Desert Survivor

Top 10 Things to Do in Baker, Nevada & Great Basin National Park - Late Spring/Summer/Early Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 24 May 2026 22:41:10 +0000

Most people come to Baker and Great Basin National Park from late May to mid-October. That's when the roads are most open, the higher elevations accessible, and most of the public programs occur. Sometimes choosing what to do can be overwhelming. Not to worry, here are my tips, from living here for 25+ years.

1. Lehman Caves Sitting just behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center at 6800 feet is Lehman Caves, the longest cave in the state of Nevada, at over 2 miles, and also one of the oldest tourist attractions, with tours usually held year-round. Note: A new cave lighting system is being installed so the cave is expected to be totally closed until late May 2026 and partially closed until the end of July 2026. Check the park website to find out when it reopens.

Gothic Palace, Lehman Caves. Photo by Peter Schenk.

Options: If you can't nab a cave reservation or one of the walk-up tours (people often line up for these before the visitor center opens at 8 am), there are other options. The Park has a simulated cave, called CaveSim, that lets you negotiate over 100 feet of cave passage. You'll crawl, slither, and climb your way through, and anything you touch beeps at you so that you know to be more careful. You're not playing the video game, you're in it!

Crystal Ball Cave is another great option, located about 45 minutes north of the park in Gandy, Utah. Protected on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed land, local site stewards offer tours Monday-Saturday through this cave, which is like going through a giant geode. It's filled with crystals, ancient bones, and beautiful formations.

And if none of these work out, try out the Virtual Cave Tour of Lehman Caves, which gives you a totally different experience of seeing the cave, with lots of short additional videos to provide specialized info you wouldn't necessarily get on a tour.

2. Visitor Centers Great Basin National Park has two interesting visitor centers, generally open 8am to 4 pm in the summer months and more restricted hours during the shoulder seasons:

Lehman Caves Visitor Center, up the hill at 6800 ft, has exhibits focused on Discover the Dark, including caves and night skies
Great Basin Visitor Center in Baker at 5300 ft. focuses on the different habitats and wildlife found along the huge elevational gradient. There is over a 25 degree F temperature difference from the valley bottom to the top of Wheeler Peak!

Options: Baker, Nevada has a surprisng amount of art for such a small town. Take an Art walk to admire the various murals and other artistic offerings.

3. Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive Ready to drive to 10,000 feet elevation? Weather permitting, the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive allows you to ascend through multiple habitats as you rise from the sagebrush sea to the pinyon-juniper, then to mountain mahogany and mixed conifer to aspens and higher conifers. If you have the NPS App, you can click on self-guided tours and take the Auto Tour through different Great Basin Life Zones.

Options: If the Scenic Drive is closed or you want to look at something different, here are some other roads:

Baker Creek Road - look for marmots and drive slowly, as they aren't the brightest creatures around! But they are cute! And the custom-made marmot crossing signs are fun to see.

Strawberry Creek - check out how the watershed is doing after a 4,500 acre wildfire in 2016. At the end of the road is a lovely 1.5 mile loop trail up through a meadow and back through a burned area.

Snake Creek - located south of Baker, the road follows the creek closely. The Serviceberry Trail makes for a good hike, although will have snow on it probably until June. Trails at the end of the road lead up into the high country, and will be snow covered at higher elevations. The Spring Creek Rearing Station is outside the park and allows visitors. There's not much to see, but if you've never seen where trout are raised to stock streams and lakes, it's worth a short visit.

Lexington Canyon - the road towards Lexington Arch is currently in decent shape. It's gravel and dirt (like most roads around here) and if it's been dry for awhile, it will be dusty. On the way to the new trailhead area for the arch you pass some beautiful wildflowers and see another area recovering from a big wildfire, this one in 2013. The Arch is a nice spring/early summer hike. There's very little shade, so it can get hot when the temperatures rise. The trailhead has been washed out by post-fire floods, so you'll have to park when the road gets bad and hike from there. It adds about a mile each way.

4. Bristlecone Pines If you've never seen old bristlecone pines, old meaning more than 3,000 years old, this is your chance. Drive 12 miles up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive to the end of the road at the Bristlecone trailhead. Then plan for about an hour-long hike over a rocky trail at over 10,000 feet elevation to an amazing grove in the shadow of Wheeler Peak. Allow 30 minutes for the drive each way, plus 2-3 hours for the hike. You can hike beyond the grove to the rock glacier, add 0.5-2 hours depending on how far you go. Note that the parking area can fill from about 10 am to 3 pm, so consider earlier or later, when the light is better and parking more abundant.

Hike to Wheeler cirque bristlecone grove in Great Basin National Park

5. Hikes Great Basin National Park is a hiker's paradise, with about 80 miles of trails.

Also at the end of the Scenic Drive is the Alpine Lakes Loop. This is a charming two-hour hike that visits Teresa and Stella Lakes. Take your time and soak in the cooler temperatures. Watch out for afternoon thunderstorms, high winds, and elevation sickness. The reward is amazing views. You can combine this with the bristlecone pine hike for a lovely longer hike.

Stella Lake at sunrise

5a. Short trails (approx. 30 minutes to 1 hour):

Mountain View Nature Trail behind Lehman Caves Visitor Center--through pinyon/juniper forest for 1/4 mile (check out the App for a self-guided tour) ;
Sky Islands Forest Trail-Accessible trail at Bristlecone trailhead--through Engelmann spruce/limber pine forest for 1/4 mile, wheelchair accessible
Strawberry Sagebrush Loop Trail: 1+ mile loop that lets you look at how the landscape is recovering after the 2016 Strawberry fire
Start any of these other trails listed below and turn around when you want

5b. Medium trails (2-4 hours)

South Fork Baker/Baker Lake loop: 3.5 mile loop, steep in places, but gorgeous, follows riparian areas
Serviceberry Trail: 3+ mile loop along Snake Creek road with a variety of habitats
Lexington Arch: 6+ mile round-trip hike to a huge natural bridge; dogs allowed (here's more about the canyon)
Osceola Ditch Trail: 1.5 miles to Mill Creek, 4 miles to big washout in Strawberry Creek, where you'll probably want to turn around. trailhead, follows old water ditch and goes through 2016 burn
Bristlecone/Alpine Loops trails mentioned above

5c. Long trails (>3 hours)

South Fork Baker/Timber Creek loop: 5.5 miles but lots of elevation change, two beautiful meadows (A PERSONAL FAVORITE!)
Dead Lake: a new trail from the end of the Snake Creek road heads to this often-overlooked lake, and you can make a loop trail of it
Wheeler Peak summit: the trail is 4-miles one way, but gains 3,000 feet elevation. Many people underestimate the effort it will take. Plan on 3-4 hours to summit, some time at the top, and 2-3 hours to get back down. Take plenty of water and food and be prepared for big winds. Stay off if storms are looming. (Also, not good if there's lots of snow on it.

5d. Backpacking.

Baker/Johnson loop: this is a classic. Start at the Baker Creek or Snake Creek trailheads. About 13 miles round trip with lots of elevation change. Camp at Baker or Johnson Lakes. No campfires above 10,000 feet.
South Fork Baker/Timber Creek loop: This loop is only about 5.5 miles, but lots of elevation change. Good for beginning backpackers and families.

6. Baker Archeological Site is located just northeast of Baker (look for the signs). this is a short stop, but interesting to learn about how the Fremont people had a small village near Baker hundreds of years ago, with buildings aligned with the sun and stars. Use the booklet as you take the self-guided trail to learn more. Nice covered picnic area and pit toilet. Day use only.

Options: Pictograph Caves sport numberous pictographs in the Grey Cliffs area. The best ones are seen along the road. Dust has made them a little harder to see, but look for some human forms as well as dots and lines. This area is undergoing improvements in 2026-27 and may have periodic closures.

7. Wildlife watching

Yellow-bellied marmots. From May to about July, it's often possible to find yellow-bellied marmots along the Baker Creek road. You'll see the marmot crossing signs--these cute animals aren't the smartest, so slow down to keep them safe!

Rocky mountain elk are seen most frequently in the Strawberry Creek drainage. They are much larger than deer.
Bird-watching is excellent along Strawberry Creek, where you can find lots of cavity nesters like mountain bluebirds, hairy woodpeckers, house wrens, and mountain chickadees. Baker Creek area has lots of riparian birds like warbling vireos, MacGillivray's warblers, yellow warblers, lazuli buntings, and more.
Fishing. With a state permit, fishing is allowed in the park. Native Bonneville cutthroat trout are in South Fork Baker, Snake, and Mill creeks as well as Baker and Johnson Lakes (catch-and-release recommended as the Park is trying to restore these populations). Brown, rainbow, and brook are in Baker and Lehman Creeks.

