Tried a different route and it wasn't half bad. Where one would turn to the west to visit Parker Station, an historic Pony Express station; instead turn east and follow that road that goes east for just over three miles and ends at the 7200' elevation contour on the topo map (this appears to be the same route mentioned by Moogie 737 in his summit log). Hike the road past the wilderness closure point for about 1.75 miles, cross a significant ravine on the left and then follow the mostly open country up to the ridgeline to a point that is 0.9 miles north of Mt. Grafton. From the top of Mt Grafton I made my way down to the Lincoln County highpoint - My 17th and final Nevada county highpoint. On the way back, after passing over Mt. Grafton again, I saw a huge bull elk running uphiill from the aforementioned ravine.
yadahzoemtn - Jan 26, 2018 9:12 pm Date Climbed: Oct 21, 2017
Started in the dark and finished in the dart
Went over Grafton twice looking for the liner high point
Moogie737 - Oct 22, 2017 8:01 pm Date Climbed: Oct 21, 2017
From the WSA boundary/gate on North Creek Road
# 1 & #2 10-21-17 W/ Yadahzoemtn. When you can only drive 3 miles before parking and you get Mt. Grafton, then the Lincoln County highpoint, and you return over Mt. Grafton, you are talking a ton of elevation gain and about a dozen miles. This wouldn't be so bad if half or more of the hike weren't on talus and there weren't a rip-roaring cold northwest wind doing its level best to toss you to Pioche. But the appropriate registers were signed, the obligatory summit/site pictures were taken and we made it back to the car only having to use our headlamps for the final 40 minutes of the walk out. Our bonus was being able to see two large elk loping across the summit plateau just as we reached it from the east side.
scgrant - Feb 20, 2015 12:23 am Date Climbed: Feb 19, 2015
Mount Grafton and CoHP
I drove from SL the day prior and car camped at the Wilderness Boundary at the start of the hike. The next day I got started at sunrise and walked up the road for about 2 miles to the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. After about a half mile up Mill Creek Canyon, at the Mill Creek Spring as shown on the topo map, I gained the ridge and followed it to point 9,695 and then on to point 10,562. From there the ridge turns to the north and follow it to the Lincoln CoHP. There are two registers and cairns within about 100 feet of eachother, I signed them both. From there I followed the south ridge to the Mount Grafton summit. This was an exhausting day as snow conditions along the way were very tough. Very unconsolidated and I was post holing even with snowshoes. I descended pretty much straight down from the county highpoint and into Mill Creek Canyon. This was a much shorter route than my ascent route. 7 miles up 5.4 miles down. With all the ups and downs 5395' elevation gain.
Jonodo - Aug 8, 2014 12:59 pm Date Climbed: Aug 6, 2014
Grafton Liner
Hiked to the Lincoln County High Point via the Mill Creek route as described in Sumner's book. The road is closed at the wilderness boundary which is at Geyser Spring as shown on topo maps. On the way up I bypassed the creek route and ended up in some cliff bands to the north. Some easy class three climbing but it took longer. On the way down I hiked throught the creek as described. It is quite overgrown and not much fun unless one likes bushwacking. I saw a huge Elk while tromping through the brush... we scared each other half to death. NV COHP # 16 of 17. Finished up on Wheeler Peak the next day.
Redwic - Jul 31, 2012 10:22 am Date Climbed: Jul 29, 2012
Boneheaded, All Around
Kids... Don't try this type of jaunt at home, or on your peakbagging trips: This is a great example of trying to squeeze way too much into a peakbagging day/weekend.
After summiting Kings Peak in a single-day ascent the previous day, I drove west to do Wheeler Peak first-thing the following morning. That went so well, and I was so close (relatively speaking) to Mount Grafton that I wanted to get that CoHP taken care of during the same day. Boneheaded!!!
