylee, Kimberly, and I climbed Black Mountain via the southeast ridge. There was only a little snow on the trail, but the mountain top was buried in snow. There were a few mosquitoes around as well, but they weren't terrible.
We saw a fox at the trailhead and several deer on the drive.
August 22 2015
Shaylee, Kimberly, Kessler, and I all climbed Black Mountain. Kim worked her shift first and we got a late start. We climbed from the Southeast Ridge route, climbed to the east summit and then went all the way to the west summit. The weather was cloudless, but there was quite a bit of smoke in the air. We saw many grouse and some raptors as well.
October 25 2014
It is hunting season, so I dressed in hunter orange for safety. The trail is really dry for this time of year, and there wasn't much snow either. It was pretty windy, but the route via the Southeast Ridge is pretty protected. After a nice rest on top, I returned. I saw one hunter on the ascent.
July 19 2014
Kim, Kessler, Shaylee, and I climbed Black Mountain from the southeast ridge. It was perfect weather, but the sky was smokey from forest fires in other western states.
We made good time to the eastern summit where we took a quick break. We didn't sit for long as there were lots of bugs.
We continued on to the west summit of Black Mountain, having some good snowball fights along the way.
We at lunch at the Raptor Overlook before heading back the same way.
Sadly, we found the remains of the horse I had found (live) on the mountain back on November 11 2009.
June 30 2013
Kim, Kessler, Shaylee, and I climbed Black Mountain after church. It was a nice escape from the summer heat and we even had a snowball fight on top.
Sadly, on the way down we found the remains of the horse I found here on November 13 2009.
July 4, 2012
After making Kimberly breakfast in bed and going to the 4th of July parade and the community BBQ we couldn’t start a climb until afternoon. Shaylee, Kessler and I decided to climb Black Mountain. The skies were cloudy and there was no thunder.
We made a quick nonstop climb of Black Mountain from the Southeast Ridge. It sprinkled very lightly for a few seconds, but other than that there was no rain. If fact, the cloud cover was actually pleasant since we were in the middle of a heat wave. The snow was completely gone, the first time I have seen it gone before August.
May 31, 2012
Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly and I decided to climb Black Mountain (via the Southeast Ridge) after I got off work. After eating dinner, we were off to the mountain. Since it was late, we hurried as quickly as possible in order to complete the 6 miles round trip before dark. There were a few snow patches and many fallen trees to contend with, but no major problems. The worst part was the mosquitoes. I didn’t think they would be out this early in the year, so didn’t bring repellent.
We found ourselves on the east summit after 1 hour 18 minutes. After a break, we made our way back down the mountain in a quick 1 hour 8 minutes. The kids are certainly getting faster and this was a good training hike. There was much less snow than is usual for this time of year.
July 9, 2011
Kimberly, Kessler, Shaylee and I climbed Black Mountain today. There were snowbanks right from near the beginning and we were on snow most of the way to the summit. We actually lost the trail near the final climb to the summit, but we scrambled up to the summit plateau and then east to the east summit.
There was quite a bit of snow on top and the kids enjoyed playing in it before we headed back down the mountain.
July 3, 2010
Kessler, my Dad and I climbed Black Mountain today. We took the Southeast Ridge Route since it is the fastest route and since we had a family activity later that afternoon that we had to be back for.
There was only a little snow on the trail, but as usual for early July there were several big snowdrifts on the summit plateau. Kessler played on the snow for a bit before we headed to the easternmost point on Black Mountain for the views. After enjoying the views and a snack we headed back down the mountain.
November 11, 2009
Today I climbed Black Mountain via the Southeast Ridge. There was more snow that I expected, but less snow than there usually is. The snow had enough bare spots that wearing snowshoes probably wouldn’t help much, but the snow was deep enough in places that they could be useful and postholing really slowed me down.
