Class 2 3.6 miles 1600 gain 2-4 hrs Out + Back Apr 11, 2020
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Black Butte GPX Track

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The main dirt road south of the Chuckwalla Mountains (Bradshaw Trail) is in good shape, except for the first few miles coming in from the west, where low clearance may have some difficulty. The turn-off coordinates to get to Black Butte are located here (33.50027, -115.38017), and this road is far less good. Fortunately, I met up with a new friend Lorenzo, and he had a car that could make it to the trailhead. My Subaru likely would have forced me to add another couple miles round trip to this hike. Lorenzo is a modest and friendly badass willing to have brutally long days, so I'm looking forward to more adventures.

We chose to park a bit before the wilderness boundary and walked the road for about 0.5 mile. This was fine since the hike was really short to begin with. We entered the wilderness area and dropped into the wash paralleling the road to the east once the road seemed to be leading in the wrong direction. We headed up the Class 2/2+ boulder-hoppy drainage leading northeast up to the Black Butte ridge slopes. There were some pleasant spots for scrambling, and one notable Class 3 dryfall that can be bypassed easily. The drainage transformed from rocky boulder-hopping to a dirt slope. A short walk up the slope led to a short summit ridge, and then to the summit. It was a sort of unmemorable peak, mostly due to its brevity. I'm sure the views were fairly nice, but fog blocked our ability to see anything.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Black Butte
4504 ft
2844 rise

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Hiking past the wilderness boundary on the dirt road.
Hiking past the wilderness boundary on the dirt road.
We left the dirt road when it curved left, heading into the drainage visible in the center.
We left the dirt road when it curved left, heading into the drainage visible in the center.
Rocky drainage ascent.
Rocky drainage ascent.
Class 2 obstacles within the drainage.
Class 2 obstacles within the drainage.
A fun Class 3 dryfall that was avoidable.
A fun Class 3 dryfall that was avoidable.
Looking back as we progress up the drainage.
Looking back as we progress up the drainage.
Class 2 fun.
Class 2 fun.
Looking back as the rocks faded away into a dirt slope.
Looking back as the rocks faded away into a dirt slope.
Continuing up the dirt slope toward the short summit ridge.
Continuing up the dirt slope toward the short summit ridge.
Image 9 from gallery
Short summit ridge leading to the summit of Black Butte, just ahead.
Short summit ridge leading to the summit of Black Butte, just ahead.
On the way back, I just got another photo of the rare desert fog, a view down the drainage we hiked up.
On the way back, I just got another photo of the rare desert fog, a view down the drainage we hiked up.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!