Hike to Black Butte, 1374 m (2021.04.11)
During my frequent entomlogical trips to Algodones Dunes, my attention was always drawn by picturesque chocolate-colored mountains on the left side of the road at Salton Sea. Researching I found out that these mountains appropriately called Chocolate Mountains with Black Butte as its highest point (1374 m). However, on Caltopo maps, they named Chuckwalla Mountains, and if I am not totally confused, the latter consist a part of Chocolate Mountains and this one in turn consist a part of Peninsular Southern California Ranges. Chocolate Mountains are very interesting from a geological point of view. It is not accidentally, they were chosen as a place to train astronauts before landing on the Moon. There is also Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range in this area. Knowing these facts, it was difficult for me to resist the temptation to hike on Black Butte mountain which I did on April 11, 2021.
The hike itself is not as difficult as to get to the trailhead. To get to the trailhead you have to drive about 25 km on unpaved roads. Although the road is not as hard, my Honda CR-V was scratched few times with the rocks on the road. After the long dirt road drive, I was rewarded with a feeling of total isolation knowing that nobody would be seen in the radius of 30 km :)
On the road, there were some signs alerting that it may be dangerous here due to proximity of the Aerial Gunnery. I thought the signs are just to discourage potential visitors. But as soon as I got out of my car at the trailhead, I found this bullet.
Of course, I wasn't demoralized with a rusted bullet despite its formidable size and I started my hike
Ecology-wise, this part is desert and plants are mostly xerophilic as the picture below attests.
As an intrepid botanologger (a fancy synonym of the word botanist) I started to take pictures of plants.
Below is Echinocereus triglochidiatus mojavensis.
This one is Ferocactus cylindraceus. Genus' name comes from the Latin word "ferox", meaning "fierce" and the Greek word "kaktos", meaning "thistle".
Nonetheless, the fiercest cacti here are Chollas (Cylindropuntia sp.), that aim to cling to your skin if you are not sufficiently maneuver between them. I didn't take pictures of them - revenge for my cuts. Oops, just noticed that they managed to appear on the second photo from the top.
I already mentioned that the hike itself is not difficult. Only the last mile of the hike requires some scrambling. But if I was not scared by the bullets and chollas, then definitely I wouldn't be afraid by a few rocks :)
Long story short, after two hours of hiking I was on the summit. The view of the summit.
This is me on the summit in propria persona.
This is the summit box.
Was intriguing to open and read some old accounts.
Because of the clouds, no great vistas were observed. The only shareworthy picture presented below. It conveys the chocolate color of Chocolate Mountains (pun not intended!) pretty well. Also, you can see Salton Sea in the distance.
Some technical details of the track. The trailhead is located at the altitude of 775 m, summit - 1374 m, vertical gain - 640 m, total distance is 13.3 km, the round hike took me 4 hr and 15 min.
At the end I would like to share a video made by Relive that shows my path.
That's it. Thank you for your attention!
The hike itself is not as difficult as to get to the trailhead. To get to the trailhead you have to drive about 25 km on unpaved roads. Although the road is not as hard, my Honda CR-V was scratched few times with the rocks on the road. After the long dirt road drive, I was rewarded with a feeling of total isolation knowing that nobody would be seen in the radius of 30 km :)
On the road, there were some signs alerting that it may be dangerous here due to proximity of the Aerial Gunnery. I thought the signs are just to discourage potential visitors. But as soon as I got out of my car at the trailhead, I found this bullet.
Of course, I wasn't demoralized with a rusted bullet despite its formidable size and I started my hike
Ecology-wise, this part is desert and plants are mostly xerophilic as the picture below attests.
As an intrepid botanologger (a fancy synonym of the word botanist) I started to take pictures of plants.
Below is Echinocereus triglochidiatus mojavensis.
This one is Ferocactus cylindraceus. Genus' name comes from the Latin word "ferox", meaning "fierce" and the Greek word "kaktos", meaning "thistle".
Nonetheless, the fiercest cacti here are Chollas (Cylindropuntia sp.), that aim to cling to your skin if you are not sufficiently maneuver between them. I didn't take pictures of them - revenge for my cuts. Oops, just noticed that they managed to appear on the second photo from the top.
I already mentioned that the hike itself is not difficult. Only the last mile of the hike requires some scrambling. But if I was not scared by the bullets and chollas, then definitely I wouldn't be afraid by a few rocks :)
Long story short, after two hours of hiking I was on the summit. The view of the summit.
This is me on the summit in propria persona.
This is the summit box.
Was intriguing to open and read some old accounts.
Because of the clouds, no great vistas were observed. The only shareworthy picture presented below. It conveys the chocolate color of Chocolate Mountains (pun not intended!) pretty well. Also, you can see Salton Sea in the distance.
Some technical details of the track. The trailhead is located at the altitude of 775 m, summit - 1374 m, vertical gain - 640 m, total distance is 13.3 km, the round hike took me 4 hr and 15 min.
At the end I would like to share a video made by Relive that shows my path.
Click to viewThat's it. Thank you for your attention!