I was surprised to find a horse near the summit of the mountain. I was breaking trail up the mountain and there were no other human footprints around, so the horse must have been there for at least a few weeks. I climbed to the summit, snapped a few photos and went back to the horse. I untied its hobble, but the hobble was on long enough that the horse’s foot was sore or injured. I couldn’t get the horse to go down with me. I couldn’t get the hobble off without a knife (which I didn’t bring this time).
I hurried down the mountain to the trailhead where there was a hunting camp and some people with horses. I told them about the horse and that I didn’t have a knife and they said they would go look for it. I hope the horse is OK.
August 15, 2009
I climbed Black Mountain with a co-worker (Justin Kuhn). Kimberly, Kessler and Shaylee also joined us.
In the early morning, it was pouring like crazy with plenty of lightning and loud thunder (before 8 am) and had been doing so all night. It was clear at 9 am, so we decided to give the mountain a try, it was good weather and we made good time up the Southeast Ridge until lunch at 11:30, when it began to hail at 10,300 feet. Kessler, Shaylee and Kim decided to head back while Justin and I went over the top of Black Mountain in the clouds and fog and we never did get any views. We descended the other side and it began to snow at 10,300 feet. It snowed and rained on and off until we were at the Freeman Reservoir trailhead at 8700 feet elevation where it began to snow again. It wouldn't be record breaking, but snow at 8700 feet on a mid-August afternoon is somewhat unusual.
On the drive home, it was 48 in Craig at only 6300 feet elevation and at 4:45 pm. On the drive back we could see that the top of Black Mountain was all white. I assume the cold front was somewhere between Craig and I-70 since the radio said it was 71 at Aspen (~8000 feet), which is usually cooler in the summer than Craig.
September 27, 2008
Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly and I decided to climb Black Mountain from Freeman Reservoir. Since Black Mountain is below timberline it was suspected the fall colors would be at peak. We were right and the colors were spectacular.
We climbed through all the colors and ate lunch near the west summit. Kessler, Shaylee and Kimberly played around near the west summit while I went on to various viewpoints on the summit plateau. It was a pretty long hike for Shaylee, but was a nice day with perfect weather.
July 20, 2008
In the morning Kessler, Shaylee and I decided that we should climb Black Mountain after church. After attending church we arrived home at 2:30 PM, at lunch and left just after 3 PM and starting the hike up the peak at 3:45 PM. We had to hurry because of the very late start and we took headlamps just in case.
We started the climb passing some illegal motorcyclists along the way that were really ripping up the trail. Unfortunately, they didn’t have license plates and it was amazing how much damage only thee motorcycles could do the trail (i.e. ripping out the rock steps).
The worst part of the climb was the mosquitoes, so we couldn’t stop long and arrived at the summit at 6:30 PM. Kessler and Shaylee had fun playing on a snowbank and sitting on the top, though there were mosquitoes even on top of the peak so we didn’t stay long. We ate a dinner of canned fruit and Captain Crunch before heading down the mountain. I carried Shaylee (almost half) much of the way, not because she needed to be carried, but so we could quickly get to the car and out of the mosquitoes which got even worse. We arrived at the car just after 8 PM and not long before sunset. It was a great hike other than the motorcyclists and mosquitoes.
September 21, 2007
After kindergarten, I picked up my son and we climbed Black Mountain after starting at 1 pm. The climb was finished in 3 hours 15 minutes round trip, not bad for 6 miles.
July 14, 2007
Climbed via Southeast Ridge. I traversed the peak to the west summit and spent some time to see if I could determine where the exact summit of the peak is. I could not. It is a very dry year, but there are still some large snowdrifts on top.
June 24, 2006
Climbed via SE ridge with four year old Kessler, two year old Shaylee, and my wife Kimberly. Shaylee was carried part way, but walked a good portion of it. Had a snowball fight on top.
August 26, 2005
Climbed via the SE ridge with my 3-year old son Kessler.
June 18, 2005
I had planned to hike the mountain with the wife and kids, but the access road was still snowbound. We hiked the Connecting Trail 1194 instead. This trail connects the two routes to the summit (we hiked only the connecting trail this time, and not to the summit), thus making a very long loop hike for those in shape who wish to hike both routes in one day (see route page).
