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Jun 12, 2021 — Mount Grafton is notable only due to its size and its fairly nice summit view, but overall kind of blends in with many other peaks out in the Great Basin desert. Many people choose to approach the peak via a bad ATV road to the south and then follow the ridgeline north, but this is apparently rocky and brushy. Others seem to approach the peak from a different ridgeline to the south of my route choice. However, I trusted my friend Adam Walker's advice on this route, and it didn't disappoint. It's steep, straightforward, and has minimal bushwhacking. To reach the trailhead head west from NV-93 here (38.69541, -114.62722) on an excellent dirt road and park at the clearly marked wilderness boundary.
I followed the old road on foot past the wilderness boundary as it headed west and deteriorated to the point of basically being reclaimed by nature. The road headed through a lightly forested section where it crossed a creek a few times, finally leading to the ridge I would be ascending. It's the northern spur of Mount Grafton's east ridge. The ridge began steep and with some minor Class 2, but animal trails avoided the necessity for any real scrambling. The ridgeline became more mellow for a short time as the trees gave way to an open meadowy-feeling slope. From here it's hard to tell what the "best" option is for ascending the ridge. There are pockets of aspens, Class 2 talus, and some light ankle-high brush among light forest walking. I was never upset at the bushwhacking, since nothing was unpleasant. There is one section about halfway up the ridge where keeping too far to the right will result in a large boulder field, which I avoided by keeping to the left side of the ridgeline. Otherwise there's some unavoidable Class 2 talus toward the summit for the last few hundred feet. I returned more-or-less the same way, but my ascent and descent routes were rarely aligned, meaning I didn't prefer one option over another and picking your way up the ridge through its minor obstacles is a choose your own adventure sort of deal.
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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!
