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| Hiking the Game Trail Ridge - Black Mountain Peak BC in Background |
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| Arch near Black Mountain Peak BC |
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| A Very Handsome Bighorn |
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| Starting out from the Culvert Trail |
The Fearsome Foursome were in Boulder City for a climb to Black Mountain Peak (BC). Not to be mistaken for Black Mountain (Henderson), Black Mountain Peak (BC) is situated in the River Mountains Range between River Mountain and Black Mountain Overlook Peak. Neither Mike nor I have visited this peak since 2017. It was about time to remind ourselves of its beauty, challenges and peculiarities. The hike, as it was introduced to us by Chuck H. is just over 7 miles. Today, however, we were able to shorten this to just over 6 miles. It was a slightly more challenging hike with the shorter route but it hit all the significant beauty of the area.
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| Connecting with the River Mountains Trail |
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| Wash Climb to Red & Black Saddle |
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| View back at Wash Climb |
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| Trail to Black Mountain Overlook Peak |
We started from the River Mountains Trailhead on SR 93 (Business) and began by hiking up along the culvert. This is a shorter route than the standard River Mountains Trail which we would take on our way down. We joined the official trail at the end of the culvert and hiked up into the wide canyon between Red & Black Mountains. For the purpose of shortening the hike, we climbed the wash to the Red & Black Saddle instead of taking the official trail of switchbacks that we later took for our descent. The wash is quite a workout so we took a short rest on the saddle before we turned up to the right and headed to Black Mountain Overlook Peak. It was a Saturday but the trail was very quiet at 10am! We reached the overlook as we have so many times before and barely took a moment to rest and enjoy the view. We were anxious to start down and hike out the game trail ridge that begins behind the far overlook sign. The trail is not easy footing but how many bighorns do you know that need easy footing! We followed along the ridge in an undulating way until we reached the base of Black Mountain.
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| Lake Mead from Trail to Overlook |
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| Game Trail Ridge |
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| A "No Oops Zone" |
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| Lake Mead from Black Mountain Peak Summit |
There are a couple of "No Oops Zones" in this area then the trail begins its final climb up to the peak. The trail is not in great shape but after we reached the summit and read the log book, we realized that there have, indeed, been only a few hikers that have surmounted the small peak in the last few years. The book didn't go back too many years so we didn't find our names. We took our break and photos then prepared for the descent which began from the nearby trailing ridge with a large alcove that previously held a geocache. We reached the top of the trailing ridge and began a very slow drop down a steep slope. There is life saving bedrock to help you down this slope but it is still treacherous. Finally, we were at the bottom and into the less steep descent wash. A trail led us down the brushy/rocky part of the wash until it narrowed and turned into a scramble. Carefully, we dropped down the scrambles and came to the old campsite. It is no longer being used so, now, it just appears as a junk pile. Right after the scrambles here, we found a trail that turned to the left and led us over to the next canyon where the large arch resides.
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| Fearsome Foursome on Black Mountain Peak BC |
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| The Steep Descent off of Peak |
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| Wash Descent |
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| Arch located in boulder Ahead |
A short visit to the arch for photos and we finished scrambling down through the canyon to the floor of the valley. Quickly, we found the Bootleg Canyon Outer Caldera Bike Trail and turned left. A biker had only just pedaled by. We followed the bike trail around the top of the wide valley and came to the exit wash. The shortest way to connect the Outer Caldera Trail and the Red & Black Saddle is to scramble up through a rocky wash to reach the bike trail above and hike on up to the saddle. That's what we did then took a rest on some wooden barrier poles. Thankfully, it was time to make our descent to the trailhead! We headed down the switchbacks happily resting our legs at a pretty good clip.
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| A little more Scrambling |
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| Fearsome Foursome resting at Red & Black Saddle on Short Wooden Barrier Poles |
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| Switchbacks of River Mountains Trail |
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| "Oh, hi there!" (smaller one) |
Suddenly, we heard something somewhere clamoring down the wash just below us. There he was, a male bighorn, who stopped and turned back to face us. It was like he said, "Oh, hi there!" We were taking photos and suddenly noticed another, much larger bighorn right below us. Boy, was he a beauty! We took a lot of photos of the two then went on our way. We followed the River Mountains Trail all the way back to the car. What a great day hike! Good weather! Nice clear views! A long missed summit! And, two beautiful bighorns! For what more could you ask!
Stats: 6.3 miles; 1750' gain; 4.75 hours
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| "I'm eating here." (larger one) |
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| "Still eating." (Big Beautiful Horns) |
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| Both Bighorns deciding to Leave - "Have a nice day!" |
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