OTHER Trip Report 06/12/2025

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Boundary Peak 13,140 ft Montgomery Peak 13,441 ft
Date Posted	06/12/2025
Date Climbed	08/30/2021
Author	rob runkle

Boundary Peak, Nevada High Point and sister Montgomery Peak, CA
After completing Borah Peak, Idaho, I drove 12 hours to Boundary Peak, Nevada. I was hoping that I could get to the trailhead before dark. I knew the last mile of the road to the trailhead might be difficult 4-wheel drive terrain. I arrived, just after sundown, so I had to finish the difficult section in the dark. Luckily, the rental that I got was a Jeep Rubicon, 4WD. The Jeep had no problems navigating the last section of road. If I had any other vehicle, I would have chickened out for sure. The road had some sections which required pretty descent clearance. There were also a few very tight switchbacks. And, there were a few sections where I would have been concerned about sliding if I didn’t have 4WD. It was especially intimidating in the dark, since everything that wasn’t in my headlights looks like a sheer drop. I got up the next morning, packed up, and started hiking around 6:20 am. The initial hiking was pretty easy with a very clear trail. I saw several deer during my ascent, but they stayed far away from me. Pretty quickly, my summit target was visible. As I ascended, the trail got a little bit rockier, but there was still a clear trail. The trail closely followed the ridge. I reached the summit of Boundary Peak in just over 3 hours from the trailhead (9:30 am, ~4.1 miles). The register was stored in a metal ammo box. I signed the register, and ate some snacks. I pondered whether I should hike to Montgomery Peak also. Montgomery Peak is actually located just over the California border, so that could be cool. So, I decided to attempted Montgomery Peak. After about 20 minutes, I started towards Montgomery. The hike off Boundary was easy. The trail was less obvious, but the direction I needed to go was clear. I reached the saddle and started my ascent to Montgomery. The ascent required some minor class 3 climbing. It wasn't particularly difficult, and actually a bit fun break from the easy walking. Route finding was pretty easy, and I'm sure that there are multiple variations that venture from class 2-3. I was well within my comfort zone, even with the most difficult route options. I reached the summit of Montgomery in just over 4 hours from the trailhead (10:25 am, 5 miles from TH). The register on MOntgom3ery was another metal ammo box. I signed and chill on Montgomery for about 10 minutes. Ironically, if the border of NV/CA was a mile West, Montgomery would be the high point for Nevada. I quickly returned to the summit of Boundary (~1 hour, 6 miles from TH), and began my descent back towards the car. I should say that the weather was beautiful for the whole day; no clouds anywhere in sight. During my descent off Boundary, I saw an animal which I had never seen before, while hiking in the mountains - Wild horses. The horses were very wary of me. They were about 20 feet off the trail as I passed by. I got back to the car in just under 7 hours from when I left in the morning (1:15 pm, 9.93 mi Round trip, 4,054 ft elevation gain/loss). Overall this was a very cool hike. Great way to end and amazing trip. I drop back to Salt Lake City for my flight out. My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload): Login required to view this map... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Boundary Peak, Nevada High Point and sister Montgomery Peak, CA

After completing Borah Peak, Idaho, I drove 12 hours to Boundary Peak, Nevada. I was hoping that I could get to the trailhead before dark. I knew the last mile of the road to the trailhead might be difficult 4-wheel drive terrain. I arrived, just after sundown, so I had to finish the difficult section in the dark. Luckily, the rental that I got was a Jeep Rubicon, 4WD. The Jeep had no problems navigating the last section of road. If I had any other vehicle, I would have chickened out for sure. The road had some sections which required pretty descent clearance. There were also a few very tight switchbacks. And, there were a few sections where I would have been concerned about sliding if I didn’t have 4WD. It was especially intimidating in the dark, since everything that wasn’t in my headlights looks like a sheer drop.

I got up the next morning, packed up, and started hiking around 6:20 am. The initial hiking was pretty easy with a very clear trail. I saw several deer during my ascent, but they stayed far away from me. Pretty quickly, my summit target was visible. As I ascended, the trail got a little bit rockier, but there was still a clear trail. The trail closely followed the ridge. I reached the summit of Boundary Peak in just over 3 hours from the trailhead (9:30 am, ~4.1 miles). The register was stored in a metal ammo box. I signed the register, and ate some snacks. I pondered whether I should hike to Montgomery Peak also. Montgomery Peak is actually located just over the California border, so that could be cool. So, I decided to attempted Montgomery Peak.

After about 20 minutes, I started towards Montgomery. The hike off Boundary was easy. The trail was less obvious, but the direction I needed to go was clear. I reached the saddle and started my ascent to Montgomery. The ascent required some minor class 3 climbing. It wasn't particularly difficult, and actually a bit fun break from the easy walking. Route finding was pretty easy, and I'm sure that there are multiple variations that venture from class 2-3. I was well within my comfort zone, even with the most difficult route options. I reached the summit of Montgomery in just over 4 hours from the trailhead (10:25 am, 5 miles from TH). The register on MOntgom3ery was another metal ammo box. I signed and chill on Montgomery for about 10 minutes. Ironically, if the border of NV/CA was a mile West, Montgomery would be the high point for Nevada.

I quickly returned to the summit of Boundary (~1 hour, 6 miles from TH), and began my descent back towards the car. I should say that the weather was beautiful for the whole day; no clouds anywhere in sight. During my descent off Boundary, I saw an animal which I had never seen before, while hiking in the mountains - Wild horses. The horses were very wary of me. They were about 20 feet off the trail as I passed by. I got back to the car in just under 7 hours from when I left in the morning (1:15 pm, 9.93 mi Round trip, 4,054 ft elevation gain/loss). Overall this was a very cool hike. Great way to end and amazing trip. I drop back to Salt Lake City for my flight out.

My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

boudreaux

The Dude from Ohio
6/12/2025 9:19pm

Nice trip Rob. I didn't know that Boundary was so close to the border. What a unique way to get a couple of peaks. Did I read that right, that was your 44th HP? You done with Colorado?

I still have great memories of our Maroon Bells Traverse and French Mtn. Did Bierstadt for the 27th time last week. That peak never gets old for me.

Ragin Cajun

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