| So many places that you need to visited while you are here in the Las Vegas area. Black Hill at Railroad Pass N35 58.788, W114 55.417 |
| Great Places To Find in the Las Vegas area |
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| The Black Hill ridgeline at Railroad Pass is a nice hike to do during the winter months. Travel out from Las Vegas on Boulder Highway toward the town of Boulder. There are a couple of turnoff prior to the reaching the pass. Starting from the northern slope you can travel about 4 miles along the ridgeline to reach the highest peak which is at 4142 feet. If you prefer not to travel the length of Black Hill to reach the tallest peak you can start your hike at N 35 58.076, W114 56.392 for approximate 2 mile hike to the highest peak. You can reach the start of the trail up the ridgeline by following the power line road. |
| From my first hiking of this area in 2002 I have seen changes to the surrounding area. Homes are creeping ever closer on the Henderson side. On the Boulder side there are several different building construction. A small mining building on the Henderson side that once was operational in 2002, now lays in ruin with a unprotected leach pit (I wonder is EPA see's this as a threat to the environment...I know I would). I hate to see the growth of Southern Nevada. Once was a wilderness is now a neighborhood. Make sure you get out to apprieciate what is available to you now, for tomorrow it might be gone. |
| View toward Black Mountain |
| Even with all of the growth, this small mountain range still one of the homes of the Big Horn sheep. Although each time I have visited I haven't seen them. Usually you can recognize their temporary home by the small oval that they have cleared of rocks when they lay down. Plus their small round dropping help to identify them. There are a few other animals that exist on the ridgeline. Possibly a mountain lion is in the area. So it is good to scan the distance for movement. I always carry a small can of pepper spray, ( hopefully if I ever need to use it the wind is not blowing in my face). |
| View along the ridgeline toward the highest peak that hidden by the clouds. |
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| The animals were scarce, but the insects were numerous. I found about 5 ticks crawling up my pant legs, (this was January, who would think you would find them out at this time of year). Looking out to the west towards Black Mountain you can enjoy the beautiful land surface created through tectonism and erosion to produce some colorful irregularities. |