No Caves For You!

2018-09-21
Great Basin National Park, NV

Great Basin is a smallish park and the only one in Nevada. It has Wheeler Peak which is about 13,000 feet and Lehman Caves. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to book the latter for a tour. This was partly due to "unexpectedly high traffic off season" when they have fewer tours and partially due to me trying to book it a week ago as my schedule firmed up and of course it's a Friday. I love caves so I'd suggest you book early, especially for a weekend.

It was a nice drive through the Nevada desert to reach the park. Once there I headed straight into my planned hikes. Well, "straight" is not the right word because the road to the top of Wheeler Peak is anything but. However I drove up to 10,000' where the hikes would start. The aspen trees were changing color which really made for extraordinary views. In fact the drive up had a number of cool formations and foliage; however, what it didn't have is pull-outs so there are few pictures but a good reason to come see for yourself.

I didn't realize it when I planned the hikes, but they are connected; one is a spur off the other. The first hike was to the Bristlecone pines. These are amazing trees that are the oldest living things on earth. They're content to grow slowly, and basically they refuse to completely die. They do sacrifice parts over the years.

If you continue past the Bristlecones for another rugged three-quarters of a mile you get fairly close to the glacier. There really isn't much left of it, but it's a real live glacier remnant. Out and back from the trailhead is about three miles, but it's all upward on loose rock terrain, and remember you're starting at 10,000' and ending up at about 11,000' which can take a bit out of you if you're used to sea level.

It's the off season so I don't have to look impressive

It's more of "guideline" than an actual path

Heading back, you can then walk around the Alpine Lakes Loop for another three miles. This loop would probably be prettier earlier in the year, but it was a solid hike.

I'm thin after the summer, but it will all come back because it was just water weight

There is one other feature that I didn't make it to which is the arches in the southeaster corner of the park. Once again it required me to leave the park and take a fairly long dirt road plus likely park a couple miles from the trailhead due to a washed-out road. I simply ran out of time. Still, I'd say this is a one-day park if you move at my pace.

On the way to the hotel for the night I crossed into Utah and lost an hour. I haven't needed my alarm much so far, but I expect tomorrow will be the start.

Hiking distance: 6 miles