November 9, 2004
What a difference three weeks made. The mountain was completely buried in snow with winter conditions. I summitted using snowshoes, and an ice axe via the Freeman Reservoir.
October 16, 2004
Summitted via Southeast Ridge. It was hunting season, so I wore blaze orange. No hunters were on the trail, but many were on the road on the way to the trailhead. No snow.
SabineInUtah - Oct 6, 2024 12:25 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2024
Broad summit covered in vegetationWith RDB; lots of mosquitos, good hike
ericnoel - Sep 15, 2022 6:28 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2022
Black MtnStandard Trail
BKiser90 - Jun 13, 2020 11:04 am Date Climbed: Jun 12, 2020
Snowdrifts, Downed Tress, and a Flat, Snow-Covered SummitStarted up the trail around 12:30 pm. We were on our way back home from Utah and thought this may be a fun detour. A downed tree blocked the road about 1/4 mile from the trailhead. The route had many snowdrifts and downed trees to navigate. When we gained the summit of the mesa top, we discovered that the entire top of the mountain was covered in at least three feet of snow in places. It was impossible to ascertain exactly where the true summit was. We are pretty sure we were in the general area, and, since there was so much snow, we actually were standing above the summit. Great views south and east from near the summit
utahjimk - Jul 30, 2018 6:47 pm Date Climbed: Jul 24, 2018
via SE ridgesaw no one else once off Forest Road 110.
Brian Kalet - Sep 23, 2014 7:23 pm Date Climbed: Sep 21, 2014
4 PeaksWith Cougar Mountain, 7230 & 7180.
fineran25 - Jul 16, 2012 5:23 pm Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2012
East and West peakLeft at 6am to get up there before the heat and ran into a co-worker with the same idea. Hit East peak and then a short hike to the west side. Some grouse out and a few deer made for a great day to clear the head!
Jeremy Hakes - Jun 27, 2010 8:58 pm Date Climbed: Jun 26, 2010
Serendipitous!Nice hike to a nice summit. :) Didn't know it was the county HP until later.
Dean - Aug 15, 2009 7:15 am Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2009
SE ridgeDriving up highway 13 on the 13th was a bit strange (if you are superstitious). Following the directions found here and in the Colorado Highpoint book, I easily found my way to the top of Black Mountain (thank you Scott, your SE ridge page was super - 6 miles with 900'elevation gain made it a nice hike). I did Flat Top near Yampa on the 14th before I had to head for home.
Larry V - Jul 19, 2009 10:13 am Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2009
Back to BlackJuly 4, 2009: Southeast ridge. Occasional snow patches until I reached the summit area where the trail was 70% snow covered, with deep drifts. Walked all the way over to the true summit which I determined by GPS was the west summit, 15' higher than the east summit.
June 11, 2005: Failed attempt from Freeman Reservoir due to deep snow. It was after this experience that I invested in a pair of snowshoes.
kavak - Sep 5, 2008 10:34 am Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2000
Southeast Ridge RouteI climbed this with my youngest son. The mosquitoes were thick, but we persevered. It is hard to tell what is the true summit so I went to three different areas.
Shaylee - Aug 17, 2008 11:05 am Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2011
BlackJune 18 2017
With Kessler, mom, and dad from the Southeast Ridge.
September 11 2016
With Kessler and dad from Freeman Reservoir.
June 26, 2016
SE Ridge with mom and dad.
August 22, 2015
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Kessler.
July 19, 2014
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Kessler.
June 30 2013
SE Ridge with mom, dad, and Kessler.
July 4, 2012
SE Ridge with dad and Kessler.
May 31, 2012
SE Ridge with dad, mom, and Kessler.
July 9, 2011
Climbed via the SE Ridge with my parents and brother.
