Dick Stevens Boundary Trip Report

I had to be in San Francisco Monday night for a meeting so decided to fly there from Virginia on Saturday morning and try to hike Boundary Peak. The closest motel I could find via the web to the trail on the California side was in Lee Vining, Ca., which is just outside the east entrance to Yosemite Park next to Mono Lake. It was about a 5-½ hour drive from the S.F. airport to Lee Vining. I didn’t pass a gas station between Lee Vining and the trailhead and it was an almost 2 hour drive, so fill up there. Left Lee Vining at 6:45am on September 20, 1997 with the temperature in the high 30’s but very clear and no rain in sight.

Don Holmes’ directions were fine. Once you left the highway, it took about 45 minutes on the dirt road leading to the trailhead. I had rented a 4-wheel drive Explorer but the road was good enough to have made it in a regular car. It looked like the road conditions might vary widely by season, however.

When I arrived at the trail, there were two other hikers who were also getting ready to hike Boundary Peak: Nick from Seattle and Don from Salt Lake City. Nick is also a highpointer but Don just likes to hike and gets together with Nick once a year or so for some hiking. You can see the peak from the trailhead; it looks very much like a giant sand dune! We started at 9:15am, which was later than I had hoped. The first mile or so were through brush that made me glad I wore long pants. After about twenty minutes on the trail, Don went back to his truck because he forgot something. Nick and I continued on slowly. Don caught up with us after about 45 minutes and with him was Chuck, a highpointer from Boston. Chuck was out west on business and drove down from Reno to hike Boundary Peak.

When they caught up, they took a break but I decided to head on up the trail. It is fairly steep up through the tree line to Trail Canyon Saddle. We could see horses grazing far up on the ridge to our right, above 10,000 feet. I assumed they were wild but Don said they were probably weren’t but just free grazing. Reached the saddle at 11:25am. At that point, you turn left and hike along the ridge. It is a little rocky but still a small trail. At the top of the ridge you can look across at the peak. It looked like it was a very long way away and still a quite a climb upward. You then head across on the trail to the second saddle. This is where Zumwalt said he descended rather than retracing his steps. More about this later. For someone who lives at close to sea level, the air had gotten very thin. This induced lots of panting and frequent, quick rest stops.

From this saddle the trail follows the ridge except where it goes around some large rock outcroppings. At one of these points I followed some footprints and continued to move upward but stayed 50 yards below the ridgeline. Though other folks had clearly gone this way, it was difficult. There were large rocks that you had to go over and around, and sometimes the footing was slippery. There were patches of scree that were treacherous to cross for a simple hiker. When you are at this point, CLIMB BACK TO THE RIDGE! When we came down we found that there was a narrow trail most of the way that stayed right on the ridge and the footing was MUCH better.

Reached the summit at 2:40pm. The other guys came along singly about every 5-10 minutes after me. Not a cloud in the sky, just a beautiful day. It was probably in the 50’s but felt warmer. There is a register in an old ammo can. Many highpointers had remarked about how tough a hike it was. I agree. It might be that not having been acclimated to the elevation was a big difference but it seemed much, much longer than the actual mileage. This was number 29 for me, 28 for Nick.

Started down at 3:30pm. About 50 yards below the summit, Don, Nick and Chuck turned right (east) on another ridge because they thought there was a more direct trail down. I continued down the ridge (north) toward the saddle that Zumwalt and his wife descended. Don later caught up with me to keep me company on the way down. At the saddle, Don led the way and we descended very quickly. This is definitely the way to go. It is like going down a sand dune except that there are small boulders scattered around that you need to avoid. I am not particularly agile but was able to do it easily. We could see Nick and Chuck about a half a mile to our right. They descended much more slowly, though it too, was a more direct route back than the way up.

We descended about 2,000 feet in about a half an hour. The trails merge near the bottom of the bowl and we waited there for Nick and Chuck. From there it was a gradual downhill walk back to the trailhead. At times the trail disappears among the sagebrush but it was easy to keep sight of where you wanted to come out.

We reached the trailhead at 6:25pm. If the weather is good, this is an excellent hike though not a walk in the park. If you are going to be in the San Francisco, Reno, or Las Vegas areas in the summer or early fall, this hike is very doable in one day. I didn’t want to bring camping gear with me so stayed in a motel. If I were to do it again, I would probably just sleep in the car at the trailhead.