Black Mountain from the North
Black Mountain (Little Black Mountain)
Elevation: 1,554′
Miles: 4
Trail head (Hilltop Community Park)
Agency: Black Mountain Open Space Park
I got up early and summited Black Mountain this morning. It was so foggy that I almost took the wrong trail a couple of times. Even about 1/4 of a mile away from the peak, I still couldn’t see it.
Just when you think the trail is steep, it gets steeper. There wasn’t much view from the top, except a nice purple flower blooming.
Update:
I’ve been up this mountain so many times, that I have lost count. My favorite is to drive to Hilltop Community Park and head up with a headlamp just before dawn and watch the sun rise over Iron Mountain and The Cuyamacas from the summit. It is a great sight to see and a complete reward for gaining ~900′ in two miles. I then jog the whole way down, taking it easy in the really rocky sections. I’ve seen some other regulars making their way up just as I am almost back to my car at Hilltop Community Park
Purple flower on Black Mountain Peak
Update 01/01/2010:
New picture from the peak:
A better image from the top.
Update Jan 2011:
Panoramic View from Black Mountain
Update 06/17/2011:
I have ascended this mountain from several different directions, since I can see it from my home office and use it for training. As a matter of fact, I am looking at it right now. My favorite route is indicated on the map below, due to the easy parking and the even 4 miles round trip with about 900′ of gain/loss.
Black Mountain Trail Map (Click to Enlarge)
Update 06/25/2011: Another panoramic photo of Black Mountain.
Black Mountain panorama to the east
Awesome shot of the flower, beautiful colors and focus. Nice work.
Thanks for the kind words. It was taken through a chain link fence on a cloudy day. You can see the diamond-shaped blur around the flower. Any idea what it is called?.
Beautiful photo. As fine as anything done with a film camera.
Thanks! It was such a foggy day, it was nice to see some color up there, since I only had a view of the clouds!
The plant looks to be a type of thistle. Great photo!
nice photo, but i must say it does not do the mountain justice. i grew up in san diego but have never been up Black Mountain until two days ago. it had AMAZING VIEWS. granted, it was an exceptionally clear day, but you could see from Tijuana and the Coronado Islands clear to Catalina Island. we took the trail from the north side and i highly recommend it =)
You are correct. It doesn’t do it justice.
I have other pictures from this peak, too. I will add one to this page that I took on new years day of 2010. It is my local peak that I summit over and over again. I was actually thinking about doing it this morning, but opted to sleep instead.
Did this hike Saturday morning and what a beautiful hike it is. Got some fantastic pictures of the neighboring mountain’s peaks poking through the fog. There was a nice trail for me to follow too and no rattle snakes!
Thanks 100Peaks!!!
8/100
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the info. I’m going to hike up here – for the first time – to view comet Pan-STARRS this evening.
Very nice, were you able to see it?