Boundary / Montgomery - TR 07/03/06

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Ranboze
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Boundary / Montgomery - TR 07/03/06

Post by Ranboze »

My friend Ben and I met up with SnowNymph and SnowDude for a gorgeous day hike of these two peaks.

We camped at Queen Canyon Saddle Sunday night where we enjoyed a wonderful sunset and Vons’ deli sammys. Morning was cloudless and brisk. The ridge north of the saddle was decorated with a nice supply of wildflowers; the 0.82 mile ascent up the ridge got the blood flowing to the muscles. There was a lot of evidence (ie, poop) of wild horses, but no ponies with flowing mane were spotted. The summit register indicates someone saw 16 horses on the ridge over Memorial Day weekend. The long traverse across the ridge is my kinda trekking… just makes a gal wanna twirl and sing, “The hills are alive”… but I didn’t want to scare off any of my hiking buddies, so I kept my tunes to myself. Trail canyon saddle, in it’s naked beauty, offered grand views east to Nevada and west to the sierras. It was time to get serious from here on out. The trail up to the [what I will call] first saddle started straight up the mountain and was easily traceable. As the incline steepened, many volunteer trails zigzagged everywhich way. Ben seemed to pick the main route and we were able to follow the ducks all the way to the first saddle. Here, we waited for SnowNymph and SnowDude to catch-up [they left 30 minutes after us, but were only about 10 minutes behind us at this point].

I was excited that we didn’t have to climb over the bump on the ridge west of the saddle. Instead, the trail contoured nicely around the hillside to [what I will call] the second saddle. At this point we were looking south at the ridge we’d have to conquer, and a large rocky bump that we would have to commit to going around either left or right. We ended up going left, around the east side which took us to a steep scree slope that we had to ascend to gain the ridge. That was a rather yucky option. On the return, we descended the west side of this rocky ridge which seemed a lot better. Once we had passed the rocky bump of the ridge, we snaked our way up and westward to the east ridge of Boundary. Again, there were lots of paths from which to choose, but they all seemed to get to the same place. A few more rocky bumps to negotiate and we were on top.

Montgomery Peak was the determined destination for SnowNymph and SnowDude, but Ben and I had our sights on Boundary, with a Montgomery option. Dang, with Montgomery looming so close it would be silly NOT to go. For a trail gal though, the traverse over to Montgomery seemed a bit intimidating and I almost didn’t go. Retroscopically, Im really glad I did! There were several rocky bumps that prompted decisions about which way to negotiate, and it seemed as if everyone has their own path. The first rocky bump descending from Boundary we went to the right, I think, then for the remaining we stayed high and to the left [south]. The clear lower paths in the dirt sure looked inviting, but had a definite slippage factor to them. SnowDude threaded us in and out of the rocky bumps all the way over to Montgomery. On our final ascent up the east face of Montgomery we hugged the rocks to our right, which seemed much more stable than the scree in the chute. An hour and a half after leaving Boundary, we summited Montgomery. I was elated. I know this peak and terrain is a piece of cake for many, but it was a good challenge for me. Being in the company of experienced and competent folks gave me comfort and confidence. The exposure wasn’t too bad and that helped a lot.

It was as near perfect of a day that one could have on Boundary/Montgomery -- A nice breeze to start, a cloudless morning sky with some nice clouds in the afternoon to add some texture and very little summit wind.

We again weaved our way back to Boundary, this time hardly following our previous steps. SnowDude took the lower route and contoured over to the ridge below Boundary. SnowNymph and I ended up going over some of the bumps, then in n out the others. As previously mentioned, we descended the west side of the Boundary's north-south ridge to the second saddle. There were numerous volunteer trails and a boulder field to cross which seemed more manageable than the scree on the east side of the ridge. Remainder of the return was unremarkable, with the first sight of the cars on the saddle giving that little extra excitement to fuel the final descent.

Trip time stats:

0638: Start
0830: Trail Canyon Saddle, 2.53 mi
0845: Leave Trail Canyon Saddle
0945: First saddle, 2.99 mi
1025: Leave saddle
1203: Boundary Peak
1320: Leave Boundary
1450: Montgomery Peak
1530: Leave Montgomery
1650: Boundary Peak
1928: Beer!

Ranboze's photos
Walking outside is where I find what's inside.
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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

It was nice meeting you and Ben! And the terracaching was a bonus! Now I see why you enjoy it. I returned my 'dead' GPS to REI, and got one like yours. I couldn't figure out how to use it so I guess I'll have to read the book retard

This was the first time climbing these peaks that I felt good! Good enough to get a bonus peak! Helps to acclimatize. smile

Still working on the photos. Got a lot of catching up to do!

The hurdling is getting to be your trademark, eh? unibrow

Whoa Nellie Deli was closed that night. We ended up getting stuffed salmon and shrimp from Vons. It was actually pretty good!
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


http://snownymph.smugmug.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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madeintahoe
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Post by madeintahoe »

Ranboze

Beautiful pictures! Thank you for posting them :) .....I hope to one day do this peak
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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

My new photos will be in the "2snownymph" webshots account from now on. I filled up the "3snownymph" account with the Meysan Canyon backpack trip.


Monday, 3 July 2006
Trail Canyon Peak and Boundary Peak (NV) and Montgomery Peak (CA) dayclimb

Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/552180608koIsFd


SnowDude wanted to do these peaks because we see them everytime we snowboard at Mammoth Mountain.

Snow Nymph, SnowDude, Ranboze and Ben met at Queen Mine Saddle (9,200') for a dayclimb of Boundary Peak (13,140') and Montgomery Peak (13,440'). I felt so good I also climbed Trail Canyon Peak (11,325') on the way. The CA/NV border is the saddle separating the two peaks.
This was a fun trip, and the best I've felt on Boundary!
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


http://snownymph.smugmug.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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