Nevada - Boundary Peak - 13,143 Feet - October 10, 2010

Sunday October 3, 2010 - I flew to Phoenix with Southwest Airlines and rented a car. Luckily they were out of compacts and they gave me a Chevy HHR. The back seats and front passenger seat folded down so I could sleep in it. I headed toward Flagstaff but had extra time and stopped at Montezuma Castle. It is an old Sinagua Indian ruin. The ranger there gave a talk on snakebites. He was an expert as he had been bitten by a rattlesnake. I continued on to Flagstaff and met Mike Gauna, his wife Jean, and daughter Victoria.

Montezuma Castle

Monday October 4, 2010 - We drove to Grandview Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We hiked down to Horseshoe Mesa passing an old copper mine. We then headed down to Cottonwood Creek. We would be making a counterclockwise route around Horseshoe Mesa. It started to rain in the afternoon and would not let up for two days. It was very unusual weather. Flagstaff had tornados. The mountains would get snow.

Hiking In

Tuesday October 5, 2010 - We hiked along the Tonto Trail taking a short side hike to an overlook of the Colorado River. Mike saw a small rattlesnake on the trail. We ended the day at Hance Creek, where we set up camp.

Colorado River from Horseshoe Mesa	Hance Creek Camp

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - The rain was very heavy in the morning. We stayed in the tents until about noon. I killed a small scorpion outside my tent. We then hiked the Tonto Trail toward Red Creek and Hance Rapid. We reached an overlook of the Colorado River about a mile and a half short of the river. We crossed Mineral Creek and passed an old Indian metate (corn grinding stone) on the way.

Metate	Colorado River

Thursday, October 7, 2010 - We hiked back up to the mesa. We stopped at Page Spring for water and at the copper mine. A new gate had been installed at the mine. We camped at the mesa campsite which had toilets, the open air throne type. It was early, so we hiked to Cave of the Domes and explored. There was a ball of string there for us to use. We also hiked out to some overlooks.

Mike near Page Spring	Mike and Jean Hiking up to Mesa
View from Horseshoe Mesa	Sunset

Friday, October 8, 2010 - We hiked out and got showers at the campground. I started the drive to Boundary Peak, passing Las Vegas. I ate at Pollo Loco. They have great chicken. I was hoping to camp at Spring Mountains. Two campgrounds were closed and one was full, so I slept at a rest stop. Nevada has nice, large rest stops.

Saturday, October 9, 2010 - I took a side trip to Death Valley and saw the Ubehebe Crater and toured Scotty's Castle. We missed these when we were there before (see California). Scotty's Castle is a millionaire's Death Valley retreat, now owned by the Park Service. The tour was well worth the $11. I finished the drive to Queen Mine, off of Nevada 6, the start of the Boundary Peak hike.

Ubehebe Crater

Sunday, October 10, 2010 - This all started out well, at 6 am. The snow wasn't bad at first. There were some steep sections up to the saddle where the Trail Canyon trail comes in. The snow got deep on the traverse to the right of the ridge. Hiking along the spine of the ridge further up was a little difficult, steep, and snowy. I made it to the top around 11 or 12. My watch had died. On the way back, I got over into Trail Canyon somehow and had to descend and ascend an extra 1000 feet to get back to the real trail. Then when I got to the four wheel drive road down to Queen Mine, I went right, which was wrong. I descended another 1000 feet before I realized I was going the wrong way. I finally got back to the car at 10:15 pm. It was a true epic.

USGS Boundary Peak Marker	On Top

Montgomery Peak in California from Boundary Peak

Monday, October 11, 2010 - I stopped in Laughlin on the way back to eat. All the restaurants in Laughlin seemed to be in casinos. I ate at Outback in the Aquarius Casino. I put $1 in the slot machine. Afterwards, I hit something on the road and had a blowout. I slept at a truck stop in Seligman.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - I finally found a tire in Williams. I drove down through Oak Creek Canyon and Sadona to Tuzigoot National Monument. It is another Sinagua ruin. I stayed at the Travelodge near the airport in Phoenix. It was in a bad neighborhood. The desk clerk had to buzz people in.

Tuzigoot

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - I flew home.