8. Dark Night Skies. Great Basin National Park has some of the darkest night skies, with major population centers distant. Times around the new moon allow for the best viewing of the Milky Way, which may look like a cloud to the unitiated. During full moons, check with the local general store for full moon hikes. The Park has evening and astronomy programs from late May to Sept/Oct, often Thursday through Sunday evenings at the astronomy amphitheater.

Milky Way from Mather Overlook

9. Sacramento Pass Recreational Area

Camping, fishing, plus mountain biking and hiking on a seven-mile trail system. Only 15 minutes from Baker.

10. Lodging and Food

There are a variety of Motels/hotels/AirBnBs in the area. They are already booking far ahead this summer. Find more at Where To Stay in Great Basin | Baker, Nevada — Discover Great Basin (greatbasinpark.com).

For Food, we have a variety of options:

487 Grill (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays 4-8 pm)
Border Inn (24 hrs, grab and go; kitchen open 6 am to 10 pm?)
Bristlecone General Store (7am-7 pm, Grab and Go; Pizza night Wednesdays, 4-7 pm)
Great Basin Cafe (next to Lehman Caves Visitor Center), 8 am- 4 pm, breakfasts, lunches, and ice cream
Sandra's Mexican Food (across from gas station, variable hours)

Where to Eat and Drink In Great Basin — Discover Great Basin (greatbasinpark.com)

Bonus: But wait, there's more!

North Snake Range Hikes - The North Snake Range is a rugged wilderness filled with surprises. There's great hiking at Hendry's Creek and Smith Creek. Hampton Creek takes more effort, but you can find some garnets and an old mining area. Silver Creek is fun for mountain biking. The Table and Mt. Moriah top the range and are an all-day effort (or more) to visit and should be saved for later summer and autumn.

Crystal Peak is a cool volcanic mountain located about an hour from Baker. You can see it gleaming in the afternoon sunlight from Highway 6 and 50, and also from high points along the Scenic Drive.

Ibex/Tule Valley - Located 45 minutes east of Baker towards Delta, we like to go to Ibex and Tule Valley for rock climbing at Ibex Cliffs and bike riding on the dry playa. This is also a good place to camp.

Notch Peak - Notch Peak is an obvious peak to the east, with the highest limestone cliff in North America. Base jumpers frequent it. I find hiking to the top plenty of excitement for me. Snow may be hanging out in shady spots into late May. Bristlecone pines are found to the north.

Cleve Creek - Found in Spring Valley, about 9 miles north of Highway 6 & 50, designated campground and beautiful area in the Schell Creek Range.

Pruess Lake - located south of Garrison, Utah, this is where we go to swim, kayak, paddleboard, fish, and sail (and ice skate in the winter). Lake levels drop throughout the summer, so early to mid summer is the best time for swimming.

Crystal Ball Cave - this BLM cave is managed by site stewards with cave tours. The cave is very cool, like going into a giant geode! Cave tours are Monday-Saturday, reservations required (this cave tour is amazing, recommended donation $12-$15/person). You might like to combine it with a trip to nearby Devils Gate Slot Canyon, a short but fun canyon. (I know I already mentioned Crystal Ball Cave, but I really love it!)

Ely, NV:

Nevada Northern Railway train rides, museum
White Pine Public Museum home of the Cave Bear
Garnet Hill find your own garnets, amazing view of Ruth Mine
Ward Mountain mountain biking, camping, disc golf
Ely Renaissance Village step back in time to see cultural background of Ely; also visit the nearby Ely Art Bank
White Pine Aquatic Center modern facility, lap swimming available all day and periodic open swim hours (and McGill Swimming Pool (Pond) is also a lot of fun)
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park well-preserved charcoal ovens and nice trails, plus camping
Cave Lake State Park fishing, boating, trails, camping with showers!
Comins Lake fishing, boating

Delta, UT:

Topaz Relocation Site and Topaz Museum one of several internment camps during World War 2-the museum downtown has fantastic exhibits
Great Basin Museum taste of pioneer days and a cool rock and fossil exhibit
Pahvant Butte hiking
Sunset Knoll finding gemstones
West Millard Swimming Pool with a high dive!
Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes easy access--please help keep clean

Milford, UT:

Frisco Ghost Town charcoal ovens, cemetery, and remains of one of the wildest mining towns in Utah
Newhouse Ghost Town old building remains
Rock Corral Recreation Site cool rocks, camping
Swimming Pool we have visited swimming pools in all the nearby towns!

Those are just a few suggestions, click on the links to see additional information. If you'd like more, Read my book! It is full of natural and cultural history of the area, places to visit, and more.

Leave a comment--what things do you like to do when you're in Baker and Great Basin National Park?

Bahsahwahbee - Swamp Cedars

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:43:00 +0000

On the valley bottom of Spring Valley, Nevada, both north and south of US Highway 6 & 50, you can spot trees growing. Normally seeing trees isn't a big deal, but in the Great Basin desert, it can be unusual at lower elevaitons unless water is present.

It turns out these trees are Rocky Mountain junipers (Juniperus scopulorum). Usually found near streams, why are they on the valley bottom? True, there are numerous springs in the eponymous Spring Valley, but many of the trees aren't next to them. So how are they growing? It turns out there's a clay layer under part of the valley, created a perched water table.

Most people drive right through Spring Valley on their way to or from Ely or Great Basin National Park.. Now, there's an extra incentive to stop--to learn more about these swamp cedars and the place called Bahsahwahbee. Along the edge of the highway is a pullout with five signs.

The first sign on the left explains about Bahsahwahbee, the Sacred Water Valley.

The next highlights the biodiversity of the area.

The third gets into history that has long been overlooked,t he swamp cedar massacres.

The fourth goes into more details about the trees.

The fifth highlights the Great Basin National Heritage Area.

These signs provide great information about an area that most people don't give a second thought to.

You can find more info about Bahsahwahbee and the Swamp Cedars at:
Bahsahwahbee website
High Country News article, April 17, 2024

Art in Baker, Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 04:41:00 +0000

Baker, Nevada, a tiny hamlet of 150 people on the edge of the Nevada-Utah border, hosts a surprising amount of art for its size. It helps greatly that Baker is the gateway to Great Basin National Park, and the park and Great Basin National Park Foundation have a robust Artist-in Residence program.

A good place to start your Art Walk in Baker is at the Great Basin Visitor Center. Check out the "Great Basin Triptych: by Kirsten Gjerdset, Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence in 2012, featuring water life, surface life, and cave life. I love all the detail. Just below these paintings is a beautiful wood and metal "Great Basin Table" by Joe Norman, Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence in 2011.

But wait, there's more! Across from the visitor center desk look up and see the gorgeous stained glass window, "Great Basin National Park Panorama" by Kay Malouff, Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence in 2008.

It's a short walk into "downtown" Baker from the visitor center, where you can see this beautiful night sky mural with views of Wheeler Peak and bristlecone pines done by Baker resident Kelly Eichler.

Across the street, at the Bristlecone General Store, is the "Ring of Fire Eclipse" mural done by Jamie Vincek. This was such a fun event in Baker, and it's cool that we get to remember it this way. (Here's a blog post from that eclipse.)

At the adjacent Stargazer Inn is one of local resident Donna Kuiper's quilt square paintings-so beautiful!

Behind the Bristlecone General Store, there's a new community/visitor art project each year. Here's the one from 2025:

Not all the art is super obvious--this one is in on main street (Highway 487) next to Soulfood Studios, a local non-profit working to do workshops and share art. How cool!

Down near the gas station is a sign painted by Jamie Vincek: "All Roads Lead to Baker,, Nevada."

Check out the back side, too!

And guess what? There's still more art being added to the community! A Nevada Arts Council grant is making this bat by talented Meghan Dragon (a previous Arstist in Residence) possible. It's located between the Baker Community Church and Baker Hall (the big pink building in town).

Sometimes it can be hard to have much culture in a remote, tiny town, but we are very fortunate here.

Here's hoping that the art scene continues to flourish!

Hampton Creek Hike in Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 02:45:00 +0000

We've had such a warm and dry winter that we decided to go up to Hampton Creek in the North Snake Range, White PIne County, Nevada. We found no other vehicles at the trailhead and no snow on the way. Crazy for January!

We did see a dusting of snow on the north-facing slopes.

The 2014 fire has left some very interesting trees. The shrubs and forbs look like they are doing well.

Friends of Nevada Wilderness trail crew have been working on the trail throughout the summer. They started in 2024 as part of a SNPLMA project. It was fun going farther than we had last year.

Some of the burned trees are so statuesque.

It was a partly cloudy day and the color palette was rather bland. But the walking was nice!

The tiny creek is mostly frozen over.

I stopped to photograph this very seedy scat. I think the seeds are primarily from rose hips. Not sure of the animal--fox or smaller is a quick guess.

Emma was making wild gestures to point out a couple bull elk on the opposite hillside. That was unexpected!

The trail crosses a little side canyon creek.

Finn had fun sliding on the ice.