It wasn't bad enough that my legs were already aching and I had little sleep under my belt, but having a non-high-clearance rental car forced me to hike from the highway near Geyser Ranch. This greatly changed the route from 4-6 miles roundtrip to nearly 13 miles roundtrip (including summit). I kept passing each seemingly ridiculous "true" location of the CoHP on the south ridge, neglecting to sign any of the registers because I figured I would do so on my descent. Boneheaded!!!
By the time I reached the summit, my body was worn-out, my legs were cramping up, and I was exhausted. As soon as I got to the summit, let out a few short exclamations like "Hallelujah!" or "Finally!" or some expletive-deleted type. I was wincing in pain and out of Ibuprofen, so I quickly headed back down, sometimes feeling delirious... forgetting that I had not signed any of the multiple registers during my ascent. Boneheaded!!!
When I got back to the car, I downed some Ibuprofen tablets, ate a banana, and drank several bottles of Wal-Mart's generic Gatorade-like sports drink. I then drove in the middle of the night for approximately four hours to the trailhead for Mount Nebo... dodging deer and cows(!!!) along the way. But, unfortunately, one poor desert skunk did not make it... a moment of silence, please... thank you.
This weekend would be full of all of the classic elements of a solo out-of-state Redwic peakbagging trip: Long drives, long hikes, little sleep.
Bob Burd - Aug 29, 2010 3:09 pm Date Climbed: Jun 3, 2010
From US95
Hiked from the pavement, not so bad or hard. Mainly went to the county highpoint, but tagged Grafton's summit as well. With Adam Jantz. Trip Report
tednv - Aug 5, 2010 8:40 pm Date Climbed: Aug 4, 2010
tough
one of my tougher hikes. don't know if it was from hiking other peaks prior, heat, running out of water, cacti, or shrubs. i know wah wah. my route made it a long hike, but still enjoyable. several cairns and registers along liner. lots of recognizable names. my gps went out so i ended up running all along and back and forth to make sure i hit it eventually. while another wonderful nevada hike, i don't plan on having this on my list of do agains.
MoapaPk - Jun 25, 2010 12:40 am Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2010
Snow and water
Was quite surprised to see Bob Burd's signature in the register. Descended 1000' on snow because it was better than the slick quartzite talus. On top by ~7:30AM.
SageHawk - Aug 25, 2009 5:59 am Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2009
Robbers Roost
Climbed from Robber's Roost Basin, a hike which turned out to be much longer than expected due to the recent wilderness closure. Distance to peak is at least 6 miles from the point of closure. A pleasant hike on the quickly fading remains of an old 4-wheel drive road that ends at the NW base of the peak. It's mostly bushwacking from there to the summit. I spooked quite a few Elk as I climbed through the deep forest on this peak.
Brian Kalet - Jun 22, 2008 2:18 am Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2008
Geyser Ranch route
Lincoln County HP & Mount Grafton from new Wilderness Boundary, 8h roundtrip.
buzzdainer - Mar 28, 2008 1:35 pm Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2008
Geyser Ranch/Mill Creek
We drove in on the Geyser Ranch route but were surprised to find that after about two miles of driving, the rest of the road was closed because the area has been recently designated as wilderness. We backpacked in to the mine ruins near Mill Creek and then climbed to the Lincoln County highpoint the following day. Route-finding was straightforward and there was good water in Mill Creek. Deep snow made our progress excruciatingly slow, even in snowshoes.
Route Climbed: Geyser Creek - Mill Creek Date Climbed: June 25, 2005
Our team of three - me, Bill Jacobs and Rick Hartman - had a successful day visiting Grafton Peak's summit and the subpeaks along its ridge. Tiring but exhilirating!
Route Climbed: North Canyon Date Climbed: 7 October 2004
I climbed with Dean to the summit of Grafton and then along the ridge to the County High Point of Lincoln County. Lots of Elevation Gain on this one, enough to blow your knees out. We took our time climbing and descending on lots of talus.
