BLACK MOUNTAIN
In the rugged El Paso Wilderness a twin peaked mountain rises to an elevation of 5,244 feet over the Western Mojave desert of Kern County, California. Black Mountain, an extinct volcano, stands as an ancient sentinel of forgotten ancient civilizations. Many believe it is the fabled homeland of the Aztecs...Aztlan. Centuries ago Spanish Conquistadors marked this mountain with their treasure symbols, finding and burying the treasures of the Ancients. Treasure hunters have searched the Mountain for its hidden treasures. A few have paid with their lives climbing these basaltic stones. Archaeologists have barely turned over a stone here.
The dark volcanic mesas and reddish buttes are cut by narrow canyons which beckon the explorer. Here you can find the Canyon of the Three Crosses, the Wolf's Head, the towering Thunderbird, the Circle of Shadows, the All-Seeing Eye, the Sacred Terraced Valley, the Twin Gods, the Celestial Sun Gate, the Shadow of the Priest, Megalithic Monuments, Tombs of the Ancients, the Seven Chairs(now eight), and so much more.
The stories of the Ancients still gather a mocking laugh from the fields of Archaeology and Anthropology, but Black Mountain stands silent for those who have not the eyes to see or the ears to hear the Mountain's truth. That makes Darrell Lane's book doubly interesting. For over thirty years the author has searched, photographed, and made discoveries of extreme value all over Black Mountain. He has made hundreds of trips up and down the rugged canyons piecing together the carved clues of the Ancients, all the while observing the Spanish influence in the canyons.
Darrell Lane has provided the opportunity for every man, woman, and child to explore the ancient paths and feel the power of the Mountain. Regulated in isolationism by our bureaucratic government, Black Mountain is shrouded in mystery and neglected by the acclaimed experts in the fields of Archaeology and Anthropology who like to chase their tails over the schools of Diffusionism and Isolationism. Yet, here is a man who has "recognized the Mountain as being a sacred domain, a giant library of ancient records, unequaled in the Western Hemisphere."
Darrell Lane has no degree, no axe to grind. His vision of the Mountain is untainted by scholarly bifocals. His truth is revealed through numerous Indian legends, stories from prospectors and miners, and his own interpretation of what lies at his feet. His references are scholarly and annotations are many but he remains as he is...a prospector looking for a mystery in the rock. Darrell Lane said it best, "The treasure of the Mountain is more than gold and silver. The real treasure is the history written in America's literature, written in the stars and the sky, written in the rocks and dirt of mother earth, written in the shadows of the day and night; megalithic monuments carved, constructed, and engineered in stone for all mankind to see and understand."
So who were these people, these Ancient Ones? How did their cultures and sciences evolve?
What of their origins and migrations? We will always have more questions than answers. To those who question and doubt I offer you a challenge. Come to Black Mountain. Sit in one of the Eight Chairs cut form basaltic stone and gaze upwards at the Seven Sisters, Pleiades. Walk out of the mouth of the Giant Serpent on the Summer Solstice and your eyes will see into the past, the visions of the Ancient Ones will fall upon your mind, and your heart will know a little truth.
Finally, a thank you to Darrell. He's a generous man. I have found him to be genuine and forth right in every question asked of him. He is a man of many stories and secrets that yearn for a good campfire. I've been lucky enough to have sat around a few fires with Darrell Lane and count him as a good friend.
Craig Collett