We continued just a little bit more, than realized we needed to get home. The trail kept going, though. I can't wait to go back and see more of it. Having a trail is so much nicer than what I went through when I hiked it in 2020.

The way down was fast and steep. Before long we could see the old mining structures and the parking lot.

I walked down the road to take a closer look at the mining structures. A ponderosa pine survives nearby! We were glad to see a sprinkling of baby ponderosa pines in the drainage.

On the drive back down the canyon, we saw some mini ice waterfalls high up on the cliffs. Fun!

I never thought I would be hiking Hampton Creek in January without any special gear, but it's another weird winter.

Happy 2026!

Fave Hike: Timber-South Fork Baker, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 04:13:00 +0000

The Timber-South Fork Baker Loop trail is so good I've already done it twice this year. It's about 5 miles (8 km) long and 1600 ft (500 m) elevation gain. It's not easy, but it's so beautiful.

The lower part is relatively flat, but then the trail starts getting into the trees and steeper.

There are always great wildflowers to admire, like this milkvetch.

We chose to go up the steeper Timber Creek side. There are some switchbacks, but we still had to take a number of breathing breaks.

On this late May trip, the aspens were just leafing out near the top.

A big limber pine has died.

Some of the aspens have weird bulges.

We even found a patch of snow!

We had intended to spend some time relaxing in the big meadow at the top, but we heard thunder!

We figured we shouldn't dawdle too long. (And we wondered at the trail signs, some with mileages and some without. It's good to take distances with a grain of salt.)

It started raining on us as we started down the South Fork Baker side, with more thunder. I had been so hot at the beginning of the hike that I had walked in the creek and wetted my shirt. Now, the rain was cooling us off.

We stopped for a selfie once we felt like we were in a safe place.

Most of the trail was tree-free, but this recently fallen one had us scrambling.

This trail is so picturesque!

The lower big meadow only had a few flowers blooming.

The Oregon grape (Mahonia repens) was impressive.

And then we were crossing the last bridges and back to the car.

We fortunately had a final wow--a yellow-bellied marmot!

Just a couple weeks later, I was up in the lower meadow (Baker-South Fork Baker loop, also a lovely hike), and the meadow was full of shooting stars!

This heart-leaf arnica made me laugh. It looks like how I feel most days--giving it my best to stand tall, but definitely a little disheveled and trying to pull it all together.

It's fun to play with the slo mo settings on phones!

A couple weeks after that, it was time to do the Timber-South Fork Baker loop again. This time we had blue skies, no thunderstorms in the upper meadow. We had nice views of the backside of Wheeler Peak and Doso Doyabi.

We also enjoyed seeing some very different flowers, like this Rocky Mountain columbine.

In the lower meadow, most of the shooting stars had dimmed, but the bistort was going strong.

Fresh off the Great Basin Bumble Bee BioBlitz, we were ultra-aware of bumble bees. And we saw two!

One of the first things to look for to determine if it's a bumble bee (vs. some other kind of bee or a fly mimic) is the pollen sac on the back leg. And it's really hairy, which is another feature off bumble bees. This lady has a huge yellow one! Then you look at the pattern of the tergites (6 back segments on the abdomen (remember head-thorax-abdomen as the three main body parts of an insect)). This one has some notable orange.

You can upload photos to iNaturalist for guesses on identifications, as well as the Bumble Bee Atlas.

We spent quite a lot of time with the bees. Then we walked, and I challenged Desert Girl to find an orchid. What?! An orchid in the Great Basin desert? Well, it doesn't grow in dry areas, it certainly likes wet spots and it's rather small, but it's still an orchid.

Isn't it a beauty?

Hopefully I'll get to hike this trail a couple more times this year and see what other changes I notice. While it's fun to hike new trails to see what's there, it's also great to repeat some faves to see how they change through the seasons.

Early Season Ascent of Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 04:38:00 +0000

It was May 26, and three of my brothers wanted to summit Wheeler Peak. Well, at least one of them wanted to and the rest of us were willing to go along with it. We got to the trailhead about 8:30 am, which seems to me like a late start, but this early in the season there's usually not the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. Instead, we ran into another problem, which I'll get to later.

There wasn't much snow on the first part of the four-mile long summit trail, but as we progressed, we found more.

Desert Girl was doing some training by carrying her cousin. The plan was to take him part way up the mountain, then his mom would take him down. He made it about 1/3 of the way up.

We crossed some very snowy sections and were glad to have poles. We also had microspikes, but didn't put them on till later.

As we headed above treeline, the kids surged ahead. The rest of us were wanting more oxygen.

It's both daunting and beautiful coming up that first false summit and then seeing the peak far off in the distance.

Looking back we see we are higher than Bald Mountain, to the north.

The big ridge had the wind shelters still full of snow.

And snow was the theme the rest of the way up. Although there were rocky patches, most of the way up was in the snow.

In some places, the snow was easier to traverse than the rock.

I saw several of these Hemiptera, or true bugs.

The first time I go up a big peak each year is always the hardest. For this trip, I took 10 steps and then paused and took a couple breaths and repeated.

For a short while I was even above Desert Boy. We could already see a long way off.

And then we were almost to the top!

We found the faster members of our group hanging out. This included Desert Girl, Desert Boy, and my nephew.

The view to the south was gorgeous, looking down into the North Fork of Baker Creek, Baker Peak, Pyramid Peak, Mt. Washington, and the Highland Ridge.

My daughter and nephew walked with me along the summit ridge towards Doso Doyabi, past the wind shelters and old heliotrope stations. These were used to help map the 39th parallel. You can read much more in the bood Geodesy: the transcontinental triangulation and the American arc of the parallel," 1900, US Coast and Geodetic Survey. I did not read it, but I did check that it's on Google Books at: https://books.google.com/books?id=--MNAQAAMAAJ. On page 334, it shows the measurements from Wheeler Peak to Tushar Mountain (near Beaver, UT), Mt. Nebo (near Nephi, UT), Ibapah Peak (near Callao, UT), and White Pine Peak (lost in NV).

p.s. You can learn more about Heliotropes on Wikipedia, including that someone using one could be called a "flasher."

Here they are, with Doso Doyabi obviously lower in the background.

The views were spectacular all around. Here's the ridge we had just climbed, with Stella and Teresa Lakes looking like little ponds in the right-center part of the photo.

As the clouds built, we gathered for a group photo.

We signed our names in the register, and then it was time to head down, with microspikes on.

We gave sliding down a try. It worked better on a jacket, as the snow was quite wet.

We had to be careful not to veer to the left, or we'd have a long hike into Spring Valley.

Remember how I said at the beginning that a later start might have a drawback? This was it. We found the snow was now very soft, and the postholing was awful. There were tears.

But we did it! What a day.

This was one of the harder times for me to climb the peak, not only because my body wasn't so acclimated, but also because so much snow made it rather tough. I was so proud of my nephew, doing one of the hardest hikes of his life (so far).

Sub-alpine Lakes Loop and Bristlecone Trails, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:08:00 +0000

We had family in town, it was the end of May, and it was time to check out some of the higher elevation trails! With only about 65% snowpack for the 2024-2025 winter, the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive opened just before Memorial Day weekend, allowing easier access to the snowy trails.

We started in the parking lot with some silliness.

Then it was time for the before photo. We were prepared with hiking poles and microspikes for most. Footwear and clothing varied.

This stump chair is always a favorite!

We found a lot of snow on the trail to Stella Lake.

Fortunately the snow lessened as we got on more south-facing slopes.

I was surprised to see so much ice still on the lake. The snow above it looked patchy.

The trail between Stella and Teresa Lakes was about 60% covered in snow. Fortunately someone who knew what they were doing made the first tracks, which lined up with the orange trail markers on the trees.

When we got to Teresa Lake, we saw that it was about double the size from a few days previous, but still small. The inlet stream was barely flowing.

Then our group split, with some going on to the bristlecones. The north-facing slope was quite treacherous.

My nephew fell, but fortunately stayed on the trail. And he even smiled!

When we turned the corner, the conditions improved a lot, and soon we were in the bristleone grove, admiring these old beings.

And why not give the tree a hug?

I also encouraged touching the bottlebrush-like needles. They feel so nice.

It was definitely good we had microspikes this early in the season. A couple weeks later and they weren't needed.

The Bristlecone Trail and Sub-alpine Lakes Loop are two of the busiest trails in the park, and for good reason, they are beautiful. Fortunately, Great Basin National Park doesn't have super high visitation, so you can still have a true national park experience. However, parking is limited, and on weekends and holidays, it's best to arrive before 9:30 am or after 3:30 pm to snag a parking spot.

Sage Steppe Loop and Old Osceola Trail, Strawberry Creek, GBNP

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 20:52:00 +0000

It's great to have family visit, because it's a good excuse to get out hiking! For an easy morning hike, we headed over to Strawberry Creek. We were hoping to see some elk or deer on the drive up the scenic canyon road. Alas, they were somewhere else, but we did see something we stopped for:

A Great Basin rattlesnake! And it was in the middle of its breakfast, complete with a mouse tail protruding from its mouth. This was so cool. It only had a handful of rattles, so this was a rather young snake.

