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Black Mountain AZ, 04/22/09

hammer

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
5,493
Points
38
Location
flatlands of Mass.
Date(s) Hiked: 04/20/09 and 04/22/09

Trails(s) Hiked: Unknown (trail to the top)

Total Distance: 2 mi, ~1300 ft

Difficulty: easy to moderate

Conditions: sunny, dry, warm at 7 AM

Special Required Equipment: plenty of water

Trip Report:

OK, so this isn't a NE trip report...not sure where else to put it.

While we were on vacation, my spouse and I went hiking up Black Mountain two mornings. The mountain was right out the door from our place in Cave Creek AZ (~25 mi north of Phoenix).

It was a good hike up to the top...one big difference with hiking in desert terrain is that you don't have to wait to get near the top to get views. We just had to make sure we got out early to beat the midday and afternoon heat. The trail was not marked in any way but the desert vegetation was thick enough so that it was pretty easy to follow the trail. You didn't want to go off trail...cacti are quite sharp and I learned the hard way that some do in fact have barbs.

Views along the way and up at the top were real nice but the downtown Phoenix area was a bit far away to see clearly.
 
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