Washington County Highpoint Trip Report

Black Mtn (2,640+ ft)

Date: April 15, 2005
Author: Brennan Connelly

I followed the standard red-blazed route to the summit as per previous reports. Despite the very mild winter and spring that we've had up here, there was still quite a bit of snow and ice on the higher reaches of the trail.

From the summit, I continued to the south ridge on the yellow trail which switchbacks its way down the south ridge. Not much ice at all on the southern exposed areas. The views across Lake Jorge were quite nice since the tourist infestation has yet to begin.

After skirting 3 ponds, there is a sign for the blue trail which leads back to the red trail about 1 mile from the trailhead. The round trip was somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 miles and probably 1500 or so feet of gain and took about 2.5 hours at a leisurely pace with a 15 minute break on top. Doing the out and back would take maybe an hour at a quick clip.

Hike statistics: Approximately 7 miles round-trip and 1,500 feet of elevation gain.