It moved off the road into some Oregon grape and sagebrush, and we left it in peace.

When we got to the trailhead, we were the only vehicle. We started off on the 1.2-mile long sage steppe tour to the left to go clockwise. The trail quickly enters a burned area.

The kids seem to appreciate extra challenges, which I was happy to give them.

We took a little break at the bridge at the top of the loop.

Just beyond is a trail junction sign. If you go left, you are on the old Osceola Trail heading to the collapsed tunnel and Weaver Creek. I had never taken the trail before, and the rest of the group was amenable to giving it a try.

The trail was easy to follow, being in a ditch. Even though the ditch is more than a hundred years old, it's still a ditch. Until you get to the end, when it just suddenly ends. This is where the tunnel would have been, but it's so thoroughly collapsed, you don't get much sense that there had been a tunnel.

Instead of heading back down the ditch to reconnect to the Sage steppe loop, we decided to head cross country. Under this tree we found piles of fence posts.

We had to zig and zag to avoid some of the taller veg, but eventually we made it back to the trail.

And there was enough energy for one more challenge!

I highly recommend the Sage steppe loop. It's a neat view of a burned area, is short and not too steep, and during the summer has lots of flowers blooming.

The Osceola tunnel trail is one that can be skipped. There is not much to recommend it.

Snake Creek Overlook Trail, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 18:32:00 +0000

With family in town and ready to stretch their legs, we headed up Snake Creek. At first we thought we would do the Serviceberry Loop trail, but decided we didn't have enough time. So we started on the Snake Creek Overlook trail (highlighted in orange on the map), a trail I wasn't familiar with.

It starts at the end of the Snake Creek road, on the same trailhead as Dead Lake. It's a lollipop hike, with a straightaway, then a loop, and then back to the straightaway to return.

The trail veers off from the Dead Lake trail and crosses the creek to go to a couple walk-in campsites, which were occupied.

There are even picnic tables and fire grates at the walk-in sites.

We finally remembered to do a "before" shot.

We followed an old road up to a sign that showed we were at the loop section. We didn't know if there was a better direction to go, so we arbitrarily went left.

Lots of Oregon grape aka creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens) was blooming.

At the top of the loop is this huge dead ponderosa pine. Some live ponderosa pines are nearby.

We thought the overlook would be at the top, but didn't see anything, so we started hiking down.

Then we found a bench with a glimpse of Pyramid Peak.

From here, the trail was back to an old road, so was more gradual.

I enjoyed seeing the manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula) blooms.

Desert Boy is going to be doing an internship at Great Basin National Park this summer, so I thought it might be good to see what he knows. Could he match the foliage with the pinecone?

Do you know what each of these pinecones/foliage are? Answers under the photo.

From left to right: ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), white fir (Abies concolor).

Here's the white fir closeup, with grayish-green needles and rather smooth bark on the trees.

And here's Douglas fir, with a darker green needles and flakier bark.

While Desert Boy was puzzling it out, I noticed a different looking tree nearby. It's a bristlecone pine (Pinus longevae)!

Then it was back to the parking lot, which has some nice views of the limestone Eagle Peak.

The short hike was just what we needed to stretch our legs and see a couple interesting sites. This would not be a hike I would recommend as a destination hike, but it's fine if you have some extra time and are looking for something off the beaten path. Or if you are trying to hike all the trails in the Park this year!

Osceola Trail in the Spring, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Fri, 23 May 2025 13:39:00 +0000

In early May I hiked the Osceola Trail. My son dropped me off at the trailhead on the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, and the lack of vehicles gave me a hint that I would have the trail to myself.

Usually at this time of year, this trail has lots of water flowing across it, but due to the low snow year, it was dry.

Soon I was on the rocky section. This would have been very hard to get a ditch across to take water from Lehman Creek (and later Mill and Strawberry Creeks) over to the mining town of Osceola. The ditch was short-lived, with lots of leaks and water thievery, but the path it took still survives, and because it's relatively flat, is a nice option in this very mountainous park.

In places it's very easy to see the ditch path.

It doesn't take too long to get to Mill Creek, a tiny creek that you can step over.

For those wanting just a touch of the trail, this is a good out-and-back destination from the Scenic Drive.

I continued on and was rewarded with some blooming arrowleaf balsamroot.

And then I noticed that there was also Hooker's balsam root nearby. The leaves are serrated and easily distinguishable from the arrow-shaped ones.

Many of these flowers are blooming in the burned section, lending a nice burst of color.

As I continued, the cloudy day led for a lovely light show. This is looking north towards Mt. Moriah and the North Snake Range.

As I came around on to the Strawberry side, I could easily see the road down below. I was also fascinated by the small patches of trees that survived the fire on the opposite hillside.

Although many burned trees have fallen, a few still remain upright.

Light show!

A potentilla (cinquefoil) that I hadn't yet seen blooming this year.

The easy-to-follow trail arrives at a huge washout. This is from 2023 (I think), when a big snowpack took out parts of the Osceola trail. There's no easy fix here, so it's a scramble down and across.

In the gully looking up, you can see that the washout is both wide and deep.

It's actually two gullies that come together down below. It may be easiest to cross below both.

Some burned bark.

Milkvetch (astragalus).

Another drainage has also washed out, but in this case, it has deposited tons of gravel on top of the trail. This obstacle is much easier to cross than the other one.

Another beautiful yellow flower in the Asteraceae family.

Along with flowers, there were wildlife. Here are some mule deer.

Up higher were some elk. Which answers the age-old question: at what elevation do deer turn into elk?

Before long, a sign indicated the way down to the Strawberry trailhead.

My son was waiting. It sure was handy to have a shuttle!

It took just over two hours to hike the approximate five miles at a leisurely pace with lots of photo stops. It helped that it was a cool day, sometimes this trail can be blazing hot with the lack of shade. It's a nice easy trail except for the washouts, the first which is quite difficult to find a way across. There weren't as many flowers as I was expecting, maybe because it was earlier in the season and a dry winter. Nevertheless, it was a lovely hike.

Pole Canyon-Timber Creek Loop, GBNP

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 04 May 2025 14:32:00 +0000

I woke up tired, but it was a beautiful morning, and I really wanted to go on a long hike. Pole Canyon is gorgeous this time of year, and I never got around to hiking it last year, so off I went.

I wanted to do the whole loop, so I parked near the entrance of Grey Cliffs and hiked down to the Pole Canyon trail. I crossed Baker Creek, which is rather low this year.

And then I got distracted by birds, violet-green swallows in particular. They perched so I could get a look at them.

A bit up the trail I got distracted by this Hooker's balsamroot, growing low to the ground. Many flower species are extra diminuitive this year due to the lack of precip. This was the only Hooker's balsamroot I saw on the whole hike, so I was glad I photographed it!

Pole Canyon is fun because it goes through a bunch of habitats. Most of it is an old grade, and the gradient is not too steep.

Some of the water crossings are dry, even though it's May and this should be the wettest time of year.

The lower part of Pole Creek was dry, but as I got up higher into the limber pine and white fir, I could hear the creek. A bunch of horsetails are along one short stretch of the trail.

Then the trail comes out into nice meadows and water birches along the creek.

Up higher there are some ponderosa pines, along with limber pines and white fir and aspen.

I finally got to the junction trail.

When I looked at the other part of the sign, I had to laugh. It said the trailhead was 2.5 miles. The sign at the trailhead said the junction was 1.8 miles. It's somewhere in that vicinity!

Goosefoot violets are now blooming.

From the trail sign, the trail ascends steeply up to the ridge to the west, and you get a view looking back down Pole Canyon.

Near the ridgeline, you get great views of Doso Doyabi, which still has a dusting of snow.

I even found one patch of snow near the trail.

I was surprised how brown the Timber Creek section looks. Hopefully it will green up soon.

I found a bunch of snow buttercups.

Near the Timber Creek trailhead are these lovely bridges.

And then I was at the trailhead. I took a sharp right to take the trail down to Baker Creek campground.

Through the trees I spotted a couple marmots lounging on boulders.

I went through Baker Creek campground, the connector trail, through Grey Cliffs Campground, and then back to my vehicle. Here's a different yellow violet, with different-shaped leaves. Overall, I think it was about 10 km or 6 miles. With my frequent stops for birds and flowers, it took me about 3 1/4 hours, and I only saw two other hikers. It's a lovely jaunt when it's not too hot.

Winter Hike up Lehman Creek Trail, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 05:20:00 +0000

I spent too much time sitting at my computer this week, so I was looking forward to a big hike on Saturday, and decided to go up the Lehman Creek Trail, a steep trail in Great Basin National Park with about 2500 feet elevation gain. The hike is reached by driving up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive to the gate (which is closed during the winter months) at Upper Lehman Campground, parking, hiking through the campground, and then starting at the trailhead. From there, it's 3.4 miles to the Wheeler Peak Campground.