September 27, 2008
Climbed via Freeman Reservoir with my parents and brother. It was a long hike for me, but I enjoyed it. I also liked seeing the beaver.
July 20, 2008
Climbed with my dad and brother. There were way too many mosquitoes, but I had a lot of fun.
June 24, 2006
Climbed with dad, mom, and Kessler. I liked to play in the snow on top.
grandwazoo - Aug 12, 2007 11:08 am Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2007
Southeast RidgeWell, this was the first of a three peak outting with a ton of miles to be driven. Dale Millsap and I had just finished flying a proposed pipeline route in the Greasewood area and decided to hit hit Moffat, Garfield and Rio Blanco county high points.
We made the TH at 2:00 pm and made it back to the truck by 4:00 pm. This is an extremly easy hike with many chances to jog most of the route. It was then off to Flat Top with a 8:30 pm summit of that peak in the same day.
Kessler - Dec 12, 2005 11:21 am Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2005
My ascentsJune 18 2017
With Shaylee, mom, and dad from the Southeast Ridge.
September 11 2016
With Shaylee and dad from Freeman Reservoir.
August 22, 2015
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Shaylee.
July 19, 2014
SE Ridge to both summits with mom, dad, and Shaylee.
June 30, 2013
SE Ridge with mom, dad, and Shaylee.
July 4, 2012
SE Ridge with dad and Shaylee.
May 31, 2012
SE Ridge with dad, mom, and Shaylee.
July 9, 2011
Climbed via the SE Ridge with my parents and sister.
July 3, 2010
Climbed with Dad and Grandpa.
September 27, 2008
Climbed via Freeman Reservoir with my dad, mom and sister. My favorite part was seeing the five beavers near the trailhead.
July 20, 2008
Climbed with my dad and little sister Shaylee. It was a good hike but with too many mosquitoes.
September 21, 2007
Climbed with dad in 3 hours 15 minutes round trip. Fast ascent for preparation for our Peru trip.
June 24, 2006
Climbed with dad, mom, and Shaylee.
August 26, 2005
Climbed with dad.
Scott - Jun 20, 2005 6:11 pm Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2004
Ascents listed belowOctober 15 2019
Starting in the dark and at 8 PM, I hiked on Black Mountain, but I didn't reach the very summit since it was so late. The moon was really nice and almost full. I saw two racoons.
July 28 2018
Kimberly and I climbed Black Mountain. It was a nice hike, but some motorcycles came along the trail and were really ripping up the trail (the trail is closed to motorcycles). This is the second time in a row we saw them on Black Mountain. On our descent, it rained, snowed, and hailed a little.
June 10 2018
Kimberly and I climbed Black Mountain from the Southeast Ridge. There was much less snow on the trail and on top than there usually is in June. Unfortunately, two motorcycles were also illegally on the trail and really ripping it up.
June 18 2017
Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly, and I climbed Black Mountain from the Southeast Ridge. We were on the snow for maybe 25% of the time, but it wasn't a serious problem.
We ate lunch on top while enjoying the views before descending.
September 11 2016
Shaylee, Kessler, and I climbed Black Mountain, this time from Freeman Reservoir. It had been a long time since we had climbed Black Mountain via that route. We were hoping that the leaves had turned, but most were still green. There were several sections of the trail though where the leaves had turned.
We made it to the summit in the afternoon and tried to view raptors at the raptor viewing area. It was probably too windy for them. We did see a few raptors and the way up and down though.
It was a nice hike.
June 26 2016
After church, Shaylee, Kimberly, and I climbed Black Mountain via the southeast ridge. There was only a little snow on the trail, but the mountain top was buried in snow. There were a few mosquitoes around as well, but they weren't terrible.
We saw a fox at the trailhead and several deer on the drive.
August 22 2015
Shaylee, Kimberly, Kessler, and I all climbed Black Mountain. Kim worked her shift first and we got a late start. We climbed from the Southeast Ridge route, climbed to the east summit and then went all the way to the west summit. The weather was cloudless, but there was quite a bit of smoke in the air. We saw many grouse and some raptors as well.
