BOUNDARY PEAK
13,143 ft.
June 29, 2003
By Tim Briese
While on a climbing trip in California I decided to slip across the state line and climb Nevada’s highest mountain while I was in the area. I didn’t know if I would have the stamina to do it the day after my grueling fifteen hour climb of Mt. Whitney, but I wanted to make the most of my time and elected to give it a try.
I felt pretty good when I rose at 5 a.m., and leaving Brian behind at the motel, I drove north out of Lone Pine just as the rising sun began to cast its golden rays on the Sierras which towered above the valley to the west. I drove north up the Owens Valley on Highway 395 and then went over Westgard Pass into the Nevada desert. Following the excellent directions in Winger’s book Highpoint Adventures, I reached the turnoff for the Trail Canyon Road and followed it west toward my goal. The twin summits of Boundary Peak and Montgomery Peak, which anchor the northern end of the White Mountain Range, lay directly before me. Boundary Peak lies just within the Nevada border, and Montgomery Peak, which is about 300 feet higher, lies in California, while the state line runs across the saddle between them.
The dirt road went straight across the flat, barren desert for a few miles before climbing into the foothills toward the mountains. This was the most remote and desolate place I’d ever gone to climb a mountain. After driving twelve miles from the highway I turned right onto the Chiatovich Creek Road and followed it for two and a half miles up a rather verdant valley to the trailhead at the end of the road. I was shocked to see another human being in this remote place when I drove around a bend and saw two fishermen standing beside a pond. The last mile of the road was little more than a path through a rocky area but my rental car handled it quite adequately. I saw two other vehicles parked along the road where people had apparently camped.
No one else was at the trailhead when I arrived, but the register showed that two other parties were somewhere ahead of me. I quickly donned my pack and headed up the trail a few minutes before 9 a.m. The warm desert sun was blazing in the clear blue sky, and the temperature was already about 75 degrees and climbing. The guidebook said that the trailhead elevation was 9000 feet, but my GPS put it at about 8800 feet. The route went up a valley along Trail Canyon Creek, while the summit ridge of Boundary loomed about three miles ahead. It was lush and green on the floor of the valley, in contrast to the dry slopes above that were covered with little else but pale green sagebrush. The trail went along the right side of the creek initially and shortly crossed to the left side and went across sagebrush-covered slopes just above the bushy tangles along the creek.
After about a mile and a half I left the main valley and headed up a broad side valley to the left directly toward the summit. The trail continued to meander through the scratchy sagebrush up into this valley. My pace was rather slow today because I was quite tired from my 22 mile dayhike of Mt. Whitney the day before. As the trail climbed higher the footing on the sandy trail became markedly worse. It was quite annoying to feel each hard-earned footstep slide backward a few inches. All the slopes ringing the basin above appeared to be covered with steep scree, and I carefully studied them to determine the easiest route to the ridge above. I left the trail at about 10,100 feet and headed to the right up a steep slope that appeared to harbor the greatest number of large rocks amidst the scree, which I hoped would provide solid steppingstones to aid my ascent. It turned out that the rocks were somewhat helpful, but it was nevertheless a very tedious and grueling climb up through the rocks and scree. It took me about an hour and a half to climb 2000 feet up this slope, and it was quite a relief to finally reach the crest of the ridge above at 12,100 feet.
I turned to the south and hiked past a minor point and then dropped slightly to a saddle before engaging Boundary’s curving north ridge. A climber’s trail went up the right side of the ridge on loose talus and scree that provided rather poor footing. At about 12,800 feet the north ridge intersected the peak’s east ridge, and I turned to the right and climbed the last 300 yards up to the summit, once again staying to the right side of the summit ridge in order to bypass some large rock outcroppings. I met a young couple on the ridge who were descending from the summit, the first climbers I encountered today.
At 12:50 I stepped atop the summit and gazed about at the panoramic views that it afforded. Three-fourths of a mile to the southwest stood Montgomery Peak (13,460'), across the state line in California. I considered climbing it today as well, but a quick glance at its rough slopes told me that such an undertaking would require more time and energy than I cared to expend today. To the south the White Mountain Range stretched away, crowned by the summit of White Mountain (14,246'), about 20 miles away. To the west the Sierras spanned the horizon, and to the east were numerous dry volcanic ranges that rose out of the lifeless Nevada desert as far as the eye could see. In the distance to the northwest I could glimpse the eastern shore of Mono Lake. It was fun to study a new corner of the world from this lofty vantage point.
It was clear and calm, a perfectly delightful day to be on top of a mountain. The summit register showed that about two dozen people per week had visited here recently.
After about twenty minutes I decided to descend to the saddle between Boundary and Montgomery to see if a marker existed at the Nevada/California border. The saddle was only 400 yards away and 300 feet lower, but the rough terrain on the rocky ridge made this little adventure an hour-long undertaking. Finding no marker, I headed back up toward Boundary’s summit, and met four young climbers coming down the ridge who were on their way to attempt a climb of Montgomery.
At 2:20 I left the summit and began my descent. I noticed while coming down the summit ridge that it would be easy for the unwary to confuse the east ridge with the north ridge and descend into the wrong basin, a mistake of epic proportions. It took only 35 minutes to descend to the saddle on Boundary’s north ridge near where I had come up. I paused here and sat for a while to rest my legs and gaze at the scenery that stretched off into the distance a hundred miles toward the northwest. It was clear, calm, and beautiful. I soaked up the rejuvenating peace and solitude, and reflected on how wonderful it was to be here today, with all creation seemingly singing around me.
I found a scree-covered trail of sorts that descended directly down into the basin from the saddle and I proceeded down it. The scree made for a fast descent, and I dropped 1500 vertical feet in only 20 minutes. My trekking poles were most useful for this descent. A better trail needs to be built for this mountain someday, before these slopes erode into an ugly scar.
I rapidly hiked back down through the sagebrush in the valley below and then strode through the lush greenery in Trail Canyon in the warmth of the mid-afternoon. I was glad I wore long pants today because of all the scratchy vegetation that I walked through. At 4:30 I returned to the trailhead and packed up to leave. There was still not a single cloud in the deep blue sky. I estimated that I hiked about seven miles and climbed 4600 feet of elevation gain on this outing, including my little side adventure in search of the state boundary.
I took a different route back to Lone Pine for a change of scenery, and followed U.S. Highway 6 around the north end of the White Mountains, where I was afforded a nice view of Boundary Peak from the northwest. I drove into Bishop and then headed south down the Owens Valley. The lofty White Mountains towered thousands of feet above to the east and the jagged Sierras lay just to the west, which was quite an impressive sight in the golden evening sunlight. California is certainly a land of grand physical features! At 7:30 I arrived back in Lone Pine. I joined Brian for dinner and related to him the details of my climb that day, and we discussed our plans to climb Mt. Russell the next morning.
