Oklahoma Hike Report

Black Mesa/State High Point

Kevin W. DaVee, Tulsa, kevindavee@cs.com

Date of hike: July 23, 2001

Trip Report

This hike was done on the “tail-end” of a car camping/hiking excursion to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and Mesa Verde, Colorado with return through Colorado and the Oklahoma Panhandle. My 12 year-old daughter accompanied me on the New Mexico/Colorado trip, but was ready to return home to Tulsa by the time we made it to the Black Mesa area on July 21, 2001 (after driving straight through from Monte Vista, CO, and then straight on to Tulsa…a long day). Despite my daughter’s anxiousness to hit the road, I scouted out the Black Mesa Trailhead (also bought her the obligatory ice cream at the Kenton Mercantile, stood in the local dinosaur tracks for photo ops, etc.)

On July 23, 2001 I decided to return to the panhandle and make the high-point hike. As is apparent from any map, the Kenton/Black Mesa area is fairly remote. You don’t end up there without meaning to. The landscape in this most northwestern corner of Oklahoma represents an abrupt change from the flat expanse of the High Plains to its east. Notably, this includes a number of lava-capped mesas and significant topographic variation related to erosional remnants of Mesozoic Rocks in the area. These are the same rocks that have yielded a number of dinosaur fossils. One of the local attractions is the “dinosaur quarry” featuring a concrete full-scale replica of a very large femur (complete with ubiquitous bullet-hole from a bored passer-by). The nearby Black Mesa State Park is actually a 15-minute drive from Black Mesa. The park’s centerpiece is the man-made Lake Carl Etling. The lake is apparently seasonally stocked with trout. I can’t report on the fishing, but I certainly can on the healthy mosquito population made possible by this lake in an otherwise semi-arid environment. The park itself is small, but developed with decent campsites and a shower house. It seems to be quite a haven for elderly RV’ers. A more interesting local attraction is the town of Kenton. Not much is left of the community other than the Mercantile, an occasionally open small museum (not visited), a few residences, a school building, and the cemetery that has a larger population than the rest of the town. Allan Griggs, a former mechanical engineer and the Kenton Mercantile proprietor is a gregarious fellow who will gladly engage you in a conversation about the local color. He is an undoubtedly optimistic fellow as he deliberately relocated to Kenton after purchasing the Mercantile and a local ranch. He is working toward establishing his own wine vintage. This would be a first for the area and I certainly wish him luck.

I left Tulsa just before 5:00 a.m. on the 23^rd. I arrived at the Kenton Mercantile at 12:30 p.m. (local time, Kenton is in the Mountain Time Zone) after driving west all morning from Tulsa. Unfortunately, this mandated a hike in the heat of the day. I don’t particularly recommend this if you can avoid it. I didn’t have enough time to wait overnight and start in the morning. Because I was hiking solo, I made a point of stopping at the Mercantile to let them know my hike plans and that I would stop back in after completing the hike. This was a good safety procedure and should be followed even if you are hiking with a partner or in a group.

I drove to the trailhead a few miles north of Kenton at the base of Black Mesa. The route is clearly marked with signs and is easy to find. The Nature Conservancy has constructed a gravel parking lot at the trailhead. There is also an informational display discussing the trail, local area, and the flora and fauna (e.g. rattlesnakes). A fence-crossing stair is in place to allow access to the trail starting point.

The trail skirts around the north side of the base of Black Mesa. Small trail signs on metal posts have been placed every few hundred meters. You can inadvertently get off the trail, but it is actually fairly hard to get lost as you can see the switchbacks on the old jeep trail that is the route to the top of the mesa. These are visible to the south of the trail as you round the mesa. The area is visually striking with significant biodiversity in evidence. This includes a number of cacti species and various reptiles such as the horned lizard (I saw two on the hike). Eventually you arrive at the base of the mesa and begin the ascent. The trail is not too steep, but can require some exertion, especially with an ambient temperature of approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The trail provides an excellent up-close view of the Mesozoic sedimentary rocks comprising the mesa. Washouts are common as are loose rocks and you should watch your footing. The top of the mesa consists of vessicular basalt that is a relatively recent geologic addition. This volcanic cap rock is much more resistant to erosion and accounts for the flat-topped, steep-sided mesas in the area. After reaching the mesa top, the trail continues to wind across the mesa eventually arriving at the high-point marker. The marker is a granite obelisk. The high point is remarkable for looking exactly like the rest of the flat mesa top. You cannot see the marker from the point where the trail reaches the mesa top, so you must continue to follow the trail and signposts. I have read reports of individuals who found locating the marker to be difficult. Honestly, the trail is fairly easy to follow and well marked.

The view from the high point allows you to see well into New Mexico and Colorado. The former state is only about a quarter mile from the marker (per the inscription). The surrounding countryside offers views of other mesas, valleys and cinder-cone volcanoes in New Mexico. These are smaller examples of the well-known Capulin Volcano in the nearby National Monument. I ate a snack, signed the book in the ammo box at the obelisk and perused other entries. It was surprising how many people visit this incredibly remote spot in Oklahoma. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in this region during late July. This particular day was no exception as weather started to blow in. I enjoyed watching lightning strikes on nearby mesas, but decided I needed to get moving as clouds started moving toward my position. Black Mesa is not a good place to be in a lightning storm as there are two objects more than three feet tall on the mesa, the high-point marker and you. As the weather blew in I decided to start trotting and bushwhacking. A bit nervous, I eventually made it back to the edge of the mesa and the trail back down. I would have liked to stay longer.

My hike back to the trailhead was uneventful and extremely hot. At this point rain would have been welcome even though I had no raingear. I don’t think hypothermia was a big risk. On the way back I sucked my 72 oz. hydration bladder dry. I had two 0.5-liter water bottles in the pack as a reserve although by now they were at the full ambient temperature and tasted like hot tap water. Even though this is a day hike, you should make a point of having plenty of water, some food, and possibly an electrolyte replacement drink or mix. If I do it again, I’ll use a 3-liter primary bladder with some reserve bottles. I arrived back at the trailhead at about 4:30 p.m. after a 3 and a half hour trip to the high-point and back. Total roundtrip distance is a little over 8 miles with a total elevation change of close to 500 feet. The high point elevation is 4973 feet MSL.

Since this hike includes a state high-point, you should go by the Kenton Mercantile both to report your safe and successful hike as well as to purchase your official “Black Mesa High-Pointer” Certificate (suitable for framing…and a lot more fun than your high school diploma).

I was able to have the whole mesa to myself. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that most people are too smart to drive hundreds of miles for a dry land day-hike in scorching heat. Nevertheless, the experience of solitude and very different Oklahoma scenery was worth it. As an Oklahoma native, I was glad to see this area on foot. Perhaps in a few years you can toast your hike’s completion with some of the local vintage courtesy of Mr. Griggs. For information on the Kenton Mercantile and links to other area information see  www.geocities.com/kenton_merc/

Kevin W. DaVee

Geologist/Environmental Engineer

Tulsa, Oklahoma