Tracy - Sep 6, 2018 4:25 pm Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2018
From the westTried a different route and it wasn't half bad. Where one would turn to the west to visit Parker Station, an historic Pony Express station; instead turn east and follow that road that goes east for just over three miles and ends at the 7200' elevation contour on the topo map (this appears to be the same route mentioned by Moogie 737 in his summit log). Hike the road past the wilderness closure point for about 1.75 miles, cross a significant ravine on the left and then follow the mostly open country up to the ridgeline to a point that is 0.9 miles north of Mt. Grafton. From the top of Mt Grafton I made my way down to the Lincoln County highpoint - My 17th and final Nevada county highpoint. On the way back, after passing over Mt. Grafton again, I saw a huge bull elk running uphiill from the aforementioned ravine.
yadahzoemtn - Jan 26, 2018 9:12 pm Date Climbed: Oct 21, 2017
Started in the dark and finished in the dartWent over Grafton twice looking for the liner high point
Moogie737 - Oct 22, 2017 8:01 pm Date Climbed: Oct 21, 2017
From the WSA boundary/gate on North Creek Road# 1 & #2 10-21-17 W/ Yadahzoemtn. When you can only drive 3 miles before parking and you get Mt. Grafton, then the Lincoln County highpoint, and you return over Mt. Grafton, you are talking a ton of elevation gain and about a dozen miles. This wouldn't be so bad if half or more of the hike weren't on talus and there weren't a rip-roaring cold northwest wind doing its level best to toss you to Pioche. But the appropriate registers were signed, the obligatory summit/site pictures were taken and we made it back to the car only having to use our headlamps for the final 40 minutes of the walk out. Our bonus was being able to see two large elk loping across the summit plateau just as we reached it from the east side.
scgrant - Feb 20, 2015 12:23 am Date Climbed: Feb 19, 2015
Mount Grafton and CoHPI drove from SL the day prior and car camped at the Wilderness Boundary at the start of the hike. The next day I got started at sunrise and walked up the road for about 2 miles to the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. After about a half mile up Mill Creek Canyon, at the Mill Creek Spring as shown on the topo map, I gained the ridge and followed it to point 9,695 and then on to point 10,562. From there the ridge turns to the north and follow it to the Lincoln CoHP. There are two registers and cairns within about 100 feet of eachother, I signed them both. From there I followed the south ridge to the Mount Grafton summit. This was an exhausting day as snow conditions along the way were very tough. Very unconsolidated and I was post holing even with snowshoes. I descended pretty much straight down from the county highpoint and into Mill Creek Canyon. This was a much shorter route than my ascent route. 7 miles up 5.4 miles down. With all the ups and downs 5395' elevation gain.
Jonodo - Aug 8, 2014 12:59 pm Date Climbed: Aug 6, 2014
Grafton LinerHiked to the Lincoln County High Point via the Mill Creek route as described in Sumner's book. The road is closed at the wilderness boundary which is at Geyser Spring as shown on topo maps. On the way up I bypassed the creek route and ended up in some cliff bands to the north. Some easy class three climbing but it took longer. On the way down I hiked throught the creek as described. It is quite overgrown and not much fun unless one likes bushwacking. I saw a huge Elk while tromping through the brush... we scared each other half to death. NV COHP # 16 of 17. Finished up on Wheeler Peak the next day.
Redwic - Jul 31, 2012 10:22 am Date Climbed: Jul 29, 2012
Boneheaded, All AroundKids... Don't try this type of jaunt at home, or on your peakbagging trips: This is a great example of trying to squeeze way too much into a peakbagging day/weekend.
After summiting Kings Peak in a single-day ascent the previous day, I drove west to do Wheeler Peak first-thing the following morning. That went so well, and I was so close (relatively speaking) to Mount Grafton that I wanted to get that CoHP taken care of during the same day. Boneheaded!!!
