Great Basin NP
DAY 1 Great Basin
Now that we are about 1662 miles away from home and crossed over two different time zones Emily and I are nocking off the only national park in Nevada, Great Basin, one of the newest national parks. Before we got here we hit Rocky Mountain NP, Black Canyon of the Gunissin NP, Arches NP, Canyon Lands NP, and Capitol Reef. The trip started at 40 degrees in the morning and, then when we got to Utah, we were right around 100 degrees, back to 50 degrees in Great Basin. Great Basins turanian was a mix of desert and mountains. At the bottom more desert-like but, then at the top was full of trees and snow. After coming from around 100 degrees, we were happy to see some snow again in the mountains. The first day we were there we hiked the Alpine Lakes Loop, which was 2.96 miles with an elevation gain of 600 feet. This hike was a great start hike after drive for 5 hours to get there. At this point in the trip, we are on the backside of the ten national parks that we were planning on hit within 2 weeks so we are starting to feel the drain on our bodies at this point. On the hike, we were able to see some mule deer and just enjoy the hike overall. This trail took us to two lakes that had a green emerald glow and beautiful mountain views. The plain was to sleep in the tent again, but it was, going to get below freezing with 30 miles an hour winds. So, we decided that we should found a hotel for the next two nights. If we had packed for it to be below freezing, then we might have taken our chances.
DAY 2 Great Basin
The next day, we got up early, so we could see about getting on the list of the cave. The cave is at the visitor center in the national park. It takes us about an hour to get there because the closest town with places to stay is an hour away. Once we got there at 8 when they opened, we got on the list just in case people don’t show up. If we would’ve known/did more research, we would have scheduled it in advance. We just got put on the waitlist. Once we got on the waitlist for s time in the afternoon, then back up the mountain to go hike to the glacier at the park. The trail is called Glacier Trail and it is about 6.53 miles long with an elevation gain of 1,100 feet. It was cold when we got up to the trailhead. When we started our hike we were at about 10,000 feet above sea level. Emily and I both put on hats and bundled up because along with the cold there were some cold winds as well. Once we got moving we warmed up and we took off one of our layers. At first, we walking along a mountainside once we got halfway, the trail took us into the oldest forest made out of Bristlecone pine trees. I did not think much about it at first but these trees are 5,000 years old. They may not look like it but the way they have adapted to live in this kind of environment in the higher altitudes is amazing. Even after the trees die they will still stay standing for years to come just because of their root structure. Once we made it through these incredible trees it opened up to what was just rock and snow. the rock was just flat stone almost something someone would use for their flooring and there were piles of it everywhere. There was not plaint at this point we were getting too close to the top of the mountain. The closer and closer you got to the glacier the more snow there was and hard to follow the trail not just because of the snow but because the rocks had no clear path. Workers were working on this problem while we were up there. But since the problem was not fixed yet, we were on our own at this point. The view from up here was amazing views along. We did have winds so strong, to the point where if you were facing the direction it was coming from it would just take your breath away. Once we got back down to the visitors center they had a cafe where we were able to get a warm cup of coffee and wait for the afternoon tour and see if we could get in. The cafe was cute full of little nick-nacks you could buy and the service was very friendly. The cafe overall had a small town kinda feel. When it came our time to see if we were able to get into the cave, we were not able to. Everyone who had signed up had made it. Emily and I were not able to go. It was fine because we went back to the hotel and took the rest of the day to rest. We need it when we would be heading to Zion NP the next day.
