Blackman Peak
Sunflowers

Trailhead elevation: 8,800 feet
Blackman Peak elevation: 10,300 feet
Elevation gain: 1,500 feet
Access: mid-June through October
Road: 2-wheel drive, rough washboard surface
Maps: Sawtooth NF, USGS Washington Peak

Features: A "walk-up" summit and great views

Blackman Peak is named for a freed slave, George Washington Blackman, an early day miner in the White Clouds. Other landmarks also bear his name: Washington Lake, Washington Basin, and Washington Peak.

Blackman Peak rises above Fourth of July Creek canyon. It can be reached via an old mining road from the Highland Surprise Mine, a few minutes from Fourth of July trailhead, or from the Fourth of July Lake - Ants Basin - Born Lakes trail.

The most direct route: follow the old mining road to Blackman Peak’s west ridge and start up. The obvious route is steep but not precipitous. Once on top, soak in views of David O. Lee Peak ("Alabaster Peak"), Fourth of July Lake and canyon, and the Sawtooth Peaks to the west. To descend: retrace the ridge route; or go east and pick up the Ants Basin Divide-Fourth of July Lake trail; or go north on a goat path toward Strawberry Basin and cross country to the old mining trail (parts of which have now been ripped up). All will lead back to your vehicle.

Cautions:: summer storms seem to center on the Blackman Peak - Ants Basin ridgeline. Use caution and avoid being caught on the peak or ridge -- remember that lightning can strike miles ahead of dark thunderheads. Also, Blackman Peak is a fragile, high elevation zone -- use existing "goat trails," rather than making new paths.