Black Mesa, Oklahoma

Elevation: 4, 973 ft. 

Summit Attained: Approximately 12 p.m., August 2008

               
After a nervous night watching tornado alerts flash up onto the motel room television screen in Boise City, Oklahoma, it was a relief to awaken to sunny skies and the prospect of another highpoint in the bag.  Hastily checking out of our motel, Dave and I then went searching for snacks and water for the hike up nearby Black Mesa.  Figuring to air on the side of overkill, we each purchased a gallon and a half of water and sports drinks and some energy snacks. Feeling ready, we hit the road in high spirits. 

Forty-some miles of driving, and more than a little cow-dodging, brought us to Black Mesa State Park.  Once in the park, however, we were unable to find anything about the location of the highpoint trailhead.  We were on a pretty tight timetable for the day, so once again, I found myself pulling out the sat phone.

Finally, acting on a particularly promising set of directions, we turned the car around and drove back the way we had come, and then another twenty minutes or so down more farm roads, until we finally passed through the “town” of ?, and saw signs for Black Mesa pointing off to the right. 

Another five miles of driving brought us to the dusty trailhead parking lot.  We each threw on a cotton t-shirt, shorts, and boots, and set off down the obvious 4-wheel drive trail that makes up the beginning of the Black Mesa hike.  The signs warned of rattlesnake activity in the area, so we used caution navigating around some of the shrubs.  After about a mile and a half, we passed an old ranch, and shortly thereafter, the trail began to climb. 

As we followed a series of switchbacks up the side of the mesa, the trail gradually became rocky.  The going was still easy, but markedly different from the first two miles, as the trail gained what seemed to be a few hundred feet of elevation in several hundred yards. 

On the second switchback, I heard a noise, and looked up to see an enormous, angry dog charging down the path right toward us.  My heart stopped.  I think Dave’s did too, but moments later, the dog’s owner rounded the bend in hot pursuit, calling off the beast just short of where we stood.  She apologized for the scare, and we all had a good laugh, but inside Dave and I were both a bit rattled.

Shortly after the dog encounter, we reached the top of the mesa, where the trail once again became flat as a board.  Dotted with small shrubs but otherwise uniformly covered in some sort of dark grass, the mesa stretched as far as we could see into the distance.  About half a mile away, a group of large black cows were grazing.  As we drew closer, they lifted their heads and watching curiously as we approached and then passed slowly by. 

We had been chugging water the whole time, but as we crossed the expansive mesa top, the heat of the day began to beat down on us with an intensity that I was not prepared for.  Soon, a tree-like object emerged out the formless distance.  The object soon revealed itself to be the highpoint obelisk, and fifteen minutes later, we had arrived at the “summit” of Black Mesa, Oklahoma. 

By now, I was feeling really strange.  A few celebratory pics were all I could manage before I was forced to seek shelter under the only large bush in the area.  I wasn’t sure if I had consumed too much water or not enough, but I definitely wanted to get out of there and head back toward the car.  Dave agreed, and we began the hike back across the mesa top, moving much more deliberately then before, with me pouring Powerade all over my hat and attached bandana whenever I felt too hot.  After what seemed like forever, we passed the inquisitive cows before reaching the part of the trail that descends from the mesa.  By the time we reached the old ranch, my strength had returned, and the remainder of the hike was spent looking for rattlesnakes and harassing the many ant colonies that dot the trail. 

After returning to the car, Dave and I took a short detour down another road a hundred yards or so from the trailhead, hoping to see some of the famed dinosaur footprints.  We couldn’t seem to find any tracks, however, and decided to begin the journey to Santa Fe.  

As a final note, upon leaving Black Mesa trailhead, we turned left and continued down the road that we had come in on.  Huge mistake!  The next fifty miles were nothing but near-abandoned dirt farm roads, frequently interrupted by what were becoming all-too-common cattle guards.  Many times, we scolded ourselves for not heading back toward Boise City on the paved roads. 

By the time we entered southern Colorado, we were worried that we would run out of gas before reaching a town.  Thankfully, the road finally turned back to pavement, and we continued on our way, but not without promising to relate our negative experience to would-be Black Mesa climbers.  Never go this way to leave Black Mesa, unless you are fond of being totally alone and out of cell phone range on gravel and dirt roads for well over an hour (that’s with GPS telling you where to go.  Good luck without it - you seriously might not make it out unless you have a full tank of gas to explore with.)