Chariot Mountain and Julian Ridge Benchmark

Hiked: 3/28/2021
Distance: 9.3 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 4680' (Chariot), Julian Ridge (4885')
Prominence: 600' (Chariot)
Elevation Gain: 2075'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.6
Round trip time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 72 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Sunrise Highway (S1)
Difficulty: Moderate

Chariot Mountain is a delisted SDC peak, but still popular with local hikers. The California Riding and Hiking Trail (CRHT) leaves from the monument as an alternating single track/dirt road through grasslands. It eventually links up with the Mason Truck Trail. It was flat for more than a mile before I reached the drop into the canyon. The trail drops about 850' before climbing up the road below Chariot. I followed the dirt road to the southeast ridge where a firebreak leads up the ridge. I followed the firebreak to the top, regaining all elevation lost dropping into the canyon. There were a couple of tiny bumps along the summit ridge. The farthest was the high point and location of the register. The oldest register was placed in 1995. The newest one only had a couple of empty pages left. It needs a new register the next time someone goes. At top, the views were nice in every direction, especially into Mason Valley. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny. I signed in and hung around for about 10 minutes before heading down. When I got back to the CRHT, I made a short side trip to the Julian Ridge Benchmark, less than half a mile away. I walked up the dirt road, then took a short use trail to the benchmark with a metal pole. I was surprised to find a register at Julian Ridge. A quick signature and I headed back. The side trip added about 30 minutes to the hike.

Start

Single track through grasslands

Firebreak

Granite from Chariot

Mason Valley

Looking back toward S1

Chariot Mountain from Julian Ridge

Black Butte

Hiked: 3/4/2021
Distance: 4 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 4504'
Prominence: 2844'
Elevation Gain: 1637'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.3
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on dirt road north of Bradshaw Trail
Difficulty: Moderate

I took a day off mid-week to tackle Black Butte (DPS #74), the high point of the Chuckwalla Mountains. It sports more than 2000' of prominence. The range is southeast of Joshua Tree and south of I-10. It is also directly north of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, a proving ground for the Navy. Driving to the start was a 22-mile dirt road excursion. The roads were in good shape and any vehicle should be able to make the drive, except the final 2 miles which require high clearance and 4x4. I followed the driving directions from the quality Summitpost page created by Adam Walker.

The primary route is a gully crawl ending just left (east) of the summit. Beware the cholla garden before reaching the gully. I'd honed my proficiency at desert gully crawls this year, and this one was standard class 2. There was one notable 40' dry fall obstacle with a bypass on the left. Black Butte appeared to be made of mostly black and dark red volcanic rock. Near the end of the gully, I angled up a steep slope more directly toward the long, flat, summit area.

The big dry fall

Summit ahead
I found three registers in the ammo box at the summit. The oldest went back to 1992 and looked kind of fragile so I didn't leaf through it. One was dedicated to the USS Cole, a destoyer that was victim of a terroist attack in 2000. I signed the newer register, where I found Adam's signature. For the return trip, I was trying to decide between the ridge east of the gully or a less steep gully farther east. I decided to take the other gully, so I drifted down the east ridge. The saddle above the gully was not visible until I crested the final drop to get there. The descent gully was not as interesting as the main one with only a couple of short dry falls. I had hoped to spot a chuckwalla and occasionally peeked into cracks between rocks, but it might have been too cold for them. Black Butte was one of the easier DPS peaks I've climbed. When I got back to the truck, I couldn't use my maps app to navigate back to I-10 so had to go on memory. It was three right turns, then a left. I got service back before the final turn and settled in for 4 hour cruise home.

View south

View north, solar farm visible

View west

View east

Descent gully