Boundary & Montgomery Peaks (13143' and 13441')LVMC tripH.W. Stockman |
These peaks are at the northern end of the White Mountains, near Bishop CA and Dyer NV. Boundary is the highest "mountain" in Nevada; actually, it is a local high point on the ridge extending east from Montgomery Peak in California. Boundary rises ~280' above the col between the two peaks. The route from Boundary to Montgomery requires easy class 3 scrambling; while you might be tempted to keep south of the ridge, the rock on the crest of the ridge often makes the best footing. When you finally reach the pinnacle of Montgomery, you will have to turn a bit south to avoid class 5 rock.
Our access was the eastern side, up Trail Canyon. From the post office SIGN in Dyer NV, travel N on Rte 264 for 17.4 miles. Then turn W on a very good dirt road, just before the "wye" between Rtes 264 and 773 (there is a small brown sign for "Trail Canyon" on the left side of the Rte 264, at the turnoff).
Click on any small image to see a larger picture. (Cliquez sur une petite image pour voir la grande image correspondante.) Order is essentially chronological. Even the large images are reduced in size to 20% the number of pixels in the originals. Contact me if you want the full-sized images. To save a large image under Windows, 1) click on the corresponding small image; 2) when the large image appears (fully), right-click on the image and choose "Save Picture As..." on the menu. Be sure to note where you saved the image!
GPS trace from trailhead (right side) to ridge. The northern route through Trail Canyon Saddle is the normal route. |
GPS trace of the route along the peaks. For the descent, we cut south of our approach route. Some descended approximately on the blue line; others on the more southern red line. |
Starting out near the trailhead, ~8:15 AM. Orange paintbrush and orange-and-yellow columbines (in back) line the trail. |
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The lower part of the canyon was full of pink wild roses. |
View E, with blue-purple lupines and 3 intrepids. |
Grouse. |
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View SW, ~at descent point. |
Now we start climbing in earnest. Boundary is the lump at back right. |
View ENE, back down Trail Canyon. |
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View NE, at the talus-covered ridge. |
Nick on top. Mammoth Mt is behind Nick's head.* |
Kim. |
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Panorama -- the group is on Boundary Peak, and the sharp peak at left (in the background) is Montgomery, our next destination. |
Starting to head from Boundary to Montgomery. I got called back to take photos of another hiker... |
…OK, I'm finally done with the photos, where is everybody? (There are 7 people in this picture!) |
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Descent… |
Almost at the col… |
A minor lump on the way… |
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Looking back east at Boundary… |
View NE at a rest stop. |
I walk east to look for the rest of the party, then… |
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…turn around… Where is everybody? (There are 4 people in this picture!) |
On top of Montgomery, view SW; the snow-covered mountains to the right are the Sierras of California. The leftmost peak is White Mountain, 14246'. |
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View N, standard cerebellum check for Harlan. 75% full on right side. |
Daisy, the wonder dog, with Josh (orange cap). |
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View N with people. |
Kim girds her toes. |
A precarious perch. |
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View NNE. The group is now on the N side of Montgomery. Boundary is visible in back, on the right side of photo. |
A glider (visible at top middle of photo) comes by for a strafing run. |
Glider, now below us. |
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Descent. |
Granitic veins in a darker, more mafic granitoid. |
More descent, view NE toward Boundary. |
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View back SW at Montgomery. |
After the death march traverse, Jim raises his eyes to the heavens. |
Wild horses. Our resident Classics Major warned us about these. |
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The valley had a stream lined with these, which appear to be a variety of water hemlock -- a very poisonous member of the carrot family. |
Irises were abundant. |
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Monkshood |
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Special thanks to Josh and Kim, who organized the hike, and were experts at herding cats. |
*Mammoth Mt isn't actually behind Nick's head, because that would make it difficult for him to sleep.
Want a GPS log, route or more info? Contact me at
hwstock
at alum dot mit dot edu