Black Mesa, OK, US Highpoint #29, 27 May 2006.

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Black Mesa, Oklahoma, lies at 4,975 feet MSL and is ranked #23 in elevation among US Highpoints. Black Mesa is one of the highpoints along with CT, MD, AND NV whose feature continues higher in the adjacent state. In this, Black Mesa rises higher into neighboring Colorado. One of my favorite places on this drive from Denver was my visit to Capulin Volcano National Monument.

Topo map showing how massive Black Mesa is. The OK highpoint is just inside the state line boundary at center right (where the color changes from green to brown)

This was a trip that reminded me that I do not like the desert. You’ll soon see why!

Black Mesa as seen from a distance.
The rock formations in this part of the country are gorgeous!
Trailhead to Black Mesa, Oklahoma.
The desert cactus in bloom is beautiful, but a harbinger of what was to come!
Once on top of the mesa, it is bone flat. See the summit in the distance? It’s right there in the center! (The obelisk is just visible)
#29! Teewinot’s tongue had never been longer!
Black Mesa Oklahoma summit benchmark
The summit trail leads one on a circuitous route seen in red at center left. The trailhead is just around the corner at center right. I thought I would be smart in this head and cut straight down this gully, which proved incredibly foolhardy due to the cactus everywhere. I think this is where Teewinot got stabbed on the back with some spines, unbeknownst to me until a couple weeks later when I was on a business trip and he basically pulled open a festering wound! Yikes bikes! F the desert!!
When standing next to the car, I swung my hand around and into – you guessed it – a cactus bush. Holy crap, I had to use my Leatherman to pull those spines out (with my non-dominant hand nonetheless) due to the barbs. Little did I know at the time how dangerous this place was to Tee-bone!
Teewinot was so hot that I pulled over and let him jump in the first water I saw – and in hindsight this pool was pretty nasty. I think this is where he got dirty water into the cactus prick wounds on his back. He would be relegated to surgery and the cone of shame less than two weeks after this.

LIFE LESSON: NO SHORT CUTS IN THE DESERT!!!!

From here I would head to Timms Hill Wisconsin the following month on a work trip.

3 thoughts on “Black Mesa, OK, US Highpoint #29, 27 May 2006.”

  1. Pingback: Capulin Volcano National Monument – Upper Left Adventure
  2. Pingback: Mount Sunflower, KS, US Highpoint #28, 20 October 2004 – Upper Left Adventure

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