It was forecast to be a cool day, so I decided to take advantage of it and do some desert peaks. First up was Black Butte. This peak is east of Palmdale, just south of Palmdale Blvd. Drive until you get to 235 St East, and go south. This road is dirt, but any car could drive it. At the south end of the butte there are some trails that a high clearance car can take to get closer, or just park and walk.
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| Base of Black Butte. |
Since the rental company had given me a jeep, I drove to the base. It appears the area is used for shooting, but no one was there when I arrived. There is an easy to see path that leads up the hill. I took the path since it seemed like the easiest option.
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| Path up the butte. |
As you'd expect from looking at the mountain, the path up is steep and in some places, slippery with loose rocks and sand. Overall, it wasn't as bad a hike as I was expecting. After you get to the first plateau, the route gets much less steep. The road up fades out on the last climb, but there is a parallel one you can use, or just bushwhack. The creosote has large roots to keep other plants from getting too close, so off trail travel is easy.
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| Setup on the summit. |
On the top I put on a windbreaker to cut down the breeze a bit, and put up my antenna. There are enough bushes to make it easy to support a pole. There was great cell service, so no issue spotting. It was cool and breezy, but I stayed warmer than I expected. Once I was done operating, I packed up and retraced my steps back to the car, where I drove back towards Palmdale to get Lovejoy Buttes.
Trailhead: 235 St East, at the south end of the butte.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow one of the use trails to the base, then the trail up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.
Video: ham_bitious YouTube
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