On Top of Nevada

One of my goals for this summer was to hike up Boundary Peak. At 13,140 feet (4005 m), Boundary is the highest point in Nevada. This past weekend, Ken & I finally managed to get our eggs for this particular basket grouped and we drove down to the Trail Canyon trailhead on Friday night.

We left Friday afternoon around 4pm after Ken got off from work. We took 395 south to the Holbrook Junction (past Minden and Gardnerville but before Topaz Lake) where we turned off and followed 208 to 829 which took us to 338 just east of Wellington. From here we followed the road through the Sweetwaters and hooked back onto 395 just outside of Bridgeport. I prefer this route as opposed to following 395 south the whole way. 338 cuts across the southern end of Smith Valley, through the scenic Sweetwaters, and along Bridgeport Resevoir. Aside from the stunning scenery, this route also has a lot less traffic than 395 although sometimes we do drive 395 so that we can hit Walker Burger.

About 5 miles south of Lee Vining, we left 395 and started driving east on 120 towards Benton. The road between Lee Vining and Benton had several tummy-dropping roller coaster moments but was rather fun to drive. From Benton, we took a left onto 6, the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. After about ½ hour, we took a right on 264 towards Fishlake, and after another 5 minutes, went right on the dirt road marked for Trail Canyon. By this time it was dark, so we took the dirt road rather slowly and arrived at the trailhead at 11 pm, nearly an hour later.

By this time, I was tired, my back was sore, and I was ready for bed. We unloaded the 4Runner, blew up our sleeping pads, unfurled the sleeping bags, crawled in the back, and crashed.

Originally, we were planning on doing the hike with another couple Ken knows from work. By the time we arrived, they had been sleeping for 2-3 hours and were planning to start hiking by 7 am. Had we arrived 2-3 hours earlier, I would have been amenable to this. However, I need 8 hours of sleep and by the time I woke up, they had already left. It was already 8:30 am by the time Ken and I got going.

And got going we did. The trailhead is at about 8850 feet, and the trip to the summit is about 4 miles. That meant we had nearly 4300 feet to climb. That’s a strenuously steep climb, but we had all day to do it and neither one of us had a set time goal in mind. Ken signed us in at the register and off we went.

Ken signing our names into the logbook at the trailhead

Into the Boundary Peak Wilderness we go!

There is a use trail to the top of Boundary (a use trail is a trail that wasn’t built by any one person or organization, but is a trail made from people and/or horses walking the same path). We started following it, but when it began steering us towards the left Ken said, “I think we are supposed to go up over that saddle over there and not this one.” We looked at the map and shrugged, realizing that either route we took would lead us to the same place. We continued on the use trail and things became really steep really quickly. Before we knew it we were having to scramble up and over large loose rocks and wade through ankle-deep sand. It seemed like for each 5 steps we took, we sank back 3. It was slow, it was frustrating, and it was hot. But we continued over the talus and finally made it up to the ridge line where the ground was solid.

The steep side we should have avoided

Ugh. This doesn't look nearly as steep as it was.

Ken & Skeena forging their own trail.

I can't resist flower pictures.

We sat for a while then continued on. The rest of the way to the top was fairly straightforward. We found the use trail we should have been following, which took us over large steady rocks and on up to the summit. We were nearly at the top when we ran into Allen and Monica, the couple who left before I woke up. They were coming back from Montgomery Peak (the adjacent peak to Boundary). Coming up, they had gone over to the next saddle instead of trying to forge their own path up the mountain side like Ken and I had done. We figure that had we gone the ‘right’ way, we could have shaved about 90 minutes off our ascent time.

Once at the top, we marveled at the fantastic and sweeping views. Considering the strenuousness and mild remoteness of the hike, I was surprised at the number of people at the top: 14. A few had started the hike from Queen Canyon, which knocked about 400 feet from the elevation gain.

The three of us at the top.

Part of the crowd at the summit.

Super Hiking Skeena.

Skeena views a critter way far down.

The walk back to the trailhead was pretty uneventful. We followed the trail around to where we should have followed it up. By the time we got back down, it was nearly 5 pm. After our post-hiking beer, we ate the rest of our burritos we had bought in Gardnerville the night before and headed out to our next hiking destination: White Mountain Peak.

Ken begins his descent.

More flower pictures I took while lying belly-down on the ground.

This is the way we should have hiked up.

Boundary Peak is in the northern tip of the White Mountains and White Mountain Peak is in the middle of the range. To access it, we followed 264 south through Fish Lake Valley and back into California. We took a right onto 168 and went over Westgard Pass and turned right onto 4S01 which took us into the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. My guess is that from where we turned onto 4S01 to the trailhead is about 35 miles. However, after an hour of washboard roads and quickly approaching darkness, Ken and I found a place to stop and camp.



In the morning, after we ate, we continued our drive towards the trailhead, which took us about 45 minutes to reach. The hike starts out pretty high at 11,680 feet (3560 m). The summit of White Mountain Peak is 14,252 feet (4344 m). The entire gain of the trip is 3365 feet (there’s some up and down getting there and back).

Driving to the White Mountain Peak trailhead.

Considering the elevation gain is 3365 feet over 7.5 miles all on a road, I wouldn’t have thought it was going to be such a strenuous hike. However, I underestimated the effect of hiking at such an altitude. It took us about 4 ½ hours to ascend to the summit and 3 hours to come down. By the time we arrived back at the 4Runner, Skeena was a broken puppy. I fed her 1 ½ cups of food (usually she gets 1 cup per day and we had given her a cup up at the top and doggie snacks along the way) and gave her as much water as she could drink. By the time we got into Bishop (2 hours later) and stopped to let her out to pee, she could barely stand up.

Our hiking destination: White Mountain Peak.

Ken at the top.

Me at the top.

Ken sleeping at the top.

It's hard to tell, but if you look closely you'll see butterflies on the flowers.

Butterfly on the flower.

An observatory we passed on the way up (and down).

As soon as we arrived home (just after midnight), I carried Skeena into the house and fed her doggie ibuprofen (which, in a moment of sheer forgetfulness, I had forgotten to bring). After sleeping all day Monday and Tuesday, she’s finally nearly back to her old self. This coming Monday Ken and I are going to start a 6-day hike in the John Muir Wilderness Area around Humphrey’s Basin outside of Bishop. Skeena is coming, of course, but I think we may need to leash her the first day or two so she doesn’t spend all her time running around chasing squirrels and lizards, which is, in part, what causes her to get so tuckered out.