October 25 2014
It is hunting season, so I dressed in hunter orange for safety. The trail is really dry for this time of year, and there wasn't much snow either. It was pretty windy, but the route via the Southeast Ridge is pretty protected. After a nice rest on top, I returned. I saw one hunter on the ascent.
July 19 2014
Kim, Kessler, Shaylee, and I climbed Black Mountain from the southeast ridge. It was perfect weather, but the sky was smokey from forest fires in other western states.
We made good time to the eastern summit where we took a quick break. We didn't sit for long as there were lots of bugs.
We continued on to the west summit of Black Mountain, having some good snowball fights along the way.
We at lunch at the Raptor Overlook before heading back the same way.
Sadly, we found the remains of the horse I had found (live) on the mountain back on November 11 2009.
June 30 2013
Kim, Kessler, Shaylee, and I climbed Black Mountain after church. It was a nice escape from the summer heat and we even had a snowball fight on top.
Sadly, on the way down we found the remains of the horse I found here on November 13 2009.
July 4, 2012
After making Kimberly breakfast in bed and going to the 4th of July parade and the community BBQ we couldn’t start a climb until afternoon. Shaylee, Kessler and I decided to climb Black Mountain. The skies were cloudy and there was no thunder.
We made a quick nonstop climb of Black Mountain from the Southeast Ridge. It sprinkled very lightly for a few seconds, but other than that there was no rain. If fact, the cloud cover was actually pleasant since we were in the middle of a heat wave. The snow was completely gone, the first time I have seen it gone before August.
May 31, 2012
Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly and I decided to climb Black Mountain (via the Southeast Ridge) after I got off work. After eating dinner, we were off to the mountain. Since it was late, we hurried as quickly as possible in order to complete the 6 miles round trip before dark. There were a few snow patches and many fallen trees to contend with, but no major problems. The worst part was the mosquitoes. I didn’t think they would be out this early in the year, so didn’t bring repellent.
We found ourselves on the east summit after 1 hour 18 minutes. After a break, we made our way back down the mountain in a quick 1 hour 8 minutes. The kids are certainly getting faster and this was a good training hike. There was much less snow than is usual for this time of year.
July 9, 2011
Kimberly, Kessler, Shaylee and I climbed Black Mountain today. There were snowbanks right from near the beginning and we were on snow most of the way to the summit. We actually lost the trail near the final climb to the summit, but we scrambled up to the summit plateau and then east to the east summit.
There was quite a bit of snow on top and the kids enjoyed playing in it before we headed back down the mountain.
July 3, 2010
Kessler, my Dad and I climbed Black Mountain today. We took the Southeast Ridge Route since it is the fastest route and since we had a family activity later that afternoon that we had to be back for.
There was only a little snow on the trail, but as usual for early July there were several big snowdrifts on the summit plateau. Kessler played on the snow for a bit before we headed to the easternmost point on Black Mountain for the views. After enjoying the views and a snack we headed back down the mountain.
November 11, 2009
Today I climbed Black Mountain via the Southeast Ridge. There was more snow that I expected, but less snow than there usually is. The snow had enough bare spots that wearing snowshoes probably wouldn’t help much, but the snow was deep enough in places that they could be useful and postholing really slowed me down.
I was surprised to find a horse near the summit of the mountain. I was breaking trail up the mountain and there were no other human footprints around, so the horse must have been there for at least a few weeks. I climbed to the summit, snapped a few photos and went back to the horse. I untied its hobble, but the hobble was on long enough that the horse’s foot was sore or injured. I couldn’t get the horse to go down with me. I couldn’t get the hobble off without a knife (which I didn’t bring this time).
I hurried down the mountain to the trailhead where there was a hunting camp and some people with horses. I told them about the horse and that I didn’t have a knife and they said they would go look for it. I hope the horse is OK.
August 15, 2009
I climbed Black Mountain with a co-worker (Justin Kuhn). Kimberly, Kessler and Shaylee also joined us.
