How convenient that I live 12 miles from the summit of Nevada’s highest peak, Boundary and the start of a hike along the crest of the White Mountains? 😜 Naturally I’m going to put on a backpack and hike the thing!
I started out a few miles north of Montgomery Pass at noon. Montgomery Pass, a high point on highway 6 northeast of Benton, is home of the old ghost town of Mount Montgomery. You’d have a hard time believing it based on the state of the “town” today, but it used to be a bustling little spot with a post office, a casino, a hotel and restaurant, cabins for rent, and a brothel.
I’ve enjoyed living a few miles down a dirt road outside the area ‘cuz it doesn’t get any quieter or private than living outside a literal ghost town. The first 2.5 miles of my hike are literally down my “driveway.”
My walk into the mountains is periodically stalled by finds like this:
On the South side of Highway 6, the pinyon pines are doing a little better than they are on my side, which cheers me up. In fact, the higher I climb, the healthier and healthier they are (of course, they get more water from snow). I follow forest road FR 2N19 up and just delight in the health of the piñons. Like – I’m feeling downright joyful about the size and bulk and color of these trees! (To understand my delight, read about the hell I’ve gone through with the dying pinyons on my property to the north.)
This is not the typical Queens Canyon approach. I’m heading up past Sugarloaf and Mustang from Montgomery Pass, and in doing so will scoop up a thoroughly “clean” and total traverse of the White Range. Oh, la la! If you have this option to ascend/descend via 2N19 and not Queen, I highly recommend you take it. It’s unlikely anything will happen to your vehicle if you leave it at the pass, and you will not be disappointed by the views. That said, there’s not really any reliable water on the route, so like me, you’ll be carrying a lot.
Once upon Mustang Mountain, it’s a bit of a bushwack over to the parking lot where most people start their Boundary Peak summits. This will be my third summit I think, but first: I’m going to sleep at the saddle below Kennedy Point.
Day 2 (June 12th): Boundary, Montgomery & the Jumpoff
It’s 6:50am, we’re at about 10,000′ elevation. This is a BIG day of climbing, so let’s get right to business!
Here’s a nice view of the ridge walk and of Trail Canyon Saddle just beyond the Trail Canyon Peak at right. The saddle is where some people give up and wait for their friends to make the summit and return. It’s also where another approach route (Trail Canyon) links in from the north. If you want to bag boundary, the only option is to go STRAIGHT UP at this point. There is nice (threaded) trail up through the buff-colored rocks all the way to the top.
Closer to the summit there is a knife’s edge ridge that some people try to traverse on the West side. That’s wrong and just a talus scramble – check the East side for your trail. That’s my best Boundary tip.
You might not believe this but I didn’t take any photos of my Boundary summit, I guess ‘cuz I’ve been up there a few times. But here is a photograph looking north of Boundary toward Montgomery: my next objective.
There is decent trail between the two peaks, but there is a litle class 3+ involved in the final approach on Montgomery. What I love about this saddle is it is crossed by the Nevada\California border. Montgomery is actually a taller mountain, but Nevada wanted something special, so it got Boundary. Isn’t sharing cool? Anyway, looking back at Boundary Peak from Montgomery, it’s obvious who is boss:
Getting Up The Jumpoff
Now, navigating and hiking The Jumpoff is a challenge for most people, myself definitely not excluded. This is a hard climb, and I’ve heard it’s also a really tricky descent.
There isn’t obvious trail — you just go up it. A few labored steps at a time. This took me a while to summit, and was the most difficult part of my day, especially since it had gotten warm. Actually, I got really lucky with weather for this hike. Two groups of friends attempted the traverse within two weeks of my attempt and both were run off the mountain by weather. One group had to descend all the way down from The Jumpoff because of storms – ouch. A month after my summit, a guy went up Boundary and got lost after a storm and a helicopter crashed while trying to rescue him. So I won’t complain, but it is still amazing how warm it can get at 11,000′ above the Owens Valley.
Finally, at 2:30pm, I reach the top of The Jumpoff. Phew. It is a big open wide and flat area for the most part, and I was happy to find standing water and snow. Up here I also sort of encountered another human. Something strange and sort of cool happened though: we waved at one another and kept hiking. That was it. This was so ultimate in my book. No need to shoot the shit, and we’re both comfortable enough with our hike and being alone that there’s no need to beg company. I was stoked about that less-than-close encounter. Thanks dude, whoever you are, for letting me have my space. I hope your hike was great!
I spent four more hours poking around, exploring these gorgeous alpine meadows and the spectacular views. This kind of scenery is almost too much to bear!
I bedded down nearly half way between Boundary and White Mountain, my objective for tomorrow.
…to be continued.
