Trip report
Red tape
I was informed recently by separate parties that an "Area Closed" sign has been placed at the start of the dirt road I drove in on. My understanding is that there is an active mine nearby and the washes at the base of Chocolate Top are private property. You'll need to access these peaks from either about three miles south of where I parked, or a couple miles north.
Mar 30, 2023 — The Black Mountains of Death Valley National Park are mostly known for the Artist's Palette Scenic Drive and Dante's View, but aside from the trail to Mount Perry, few hikers explore the range's crest. A few years ago we checked out Blue Mountain and Artist's Palette Peak, which ranks among my favorite desert hikes. The landscape was so colorful and unique and very rarely visited, so I wondered what the ridgeline would look like between there and Mount Perry. Finally, today I had the time to check it out. This traverse takes the grandeur and views of Mount Perry and combines it with the colors of the northern portion of the Black Mountains to form possibly a perfect combination of desert delights.
The eastern slope of this traverse is riddled with private mining property and is monitored by the Ryan camp. I found a small spur road that avoids all of this and allowed me to ascend via a nice wash. To get here, leave pavement (36.33433, -116.68909) and follow a good dirt road a short time to an Area Closed sign. I headed west through the wash, which ascended for a bit before dropping into another wash. The alluvial fans cause some weird and confusing overlapping drainages, as was the case here. I continued through this major drainage, only one Class 2+ lip over a small cliff band serving as an obstacle. I decided to climb out of the drainage just past a short section of narrows when it seemed the ridges were growing steep and escaping later would be more difficult.
Once on my chosen spur ridge/slope, I ascended on alternating flattish terrain and steep Class 2 as I made my way up toward my first summit, Peak 5488. Along the way I was already pretty overwhelmed by the colorful humps to the north. A final steep Class 2 slope brought me to the peak, where I got some pretty excellent views toward Mount Perry and down into Death Valley below.
Peak 5270 was next, reached via a steep descent followed by a steep ascent, nothing exceeding Class 2. On the way up to Peak 5270, I mostly made an ascending traverse to the right in order to avoid an extended rock outcropping. The summit was a wide lump with an excellent view toward the currently snow-capped Telescope Peak. I continued north, a very gradual slope descending to the saddle with Red and White Mountain. I wasn't prepared for how gorgeous this section of the hike would be. Impossibly steep, eroded cliffs lined the western slopes of the Black Mountains, forming an epic amphitheater-like feature. From this vantage point I could see layer upon layer of muted colors, reaching all the way from the valley floor up to the summit of Red and White Mountain. It was even better that as I was descending the ridge narrowed a bit and I had an unobstructed view toward the beauty. I took my time until it started snowing on me and the wind picked up.
At the northern base of Peak 5270, I started up to a sub-peak of Red and White Mountain, an annoying bump with steep Class 2 and some rock outcroppings I needed to take care to avoid. More amazing views from this sub-peak, and all the way over to Red and White Mountain. The cliffs were particularly stunning when looking back the way I came, as well as down toward the nearly-vertical canyons that formed the amphitheater. Red and White Mountain has a minor false summit, and then a straightforward hike up to the true high point. Red and White Mountain's summit was also pretty astounding. I could now see the colors that comprise the northern reaches of the Black Mountains, as well as down into the Artist's Palette viewing area far below.
It was a steep and significant descent of almost a thousand vertical loss from Red and White Mountain to the saddle with Chocolate Top Mountain, still not exceeding Class 2. Chocolate Top was a much tamer ascent, the view back toward the traverse continuing to be very cool. I paused on Chocolate Top Mountain's summit longer than I normally do in order to take in the views to the north, realizing I'd finished much of the Black Mountains' ridgeline and explored its magic and mystery, so I just wanted to take it in. I could see all the way to Red Cathedral and beyond into Death Valley, as well as south back toward the wildly striped Red and White Mountain.
I decided my best descent option would be to backtrack slightly and use an adjacent ridge located south of Chocolate Top Mountain. I didn't descend from Chocolate Top Mountain directly because its ridge would lead me away from my loop route, and I'd have to regain vertical to get back on track. However, the ridge I chose instead was rocky and steep, so I'm not sure which option would have been better. Regardless, Class 2 on less than ideal terrain got me to the base of my next peak, Peak 4040.
Class 2/2+ brought me up steep, loose terrain to an animal trail and ultimately the summit, where I got similar views back toward Chocolate Top Mountain, but at a much lower elevation. I was spolied enough already and just kept descending, taking the easternmost ridge from Peak 4040 on overall very pleasant terrain. The final couple hundred feet to get down to the desert floor was much more steep than anticipated, but still no more than Class 2+. In order to avoid the private property, I traversed the desert and rejoined my ascent route wash from earlier, completing my loop.