In the early morning, it was pouring like crazy with plenty of lightning and loud thunder (before 8 am) and had been doing so all night. It was clear at 9 am, so we decided to give the mountain a try, it was good weather and we made good time up the Southeast Ridge until lunch at 11:30, when it began to hail at 10,300 feet. Kessler, Shaylee and Kim decided to head back while Justin and I went over the top of Black Mountain in the clouds and fog and we never did get any views. We descended the other side and it began to snow at 10,300 feet. It snowed and rained on and off until we were at the Freeman Reservoir trailhead at 8700 feet elevation where it began to snow again. It wouldn't be record breaking, but snow at 8700 feet on a mid-August afternoon is somewhat unusual.
On the drive home, it was 48 in Craig at only 6300 feet elevation and at 4:45 pm. On the drive back we could see that the top of Black Mountain was all white. I assume the cold front was somewhere between Craig and I-70 since the radio said it was 71 at Aspen (~8000 feet), which is usually cooler in the summer than Craig.
September 27, 2008
Shaylee, Kessler, Kimberly and I decided to climb Black Mountain from Freeman Reservoir. Since Black Mountain is below timberline it was suspected the fall colors would be at peak. We were right and the colors were spectacular.
We climbed through all the colors and ate lunch near the west summit. Kessler, Shaylee and Kimberly played around near the west summit while I went on to various viewpoints on the summit plateau. It was a pretty long hike for Shaylee, but was a nice day with perfect weather.
July 20, 2008
In the morning Kessler, Shaylee and I decided that we should climb Black Mountain after church. After attending church we arrived home at 2:30 PM, at lunch and left just after 3 PM and starting the hike up the peak at 3:45 PM. We had to hurry because of the very late start and we took headlamps just in case.
We started the climb passing some illegal motorcyclists along the way that were really ripping up the trail. Unfortunately, they didn’t have license plates and it was amazing how much damage only thee motorcycles could do the trail (i.e. ripping out the rock steps).
The worst part of the climb was the mosquitoes, so we couldn’t stop long and arrived at the summit at 6:30 PM. Kessler and Shaylee had fun playing on a snowbank and sitting on the top, though there were mosquitoes even on top of the peak so we didn’t stay long. We ate a dinner of canned fruit and Captain Crunch before heading down the mountain. I carried Shaylee (almost half) much of the way, not because she needed to be carried, but so we could quickly get to the car and out of the mosquitoes which got even worse. We arrived at the car just after 8 PM and not long before sunset. It was a great hike other than the motorcyclists and mosquitoes.
September 21, 2007
After kindergarten, I picked up my son and we climbed Black Mountain after starting at 1 pm. The climb was finished in 3 hours 15 minutes round trip, not bad for 6 miles.
July 14, 2007
Climbed via Southeast Ridge. I traversed the peak to the west summit and spent some time to see if I could determine where the exact summit of the peak is. I could not. It is a very dry year, but there are still some large snowdrifts on top.
June 24, 2006
Climbed via SE ridge with four year old Kessler, two year old Shaylee, and my wife Kimberly. Shaylee was carried part way, but walked a good portion of it. Had a snowball fight on top.
August 26, 2005
Climbed via the SE ridge with my 3-year old son Kessler.
June 18, 2005
I had planned to hike the mountain with the wife and kids, but the access road was still snowbound. We hiked the Connecting Trail 1194 instead. This trail connects the two routes to the summit (we hiked only the connecting trail this time, and not to the summit), thus making a very long loop hike for those in shape who wish to hike both routes in one day (see route page).
November 9, 2004
What a difference three weeks made. The mountain was completely buried in snow with winter conditions. I summitted using snowshoes, and an ice axe via the Freeman Reservoir.
October 16, 2004
Summitted via Southeast Ridge. It was hunting season, so I wore blaze orange. No hunters were on the trail, but many were on the road on the way to the trailhead. No snow.