Photo Courtesy of Jack P. and Elizabeth D. Hailman 

DRIVING ROUTE. (1) From Boise City in the extreme western panhandle of Oklahoma take state route 325. The road goes straight west for about 18 miles, at which point it makes a right-angle turn and heads straight north, passing the entrance road to Black Mesa State Park on the left. After about 10 miles of northward travel the road makes a right-angle turn to the left and heads west again for another 8 miles to the turnoff, just before the community of Kenton. (2) Turn right (north) on the paved road at the sign to "Black Mesa summit 3 miles," which is a lie because the trailhead is actually 5.0 miles up the road. The road heads directly toward the Mesa, then curves around its eastern end. (3) Turn left (west) into the gravel parking lot for Black Mesa Nature Preserve (sign), where the trail begins. 

NOTE ON REROUTING. The most direct route to the summit--the one we had planned to follow and which formerly most hikers used--began on the south side of the Mesa and crossed private lands to ascend the steep slope and then proceeded westward on the top of the Mesa. The Nature Conservancy purchased extensive lands on the north side of the Mesa and opened the new, rather longer route to the summit in 1992. 

HIKING NOTES. It was a cloudy, warm (but not oppressively hot) day in late July when Liz and I set out on the old jeep road that follows a meandering course westward along the north side of the Mesa. In less than an hour's walk with pauses to enjoy the wildflowers, butterflies and occasional birds, we reached the foot of the Mesa, where the former jeep trail ascends nearly 500 feet on a series of switchbacks. 

It was another half-hour's walk southwesterly along the top of the flat Mesa to the granite monument marking the highest point. We found a horned "toad" (lizard) along the way, and stopped to chat with Doug and Karen Pirnie of Frankfort, N.Y., who were returning from the monument. Over the years, Liz and I had hiked about half the states' high points using topo maps and little other information. The Pirnies told us of a club, The Highpointers, and two books on high points. These good people had been on 40-some summits, with several difficult ones ahead of them on their current trip. Liz and I ate lunch at the monument, enjoying the red-tailed hawks soaring in circles overhead and the view west into New Mexico, with volcanic mountains looming on the horizon. 

On the return, we left the jeep road after descending, and walked cross-country along the northern base of the Mesa, where we flushed a blacktail jackrabbit and several species of birds. As we arrived back at the parking area, Doug and Karen Pirnie drove in. They had stopped in the general store in Kenton for refreshments, found Paul L. Zumwalt's book Fifty State Summits for sale, bought a copy and drove back to give it to us. Many years ago, I met a man on the trail to Mount Mansfield in Vermont who observed "The higher you go, the nicer the people." The Pirnies symbolize that thought.