This is one of the more popular winter hikes, but it's not easy due to steepness and high elevation. The trail was obvious because so many people had been on it that there was a trough in the snow. There was also a lot of ice, and I really wished I had brought microspikes. I had snow shoes, but decided not to put them and balanced carefully with my hiking poles. As I got higher, there was a little fresh snow and that made the trail much better.

In a little over an hour I reached a big meadow with lovely views of Wheeler Peak and the clouds rolling over it.

At this point it was relatively warm and I just had on a long-sleeve baselayer and a softshell, plus just one hat and neck warmer.

The bridge beyond the meadow is always a fun landmark because you can see how deep the snow is along the edges of the spring. It looked to be less than a foot deep.

I couldn't resist taking some "artsy" photos, like these curved aspen trunks.

The trail was quite nice at this point, I could just hike in my winter hiking boots. There was some wind, but not too much, and I enjoyed watching the trees change from ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, Utah juniper, and mountain mahogany at the start to quaking aspen, limber pine, white fir, and Douglas fir up higher.

While I was in a winter wonderland, I could look back towards Snake Valley and see the snow-free Burbank Hills and Confusion Range.

Some of the trees are so dramatic!

I was also paying special attention to the birds. This mountain chickadee was quite close...

...and then it wasn't. I saw/heard about 5 mountain chickadees, 3 red-breasted nuthatches, 2 brown creepers, 3 Clark's nutcrackers, and a Steller's jay. I also saw fresh deer tracks at about 9,000 feet.

It was fun seeing bits of the mountain appear as the clouds whisked by. I couldn't stop too long, as it was getting colder. I added a fleece under my softshell and a thicker neck warmer, plus pulled up my hood.

And then I reached the campground! The last part of the trail was very wind-blown, and I decided this was a good place to put on my snowshoes.

I went out across the meadow in the middle of the campground, and here's a view looking back. Even with snowshoes I was sinking into the snow a few inches.

But overall, the snow isn't too high.

Camping would be on the chilly side.

Here's part of the campground road.

It was nice when the sun came out. Here's my rather disheveled self, now with a puffy on top of the other jackets. I thought briefly about going further, but I had things I wanted to do at home that afternoon and I hadn't brought that much food. This was far enough for today's adventure.

So it was back to the trail and time to head downhill.

It was faster going down. I kept the snowshoes on to practice more with them.

Most of Lehman Creek was iced over, and I saw very little running water.

As I got lower, the snow turned to ice, and eventually so much of the trail was melted I took off my snowshoes. I was glad to have the poles, as I nearly fell a few times on the slick icy spots.

And then I was back to the trailhead. What a wonderful jaunt!

Here are my times, which will always vary given the trail and snow conditions, amount of time spent birding and taking photos, and the number of snack and drink breaks. Speaking of drinks, my drink bottle started forming ice in it on my backpack side pocket. I guess it was chilly.

Heading up:

Parking lot - 0 minutes

Trailhead - 13 min

Osceola ditch - 39 min (1 km from TH)

Big meadow - 70 min

bridge - 86 min

Wheeler Peak CG - 134 min (2 hours, 14 min)

Heading down

Wheeler Peak CG - 0 minutes

Bridge - 23 minutes

Big meadow - 34 min

Osceola ditch - 64 min

Trailhead - 92 min

Parking lot - 105 minutes (1 hour 45 min)

Plus I spent about half an hour wandering around the campground. How many people did I see? At the parking area, three other vehicles total. On the trail: 0 people. I had it all to myself on a Saturday morning.

Here's more on visiting Great Basin National Park in winter. I'm hoping to get in some other good adventures this winter.

Return to Crystal Ball Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 03:16:00 +0000

Our friends organized a trip to Crystal Ball Cave and we were happy to join them. This cave is so different and wonderful. We started by going down the Lombardy poplar-lined driveway, where we spotted some peacocks and deer. After meeting our guide Kirsten, we drove up the hill and started on the 15-minute hike to the cave entrance.

Kirsten told us about how her family had discovered the cave while looking for lost sheep. They don't remember what happened to the sheep, but they sure remembered the cave!

The entrance is through a small door.

And then you're in the giant geode! Crystal Ball has thick crystal coatings on most of the ceilings, walls, and floors, caused by supersaturated water. Check out the big crystal by Kirsten's feet!

I've passed this weird looking stalactite several times. Now I understand that it's condensation corrosion that has been weathering away the formation so that we can see the layers that were deposited earlier.

You bring your own lights to light up the cave. Kirsten had a super bright light that really lit up a lot. As you can see, we're walking on the natural cave floor.

I looked closely at this formation. It might resemble a stalagmite at first, but I've seen several of these in Lehman Caves that have a hole through the middle. Sure enough, this one did, too. A gypsum bed was probably at this height, and water drips made a hole into the highly dissolvable gypsum. Then the water splashed to make the popcorny look. So maybe coralloid-encrusted drip tube is a better term for this speleothem. What would you call it?

Gypsum, you say? Why yes, there's a bunch of it in the cave. I don't understand why. You can see drill holes through a bunch of it from dripping water. Why does it confound me? I will be the first to say I have limited geologic knowledge. But I know that gypsum is soluble by water. And in order to have the nailhead spar (crystal coating) in the cave, the cave had to be flooded with water. So that means the gypsum came later. What made it come?

Up on the ceilings are lots of trays, flat surfaces of popcorn. Here's one explanation of how they form (on a really cool website called The Virtual Cave): http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtcave/trays/trays.html

There are plenty of more "regular" speleothems, like this nice stalagmite.

And quite a few stalactites and a large stalagmite with draperies on it.

This old ladder heads up into one of the many cupolas in the cave. Cupolas are like upside down sinkholes--they are bigger on the bottom and then get smaller on the top. They form from warm, acidic water rising from below. Cupolas are one of the indications of hypogenic caves, and the more I look at caves in the West, the more I see signs of hypogenesis. Many caves back east, like Mammoth Cave, are epigenic caves, forming when streams sink underground or water flows down sinkholes.

Continuing along, we passed more splattermites and more crystal coatings.

Then we got to this area with more formations that superficially look like stalagmites. But look closer--they're different! They aren't coralloid-encrusted drip tubes either. Instead, these are raft cones, formed when water filled this pool and calcite rafts (like dainty lily pads) floated on the surface. A drip of water sank a raft, and over time, they built up into these cones. What a weird phenomenon!

Kirsten did such a good job explaining all sorts of things in the cave and answering questions.

She told us about these raft cones and then showed us the weird one, the tall one next to her, which plays two different sounds depending on where you tap on it.

We continued through the cave, where the ceiling gets lower.

But occasionally we could stand again.

That's because there were a bunch more cupolas. Looking up them, we could see the bedrock, because the condensation corrosion had worn away the crystal coating.

The crystals on the floor, continued, though.

They are so beautiful!

In the final room we took our last photos, saw an extinct horse's hoof (this cave is amazing for paleontology), saw a couple bats, and then it was time to go out the exit door.

This door was even shorter than the entrance door.

And then we were back to the outside desert world. The caves with all their decorations remind me that it wasn't always so dry on the surface. Probably many of the formations grew when it was much wetter outside.

We went back to the ranch to use the bathroom and saw these deer hanging out in the orchard next to the guest cabins.

Then it was on to Gandy Warm Springs...

...where Desert Girl waded in...

...and we enjoyed a picnic lunch.

We weren't finished with our adventures yet. Next up was Devil's Gate Slot Canyon.

There's really only one tricky part, the climb down into it. Then there's a very short section of the most beautiful canyon, where you can touch both walls.

And then it suddenly ends.

It was a great day with great people. If you ever have the chance to see Crystal Ball Cave, I highly recommend it!

Here are write-ups from a couple previous trips.

2009 Crystal Ball Cave trip

2015 Crystal Ball Cave trip

Northern Lights in Snake Valley!

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 22:00:00 +0000

This isn't something I was expecting to see in Snake Valley! The Great Basin area is relatively far south, so how in the world are we seeing northern lights?

Well, thanks to a solar maximum this year and several large CME's - coronal mass ejections -aimed towards the earth, we're being bombarded by solar stuff (I'm 100% sure that's the technical term) that makes for awesome skies, even in more southerly locales. We're located along the 39th parallel (the Equator is 0 and North Pole is +90), so that puts us more towards the south than the north (let me remember that come winter, lol). But with all the activity, northern lights appeared in May (which I missed due to traveling), and now they're back in October!

My friend Jenny and I had gone out two nights to try and see them over the weekend, but one night was a bust and the other night they were so dim that I didn't even post any of my photos. But on Monday night, 10/7/2024, she texted me to get my eyes outside. I boogied out, bring the whole family, and we were amazed! We could see some color with just our eyes (those naked eyes we're always hearing about!). And with a longer exposure, the colors really popped!

