Boundary Peak

Surviving the Scree on Queen Mine Trail

My daughter and I just completed an early September ascent of Boundary Peak via the Queen Mine Trail.  Were this not a state highpoint (my 33rd), we surely would not have bothered.  It's not that Boundary Peak is an unimpressive or nondescript mountain, as some of the write-ups suggest.  On the contrary, when viewed from the valley floor (from which it rises 7000 feet) it is a rugged, imposing, and picturesque massif.  The views from the mountain itself, which include California's Sierras to the west and the desert floor on both sides below, are equally impressive.   And the weather is generally dependable.  When we hiked it was downright perfect - sunny, dry, and comfortable (temps rising from mid-40s in the morning to mid 60s during the day).   So what's not to like?  Mainly the trail conditions on the upper mountain, which are challenging, to say the least.   As others have noted, Boundary is cursed with a tremendous amount of scree - the worst I have experienced in my many years of hiking.  In places, it felt like we were climbing on a bed of marbles.  The combination of the scree and the lack of vegetation to anchor the soil make climbing exhausting and even treacherous in places.  To make matters worse, following the trail is extremely difficult on the upper mountain.   There are no trail markings of any sort (e.g., no signs, paint blazes, or rock cairns) and the trail that does exist is very hard to follow.  As a consequence, we spent much of our ascent of the steep upper mountain scrambling through loose stone, sliding one step down for every two up and stopping every 10 minutes to empty gravel out of our hiking shoes.  On descent, we again lost the trail and were forced to work furiously (and sometimes unsuccessfully) to maintain our balance as the slope sloughed away under our feet.   To be clear, there is no possibility of getting lost due to the poor trail markings.   The openness of the terrain makes it very easy to see where you are going and how to return.  It's just that you will often need to forge your own path to get there. OK, enough complaining.  If you are going to hike all the state high points, you can't skip Boundary Peak.  So, I'll offer a few tips to make the trip easier.   I suggest flying into Las Vegas.  It's a relatively easy 4-hour drive on excellent roads with almost no traffic.  (Reno is a little closer but offers fewer and generally more expensive flights.)  Vegas also offers the option of a relatively easy detour through Death Valley, which is well worth the time.  Towns of any size are few and far between in Nevada, so lodging choices near Boundary Peak are not plentiful.  We stayed in Tonopah, Nevada, which has a decent Best Western hotel with a surprisingly good brewery/BBQ restaurant directly across the street.  Tonopah is also a good place to fill your gas tank.  In fact, it's one of the only places; it's not unusual to drive 80 or even 100 miles between gas stations in Nevada.  Tonopah is about 1 hour and 30 minutes from the Queen Mine trailhead.  Given the length of the hike (8.5 hours roundtrip for us), it's best to get an early start.  The last 6 miles off of U.S. 6 are on a rutted and sometimes narrow dirt road.  We were able to navigate this stretch OK with our rented SUV, but low-clearance sedans may have a problem - especially if the road hasn't been re-graded since the last heavy rain.   Aside from the ruts on the access road, we saw no evidence of water anywhere on the mountain.  Not surprising in September, I suppose, but this area clearly gets far less precipitation than the California Sierras just to the west.  Bottom line:  you'll should bring at least two liters of water per person.  Also plan on bringing enough food so you have something available to eat in the car after returning.  It's a long way to the nearest restaurant in any direction. In summary, Boundary Peak is a remote and rugged hike that I can recommend in good conscious only to state high pointers..  And to be clear, I wouldn't be in a hurry to check it off your list.  There are much more enjoyable climbs to tackle first.   But I suppose that's part of the allure of hiking the high points.  You don't get to choose them.  They are what they are.  Some just involve a little more "allure" than others.