Telescope Peak in Death Valley (+ optional: Nevada's highpoint, Boundary Peak)

[Cross-posted, must leave comment to attend]

Telescope Peak is the highest point in Death Valley and, at ~10,000 feet, it's a lot cooler than Badwater. The hike is about 12 miles RT with about 3k' of gain and there's a two mile long flat section in the middle. Apparently there's no scrambling involved, it's all a trail.

The idea is to go up there on Saturday, July 5 and sleep either in the campground (limited spaces) or in our cars. It's about a 5 hour drive from L.A. and the last part of the road is rough so we might not make it to the campground and we might need to walk that.

Then, we'll do the peak on Sunday, July 6.

Those dates are negotiable.

Also, I'm dealing with a flareup of a condition. I had planned on going on someone else's backpack to Whitney this week but I backed out. I should be able to make it through this dayhike with some ibuprofen.

After Telescope, I hope to go to Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada. It's a good bit rougher: 7mi RT + 4200' of gain with a little scrambling and some route finding issues. You don't have to join me on that, but if you want I'll be car camping or sleeping in my car for that too. Note that Boundary is in the middle of nowhere. We'll have to be completely self-sufficient, with gallons of water and full gas tanks.

After that, I hope to go to Utah, Colorado, and/or New Mexico for their highpoints. All of which will be dayhikes, not backpacks.