The kids responsibly went to bed a little after 8 pm, but I wanted to see more, so I jumped in the car and started driving around. Except the color had faded quite a bit. It was still a nice glow.

The pond was so serene with the glow over it.

Welcome to Baker, Nevada. It's extra colorful now!

I headed to the Baker Archeological Site, because I thought it would be extra cool to think about the Fremont people here hundreds of years ago maybe experiencing this same phenomenon. What would they have thought?

The color wasn't super bright, but it was beautiful.

I was getting tired, so I decided to pack it up. But as I was walking back to the car, I noticed the colors strengthening. Hooray! Here's the path to the aurora!

And I'm on it. Check out those pillars! And cloud reflections. It was so magical.

I went back to the main site and enjoyed an amazing light show. Why do people post so many aurora photos?

Because it changes so fast!

And it is just so amazing being there, even when you can't see quite this much color, you definitely see that the sky is tinted.

I'll just conclude by saying Welcome to Nevada. We have more color now!

p.s. I think I have a new hobby now, these colors are just so amazing!

Hampton Creek Road Reopened!

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 02:18:00 +0000

I heard that the Hampton Creek road had been repaired in August, about 10 years after the Hampton Creek Fire and subsequent floods that washed the road out. I couldn't wait to go check it out. We went on a Sunday afternoon that was surprisingly cloudy.

The road goes right through the dry Hampton Creek creekbed. It's dry right now, but won't be come springtime, so we'll see how it looks then!

The newly constructed road crosses a couple small springs.

The road was nice and wide, but be aware that it is quite rocky!

Near the end of the road you can see a nice tall ponderosa pine and some mining structures from the old garnet mine.

We parked at the obvious trailhead parking and started up the trail. Soon we found lots of rocks with tiny little red garnets in them. You can also find garnets on their own in some of the alluvium.

As we continued up the trail, I got so excited to see a baby ponderosa pine!

The landscape looks so different. The skeletons of pinyon pine dot the landscape, but rabbitbrush seems to be the dominant plant now. It's easy to look way up canyon. I was glad for the clouds to block the sun.

The dog remained blissfully oblivious to a herd of elk on a far-off ridge.

Another baby ponderosa pine! It will be fun to see how these grow.

We hiked up a bit and then turned around. The trail at the beginning is awesome. How is that possible?

It's possible because a trail crew is working on it!

We stopped and talked to them a bit. They're from Friends of Nevada Wilderness and they've done a couple hitches already working on the trail and this is their last one for the year. But they'll be back the next two years to continue work on this trail and others in the North Snake Range as part of a Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) project to repair roads and trails in the area. This makes me so happy, I love hiking in this mountain range!

So if you have the opportunity, you can go check out Hampton Creek now all the way to the trailhead (without hiking in an hour). It's great to be back!

More posts about Hampton Creek over the years:

September 2008 trip report

More about the garnet mine-2008

2014 Hampton Fire

August 2014 visit, after the fire

May 2016 visit

Exploring Burned Hampton Creek

Family Backpack up Strawberry Creek, Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 15 Sep 2024 03:44:00 +0000

Last weekend we went for a little family backpacking trip up Strawberry Creek. The trail up to the saddle is not well used.

I really enjoyed the arborglyphs like this one, which said "Peligro" (Danger) and had a skull and crossbones. What danger lurked ahead? Many of the abundant arborglyphs were carved by longely sheepherders from Peru in the 1980s. Nowadays the practice is frowned upon because it damages the aspen trees.

It didn't take too long to get up to the saddle area (with Willard Creek), and to my surprise, some of the aspens are changing color already.

There's a large spring in the area.

This old sign is tacked onto a nearby tree. I think it was from when the area was managed by the Forest Service, so prior to 1986.

I was so excited to enjoy the view during golden hour, and fortunately Desert Girl was willing to pose.

We heard one bull elk bugling, which is such a weird sound. But it was pretty quiet during the night, much to my surprise. I woke up early.

And enjoyed sunrise.

Clouds always make the sky prettier!

The views in this area are really pretty. Perhaps not stunning like in some nearby spots, but just a gentle beauty and peace that is very comforting.

A cow skull from days gone by is on a boulder. Cattle grazing was retired from Great Basin National Park in 1999 and sheep grazing in 2009.

This arborglyph is a bit of a map, with an arrow towards Osceola and the Robison Spring. The Robisons lived in the area for a long time and ran a lot of sheep on the Snake Range.

Hiking down the next day we saw this arborglyph from 1911. I can't really figure out what else it says.

And here's one from Cepari Palomo (who also signed a lot of trees as Palomino). Part of it says El Muchacho Universitario (the university boy), Electrosta...Ley de Coulomb (electricity...Coulomb's Law).

My husband and Desert Boy stop for an older arborglyph.

This one that says H2O and an arrow shows where Strawberry Creek reappears and then continues flowing.

And here's an arborglyph from 1903!

We saw a couple elk wallows. Generally a large herd of elk congregate in Strawberry Creek in the fall. When they bugle, it's an amazing sound.

The elderberries were ripe, so I snacked on them.

And then we finished the hike back through the burned area.

I don't have many photos of backpacking because the kids were so fast. I was the caboose. It was fun to go see a different area and have a short amount of miles to cover!

Day 3 of 3-Day Backpacking Trip in Southern Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:42:00 +0000

Here's Day 3 of a romping good backpacking trip in southern Great Basin National Park.

Day 1 I started in Snake Creek and hiked down North Fork Big Wash, up South Fork Big Wash, and slept in North Fork Lexington.

Day 2 I continued up and over Granite Peak to Mustang Spring and up and over to Lincoln Peak.

That meant Day 3 I was starting near Mt. Washington and I was headed back to the trailhead to complete the loop. I set up my alarm for 4:30 am so I could climb Mt. Washington and descend the other side to the Magic Grove. I really wanted to be at the Quarter Tree for sunrise.

I got there a bit before sunrise, so why not do the Tree Pose near one of my favorite trees?

And then the colors started popping as the sun came up. It was so magical!

So much beauty. I couldn't really take it all in. Just wow!

And the views didn't stop. I was just in so much awe.

Finally I decided it was time to continue. Here's my hiking shadow.

The tree was pointing the way!

The good views didn't stop. The dramatic cliffs of North Fork Big Wash and Lincoln cirque highlighted the wildness of this place.

I kept on trekking, getting a bit lost on the Snake Divide Trail. It's not really a trail. It's a route. Or maybe just a suggestion in places. So if you go up there, be sure to have a GPS or GPS app on your phone. Some sections are starting to get more heavily eroded, so hopefully a trail crew can get up there and put in some water bars. And mark the places where it's easiest to get off trail!

I saw one other person on the trail, during the three days, an off-duty maintenance employee about a mile from the trailhead. It was a lovely, quiet get-away. When I got back to the Shoshone trail, I noticed one of the waterbars had NCC on it -- Nevada Conservation Corps. They're a crew that the park hires to help with trails.

Their waterbars were doing a wonderful job of getting the water off the trail!

And then I was back to the accessible fishing area on Snake Creek. Back to water! And back to my regular life.

This turned out to be an excellent adventure. It definitely had a lot of off-trail and bushwhacking parts to it. Having hiked many of these sections before gave me confidence to link them all together. Water was the biggest thing in my head, as there are so few water sources in the southern part of the Park, but they all worked out fine. I didn't mind all the ups and downs of the terrain, probably because I kept my pack fairly light. I purposefully didn't keep careful statistics or track what I did. But it was somewhere in the range off 30 miles and 11,000 feet up and 11,000 feet down. I used most of what I brought with me, but definitely overpacked the food. I could have done without the sun umbrella, although I really did enjoy it on day 1. I could have left the stove behind, and might for some trips now that I know cold soaking is a decent alternative.

If you're thinking about going out and doing something wild, go for it! It does the soul good!

Day 2 of 3-Day Backpacking Trip in Southern Great Basin National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 23:29:00 +0000

Day 2 of my three-day southern backpacking trip in Great Basin National Park. (Here's Day 1.)

I started the day in the lower right hand corner of the map, on the yellow line near Lexington Arch.

My big goal was to get up to Granite Peak. It's a somewhat isolated peak with no trail to it. There's not actually any granite near it, just limestone. And I hadn't climbed it ever! I was thinking I would spend the night at Mustang Spring, or possibly a but further north.

I woke up a little later than I wanted to, at 6:05 am. Geez, what a slacker (lol).

It took me 20 minutes to pack up and I headed up the old road behind the cabin. It twisted and turned and had clearly been washed out for awhile, with some older foot travel visible. I knew this was a back way to Lexington Arch, although I had never taken it. I enjoyed finding a little ponderosa pine seedling. Ponderosa pines thrive with low-intensity fire, as it allows their pinecones to open and the seeds to fall to the ground and germinate.

