Las Cruces, NM to Bellingham, WA: Part III Great Basin NP, NV and Crater Lake NP revisited with snow

LC to B: Part III. Great Basin NP & Crater Lake revisited with snow

Our next stop on our way from Las Cruces to Bellingham was at Great Basin National Park in Nevada. This was a new park for us and I was excited. I do love to explore new places. First, let me say, it is in the middle of nowhere. Baker, the park ‘entry’ town is a fun, quirky little place and I do mean little, the projected population for 2025 is 26 (yep, just 26 with no zeros after the 26) and it's still miles from the majority of the park or really anywhere else for that matter.

The Great Basin itself is a massive area, over 200,000 square miles that includes most of Nevada, much of Utah and parts of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and Baja California. It ranges from North America’s lowest point, Badwater Basin in Death Valley NP at -282’ to the highest point in the contiguous US at 14,505’ less than 100 miles away at the summit of Mt. Whitney.

The area's uniqueness derives from it's topography. It is a series of mountains and basins where the water in its rivers, etc (from rain or snowmelt) doesn't leave the basin and drain into a sea or ocean, it just stays within this great basin area. That sort of blew my mind. I'm pretty sure, way back in some early grade, I learned that when it rained (or snow melted) the water made little rivulettes, which joined with others and became little brooks, then streams and then rivers until all the water flowed into the oceans (except that bit that evaporated into the air, made clouds and came down as rain or snow but that was a different cycle). So I was pretty surprised to learn that a big section of our country doesn't “drain” into any sea or ocean. I'm always learning new things!

I was also surprised by the variation in the temps within the park. How it was so hot on the basin floor, 90s, and on the same day so much colder up in the mountains. The day we drove up to Wheeler Peak and hiked up to see the bristle cone pines, (some of the oldest trees in the world) the trail was still snow-covered (by feet of snow in places), a storm blew in with not just rain, but frozen snow pellets and the wind was whipping. We were pretty chilly before we got back down to the 90° temps. Haha.

On to pics:

Another interesting feature of the park is the Lehman Cave. If you remember, I'm not a big fan of caves. I prefer being above ground, ALL THE TIME. But, it was a ranger led tour (always a better option) and it seemed like touring this cave was a pretty big deal. Martin had reserved spots for us and lots of people weren't able to go because they hadn't reserved ahead. So I, somewhat reluctantly, said ok, I'll go. I did. It was a cool cave and I'm glad I did. I would recommend it to everyone (even the non-cave inclined).

The calcite draperies adorning the space were both fascinating and eerily beautiful.

It is known amongst the caving community for having the largest collection in the world of these rare parachute shield formations.

Another day we drove up the Wheeler Peak scenic drive.

Wheeler Peak, 13,065’

Now that we were up at a higher elevation, there was more greenery. More water was available from the snowfall.

I loved this. It was just outside the store in Baker. (Well, ok, there were two stores in Baker, one was the National Park store at the visitor's center. Haha)

The campground felt like it was several miles up into the park from Baker. And with an elevation of 7,500’, it felt like it was one of the highest we've camped at. The sites were beautiful, large and private with lots of space. Great Basin is also a dark park and a great place to view the night sky.

The landscape and flora varied by the elevation in the park. It was interesting to travel through the different zones as one drove from the visitor's center in Baker at 5,300’, past our campground at 7,500' and up the scenic drive to the parking lot on Wheeler Peak at 10,000’.

The lower levels, the basin, was arid so the vegetation was sparse.

Paintbrush. Such brilliant colors. 7,500'

But as one gained elevation, there were different grasses, flowers and trees

Our big hike was up Wheeler Peak to the Bristle Cone pine grove. It wasn't that it was such a long hike, about 3 miles or that we were gaining so much elevation in the hike, about 600’, but the start elevation was high, we started at 9,890’, I was still recovering and the snow added a level of difficulty. All in all, it seemed like a tough hike, but seeing those ancient bristle cone pines made it all worthwhile. They were restorative to soul and spirit.

A portion of the trail, the protected northern exposure, still had a lot of snow. It was not so bad going up, but we didn't have cramp-ons and I slipped and fell on my way down. I managed to wrap myself around a tree to stop sliding, otherwise I might have bumped all the way down to Baker! Now that I think about it, maybe I should have just let myself go. It would have been faster, haha!

Bristle cone pines

Bristle cone pines, as a species, are the oldest organisms in the world and this grove, way up on the side of Wheeler Peak, tucked in amongst the rocky talus slopes and the snow, has the oldest known bristle cone pines. They bore a tiny core from the trees and count the rings so they are pretty sure of the age, no guessing involved. The ancient trees in this grove range from 3,000 to 5,000 years old. Yep, that old. Not hundreds of years old, although that is impressive, thousands of years old. Like 1,000 to 3,000 BCE. How? Why? They grow very slowly in poor, rocky soil in what tends to be very remote locations. So no one has bothered to clear them for pastures and there is little competition from other trees or plants. The wood is extremely hard and dense, so much so, that even after a tree has died it is still several hundred years before it starts to decay.

They are not particularly big trees, growing where they do, on the edge of the alpine tree line, in the rocky soil but these ancient trees eminate a soul, a strength and show their perseverance in their gnarled and twisted shapes.

One last shot of Wheeler Peak and it was time for us to head down. Our beautiful day was quickly disappearing…

I believe this is a fallen spruce . I thought the twisting of the trunk was particularly interesting.

These are a few of the snow pellets that assailed us on the way down. The weather took quite a turn from the blue skies we'd been experiencing just a short time before.

Teresa Lake, elevation,10,230’ We took a little side jaunt on the way down to see this “lake”. It was cold and windy, the “lake” still had some snow and not much of a reflection of the mountain… But at least the trail was mostly level

reflections

sunlight on leaves against a stormy sky

Cassin's Finch

Chipping Sparrow

Some final thoughts about Great Basin NP. I found my soul restored as I wandered amongst the ancient bristle cone pine trees. Thinking of all that has happened on this earth during their lifetime. The good, the bad. The catastrophic, the divine. The horrific and the sublime. These trees had witnessed it all and they were still here. Although it feels like we are in a time of great misunderstanding and it's hard not to feel despair, these trees have witnessed worse times and we have come out on the other side. I know we will again.

After Great Basin we headed to Crater Lake NP. I've always wanted to see it in the winter with snow. Granted, it was May so that hardly counts as winter, but there was still plenty of snow.

Approaching Crater Lake.