It wasn't bad enough that my legs were already aching and I had little sleep under my belt, but having a non-high-clearance rental car forced me to hike from the highway near Geyser Ranch. This greatly changed the route from 4-6 miles roundtrip to nearly 13 miles roundtrip (including summit). I kept passing each seemingly ridiculous "true" location of the CoHP on the south ridge, neglecting to sign any of the registers because I figured I would do so on my descent. Boneheaded!!!
By the time I reached the summit, my body was worn-out, my legs were cramping up, and I was exhausted. As soon as I got to the summit, let out a few short exclamations like "Hallelujah!" or "Finally!" or some expletive-deleted type. I was wincing in pain and out of Ibuprofen, so I quickly headed back down, sometimes feeling delirious... forgetting that I had not signed any of the multiple registers during my ascent. Boneheaded!!!
When I got back to the car, I downed some Ibuprofen tablets, ate a banana, and drank several bottles of Wal-Mart's generic Gatorade-like sports drink. I then drove in the middle of the night for approximately four hours to the trailhead for Mount Nebo... dodging deer and cows(!!!) along the way. But, unfortunately, one poor desert skunk did not make it... a moment of silence, please... thank you.
This weekend would be full of all of the classic elements of a solo out-of-state Redwic peakbagging trip: Long drives, long hikes, little sleep.
Bob Burd - Aug 29, 2010 3:09 pm Date Climbed: Jun 3, 2010
From US95Hiked from the pavement, not so bad or hard. Mainly went to the county highpoint, but tagged Grafton's summit as well. With Adam Jantz. Trip Report
tednv - Aug 5, 2010 8:40 pm Date Climbed: Aug 4, 2010
toughone of my tougher hikes. don't know if it was from hiking other peaks prior, heat, running out of water, cacti, or shrubs. i know wah wah. my route made it a long hike, but still enjoyable. several cairns and registers along liner. lots of recognizable names. my gps went out so i ended up running all along and back and forth to make sure i hit it eventually. while another wonderful nevada hike, i don't plan on having this on my list of do agains.
MoapaPk - Jun 25, 2010 12:40 am Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2010
Snow and waterWas quite surprised to see Bob Burd's signature in the register. Descended 1000' on snow because it was better than the slick quartzite talus. On top by ~7:30AM.
SageHawk - Aug 25, 2009 5:59 am Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2009
Robbers RoostClimbed from Robber's Roost Basin, a hike which turned out to be much longer than expected due to the recent wilderness closure. Distance to peak is at least 6 miles from the point of closure. A pleasant hike on the quickly fading remains of an old 4-wheel drive road that ends at the NW base of the peak. It's mostly bushwacking from there to the summit. I spooked quite a few Elk as I climbed through the deep forest on this peak.
Brian Kalet - Jun 22, 2008 2:18 am Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2008
Geyser Ranch routeLincoln County HP & Mount Grafton from new Wilderness Boundary, 8h roundtrip.
buzzdainer - Mar 28, 2008 1:35 pm Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2008
Geyser Ranch/Mill CreekWe drove in on the Geyser Ranch route but were surprised to find that after about two miles of driving, the rest of the road was closed because the area has been recently designated as wilderness. We backpacked in to the mine ruins near Mill Creek and then climbed to the Lincoln County highpoint the following day. Route-finding was straightforward and there was good water in Mill Creek. Deep snow made our progress excruciatingly slow, even in snowshoes.
surgent - Jun 29, 2005 2:45 pm
Route Climbed: Geyser Creek - Mill Creek Date Climbed: June 25, 2005Our team of three - me, Bill Jacobs and Rick Hartman - had a successful day visiting Grafton Peak's summit and the subpeaks along its ridge. Tiring but exhilirating!
Dennis Poulin - Oct 11, 2004 4:47 pm
Route Climbed: North Canyon Date Climbed: 7 October 2004I climbed with Dean to the summit of Grafton and then along the ridge to the County High Point of Lincoln County. Lots of Elevation Gain on this one, enough to blow your knees out. We took our time climbing and descending on lots of talus.