As I kept hiking I found a lot of elk sign, including a spot where one had recently bedded down, then got up and peed. I looked around, and not far from me was a big bull elk! As soon as he saw me, he took off running. I was just outside the national park, and apparently the elk knew it.

I enjoyed seeing some shadows on the burned landscape as the sun rose. Here are some yarrow flowers.

As I looked to the east, I saw a familiar form take shape--Lexington Arch! I did a little happy dance! I wasn't expecting to see it, so what a lovely surprise!

I kept hiking up. And up. And dodging tree branches. And then ahead of me I could see three peaks. Granite Peak is the one on the left, with the long, flat summit. Oof, it looked far away.

I just kept plugging along. I enjoyed these orange lichen-covered rocks. Off to the north I could see Pyramid Peak and beyond that, Wheeler Peak and Doso Doyabi.

I welcomed the cloud cover, which made it a little cooler.

The bristlecone pines take such wonderful forms! I took a little break near this one so I could enjoy it longer. My path? The rocky slope behind it. As you can see, there's absolutely no trail.

I got some views into the upper part of South Fork Big Wash, which has some awesome cliffs. Speaking of cliffs, at one point when I was down climbing along the ridge, one of my empty water bottles fell out of a pocket and bounced down the cliff and into the trees below. It kept rolling, and I knew I wouldn't be able to retrieve it. I felt bad about littering. On the bright side, I felt good that it wasn't my body going down the cliff. Later I found a helium balloon and packed that out, so I felt a little better about removing trash.

I kept hiking. And hiking. And, then, finally, I was at the summit of Granite Peak!

Here's the view looking south, towards Decathon and Highland Ridge Wilderness. Not a building in sight. This is so remote.

A summit register was in a jar in the rock pile. I was the only person for 2024 to sign in so far. Whoop, whoop! I read through the entries and found that I'm not the first one to do this backpacking route, someone did it a few years ago. Or at least they planned to, I'm not sure if they made it or not! There was also someone with extensive plans from the Lexington trailhead.

And here's my pack, a Gossamer Mariposa 60. I loved it. I took out the back pad to sit (and for extra padding at night). So many pockets kept everything easy to access. And best of all, it was very comfortable.

After a celebratory snack at the summit, it was time to head towards Mustang Spring. This was more hours of tough hiking, basically following the ridge.

Using my GPS app, I was able to find Mustang Spring. I only had about half a liter of water left at this point, so I needed this spring. The animal trails helped lead me there. There wasn't much water, but it was enough. I dug a little hole and then used a cup (from the stove--so I can say I used a part of the stove!) to fill up my filter. Earlier in the day I had been hoping to get to Mustang Spring by noon, but I got here at 2:30. I took a nice hour-long break, including eating and filling all my water bottles, plus watching the birds--red crossbills, dark-eyed juncos, and mountain chickadees, hang out at the spring.

Next it was time to head towards the ridge to the north. Along the way I found this rock, which I think is a fossil.

The views were just lovely, with yellow snowberry and currant bushes.

I found that I was on the "new" Highland Ridge Route, which goes from Mustang Spring to the north, following the drainage, and then meets up with the ridge just south of Lincoln Peak. Years ago I hiked the "old" Highland Ridge Route, which stays up high on the ridge and only goes down into Decathon near the southern park boundary. There's not a marked trail for either one, so it doesn't really matter which one you take, as long as you know where you are. (And if you need water, Mustang Spring is the only spring between Decathon trailhead and Lincoln Peak.)

The late afternoon light was gorgeous. I got so much energy just being in such a beautiful place.

But then it got even better. The little sprinkles turned into a rainbow over South Fork Big Wash! Another little happy dance!

And then it was time to eat again. I was absolutely starving, but fortunately I had put water into my dinner at Mustang Spring (and into an additional ziploc bag, which was good, because the Mountain House package didn't seal too well). It had cold-soaked long enough and was perfect. I thought I might just eat part of it, but I ate the whole package while I watched the clouds float by.

I started hiking and another rainbow came out. How lucky!

Later I saw a golden-mantled ground squirrel. What a cutie.

Then I noticed I could see my shadow hiking. Can you spot me below?

I still had to get up Lincoln Peak, but Highland Ridge at golden hour is insanely beautiful, so I didn't mind the continued hiking.

I turned my phone off airplane mode and called my husband as I approached Lincoln Peak. At the peak I saw someone had signed into the register that same day! Cool. It soon got dark, but I felt like continuing. I had hiked this section in the dark with a headlamp several times coming back from bighorn sheep searches and caving trips. I definitely needed my GPS app to find my way, as there are no markers or trail, and once you get down in the trees it gets very confusing.

Fortunately I got to the road and continued for a ways until I found a flat spot with little rocks to call home for the night. What a great day 2!

Just one day left!

Stay tuned...

3-Day Backpacking Trip in Southern Great Basin National Park - Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 14:03:00 +0000

Last year I started thinking about an ambitious backpacking plan in the southern part of Great Basin National Park. Start at the Snake Creek/Johnson Lake trailhead and head south on the Shoshone Trail, connect up to the North Fork Big Wash Trail and head east, then head back up (west) on the South Fork Big Wash Trail. Go down into the corner of the park near Lexington Arch, then go off trail to climb Granite Peak, the last of the over 11,000 foot named peaks I had yet to climb. Head to Mustang Springs for water, then up Highland Ridge to Lincoln Peak, Mt. Washington, and down the Snake Divide Trail to the trailhead. I figured it would take about three days and be about 30 miles.

Well, I didn't get around to it in 2023, but I kept the idea in the back of my mind for 2024, and finally the chance came. I did a bit more prep, which included putting the route into Google Earth. I clicked on the show profile button. About 11,000 feet elevation gain! and loss! Was out of my mind or not?

My husband told me he wasn't' sure if I was in good enough shape to do this trek. I decided to go for it anyway. I had several outs. If I got too tired, I could hike out Big Wash, North Lexington, Lexington Arch, Cedar Cabin Springs, Decathon, or Mt. Washington roads.

So I packed up and was pretty ruthless in keeping my weight down. The forecast looked great, with 0% chance of rain at night. That meant no tent needed. A puffy and a rain coat, but no fleece or soft shell. Tiny toiletries. I did decide to go for a sun umbrella, a very thin sleeping pad to put under my inflatable sleeping pad, and a stove. I should have skipped that last item. I'll get into that soon.

I started off from the trailhead at 7:18 am and in an hour was at the junction with the Snake Divide Trail thanks to a good trail. I headed over towards North Fork Big Wash on a little-maintained, recently washed out trail. It was a bit challenging in places, but not far and in another hour I was at the North Fork Big Wash. I was expecting to see a better trail here, but as you can see in the photo below, it was nearly non-existent. What had I gotten myself into?

Since the trail followed an old two-track road, I figured I could use my sun umbrella.

However, the recent rains had created a flow as tall as my hiking poles and the trail was in bad shape, which meant lots of bushwhacking, which is tricky with an umbrella. At least with how I wanted to use the umbrella!

As I progressed lower in elevation, the trail got better. I think some of the overgrown cottonwood sections caught a lot of the debris. Or maybe because the area is all karst, the water kept sinking in the ground. I reached the NFBW trailhead and saw recent vehicle tracks in the parking area. This was my first out.

Did I want to quit?

Heck no! It wasn't even noon, and I was feeling good (going downhill helps, lol).

I turned the corner and started heading back uphill on the South Fork Big Wash Trail, re-entering the Park. The creek was running all the way out to the parking area, to my surprise. I took a quick dip in a waterfall/pool area near the park boundary. It was chilly, but felt so good!

I stopped at a favorite alcove with lots of amberrat and was happily surprised to see a packrat! Do you see him or her int he photo below? The packrats (also known as woodrats) leave these massive poop piles and also lots of vegetation and other things they find. Then they pass them down generation to generation, so the middens become treasure troves of information about past times. Sometimes the material becomes solidified into what's called amberrat. It sort of looks like candy. Just don't lick it (like some early travelers did).

At the springhead for lower South Fork Big Wash, I took a nice break and replenished my water and dipped my shirt into the creek.

The SFBW trail was in decent shape and had seen some love in the not-so-distant past, with steps in some of the steep sections. I really enjoyed this flatter section through the mahogany.

I wasn't the only one who had enjoyed the trail crew's work. I saw scat from both bobcat and mountain lion (pictured below).

And later, when I got near a small spring, I found quite a few elk droppings. The elk used the upper part of the trail heavily, and I noticed that quite a few plants had been munched.

South Fork Big Wash has impressive limestone cliffs, and I couldn't help but look for caves. There's some potential, but they wouldn't be easy to get into!

Eventually I popped out at the boiler, the site of an old sawmill in a small meadow. There's also a dependable spring here, so I took a nice break. I had thought about camping at this location (approximately 10 miles from the Snake/Johnson trailhead), but I had energy, so I decided to keep on going. But first it was time to refuel. I wanted more than my Day 1 snacks. I had separated each day's food into a separate gallon ziplock so I would not eat all my favorite treats first and then have only the less desirable on the third day. I also had a bag of dehydrated meals and ramen. I decided this was a good place for some ramen.

I got out my Jetboil.

The auto lighting feature didn't work.

Not a problem, I had brought a lighter.

The lighter didn't work.

Not a problem, I had backup matches.

Even with the matches, the stove didn't light.

Apparently the canister was out of fuel, even though I thought I had checked that!

Still not a problem. I had been watching a Facebook account of a lady hiking the Oregon trail and she talked about cold soaking her food. I had actually looked it up, and had read that if you soak your dehydrated food in cold water for an hour, it's fine. Two-three hours is better. So I put my ramen in a ziplock bag and put in cold water.

Meanwhile, a hummingbird entertained me for a bit.

I checked the ramen after about 15 minutes, and it was ready enough to eat, and I was starving, so I ate it. I filtered water as I wasn't sure of my next water source.

Then it was time for the uphill hike. I had spent a lot of time in this part of the canyon, helping to rehab it after its wildfire about 15 years ago. I was happy to see so much vegetation coming back and very little erosion. It looks like our work helped.

These ponderosa pines are relatively rare in Great Basin National Park and were such a delight to see, especially since it was golden hour.

At the top of the hill I met a network of roads, some with fresh vehicle tracks. But I didn't see any people. I did see this cool group of bees (or wasps) on top of a flower head.

Before long I reached this little creek. I hadn't known if there would be dependable water, so I had filled up everything at the bottom of SFBW and lugged it uphill. No worries, I would just save time here.

I found this old cabin, which I hadn't seen in many years. The back half has collapsed.

I wandered a bit to see what else was in the area and found a meadow with obvious elk use. The more direct road was washed out, so anyone trying to drive to this area had to go up and around (as shown by the vehicle tracks). This was another way out. Did I want it? Nope! I was ready to keep going. I kept exploring and found this tiny spring, with lots of elk sign around.

I also found this two-seater outhouse. I can only imagine the conversations held here.

By this time the stars were starting to appear, so I laid down and went to sleep. It was a great Day 1.

What would I find on Day 2?

Stay tuned...

Making Elderberry Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 02:36:00 +0000

It's elderberry season! Elderberries have become one of my favorite berries, even though they're tiny and not the best to eat on their own. Why do I like them? Well, they make awesome jam and are a superfood that help to support immune systems! I actually take an elderberry gummy frequently and thought, "Why am I doing this? Why don't I just make more jam?" So alas, that's what I'm doing..

There are different kinds of elderberries. The most common around here is blue elderberry (Sambucus caerulea), and they come in a dark blue, almost purple color.

1. The first step is to pick the berries, then rinse and dry them. I find the elderberries easier to get off the stems when they're frozen, so I freeze them and then pick them off, checking frequently for little bits of the stem. (I usually do this while catching up on a Netflix show. It seems especially appropriate while I'm watching Alone.)

2. The next thing I do is get 3 cups of the elderberries and put them in the food processor so that they aren't quite as chunky.

3. If you haven't already, prepare your canner, jars, rings, and lids. I like to stick the jars, rings, and lids in the dishwasher and run them on a quick cycle.

4. Then it's into the sauce pan with 2/3 cup apple juice. Stir. Add 3 Tbsp Ball Realfruit Low or No Sugar Needed Pectin. Let it come to a boil. Add up to 1/2 cup sugar or honey. Return to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.

5. Ladle the hot jam into the hot jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace.

6. Wipe the rims, center the lids. Apply the bands.

7. Place in the caner. I use a steam canner, which I love because it doesn't take as long to get the water hot. Process for 10 minutes plus extra time for elevation (+10 minutes for 5,000 feet elevation).

8. Remove and let cool. Check the seal after 24 hours, and if the lid is still popping, stick jar in the refrigerator and eat within the week. Otherwise clean and store jars. Use within a year. Yum!

Around the Ranch

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 00:09:00 +0000

Summertime, and the livin' is easy....well maybe it's not quite like the song, but there is certainly plenty to do in the summer! Both the kids are raising pigs for 4-H. They feed them twice a day and take them for evening walks. Sometimes it's right after sunset, and the clouds are gorgeous. The White Pine County Fair is the third weekend of August, just after school starts for them (they always miss a day of school their first week).

We really enjoyed watching the Great Horned Owls grow in the backyard. Then they fledged and disappeared for a bit, then we started getting glimpses of them again. Here's a young'un and her mom. I love the fuzzy looking feathers!

And another view of them.

A drive one evening led us to this Red-tailed Hawk on a pivot.

The Sandhill Cranes also like the fields. A few stayed this year and raised their young. Most go north, though.

The fields are a great place to see pronghorn (and my husband positioned the vehicle so I could get Notch Peak in the background).

Pronghorn are such cool animals, being able to run over 50 mph. They don't jump fences but go under them.

I really wanted to see curlews, as I don't see them often. We looked and looked, but couldn't find them. We did find some Burrowing Owls, though! They are such cute owls. My friend told me to look closer, because it wasn't just adults...

...and sure enough, we saw a bunch of baby Burrowing Owls!

It's great to have so much wildlife so close by.

I hope your summer is going well!

Wheeler Peak June 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 13:26:00 +0000

I had a free day and needed to get some exercise and acclimated to higher elevations to help do my work this summer. So I decided the day before to go for a hike up Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park. But on the morning of the hike, my friend who was going to go with texted that she couldn't go. And my daughter who was going to go woke up not feeling well enough. Was this a sign I should cancel? I took the dog outside and saw some cool clouds and decided to go for it.

I drove up to the trailhead and saw only two other vehicles. Wow, that wasn't many, especially since I was there at 7:40 am, not particularly early. I sauntered down the trail, hands in my pockets. The aspens were lovely.

There was still a fair bit of snow on the mountains, almost like icing on a cake, highlighting the folds and corners.

I figured I should try to get a photo with a person it it, which meant that I would be in it since there wasn't anyone else around. I had forgotten to bring a tripod, so balanced the phone on some rocks. It didn't come out great, but you get the idea.

The clouds were so cool! The dappled reflection even showed in Stella Lake as I kept making my way up to treeline.

There was some snow on the trail, but not much. Over 95% of the trail was snow-free, and I didn't need the microspikes or gaiters I had brought (or the puffy coat or the wind coat). I had one hiking pole but just used it on the way down.

There were very few flowers blooming below treeline, but as I got into the alpine zone, I saw more and more color. I was so excited, especially with the cool clouds.

I was passed by a couple people. Here's one starting up the next switchback. I felt a little slow but reminded myself that I wasn't in a race, I could go whatever speed I wanted, within my body's limitations.

The tiny flowers were such a delight!

A tiny daisy.

The stinky sky pilot (Polemonium viscosum). The smell makes me feel a little nauseous, but it sure is pretty.

This moss campion (Silene acaulis) looked a little frazzled.

I skirted over to a snowbank and enjoyed the white on the ground and the white in the sky.

Looking to the east I could see the area above Teresa Lake I had explored last fall, with the clouds continuing over Snake Valley.

And looking up at the mountain, the Ross' aven (Geum rossii) lent a bit of color with Doso Doyabi and Wheeler Peak in the background.

I wasn't done searching for flowers yet!

The dappled clouds was making a very cool pattern on the ground in Spring Valley.

I kept getting distracted by the lovely flower gardens. Here's some purple alpine milkvetch (Astragulus kentrophyta), white phlox (Phlox pulvinata), and yellow buttercup (Potentilla sp.)

Passing a snow bank, I found a green Say's stink bug. They are common on snow.

As I got closer to the top, four people came down and were encouraging. That was nice, because I found my heart was racing and I did 10-20 stops and took a mini stop, then continued another 10-20 stops. I was certainly feeling the elevation!

The biggest snow patch was near the top, where there was a detour straight up.

And then I was at the top! It took me longer than I had expected, almost four hours. I usually tell people it's 3-4 hours up, but I'm usually closer to the 3 hours. I told myself that I had been at sea level just four days before, so I should give myself some slack, plus the important part was that I had made it. Plus I had really enjoyed getting some photos along the way.

There was a nice snow bank on top, along with two ladies who left shortly after I arrived. That meant I had the summit all to myself!

I put in a new trail register (the one I had placed last year was nearly full and will be turned into the park office).

Then I headed to the other end of the summit ridge so I could get a good look at the rock glacier.

I wanted a better view, so I scampered down and along the way found a sky pilot to lend a bit of color to my view south of False Pyramid, Pyramid, and Baker peaks, with Mt. Washington in the distance. The first valley is the North Fork of Baker Creek, a place I haven't visited for many years.

I really like the wide angle feature on my phone. It let me capture part of Wheeler Peak on the left, Doso Doyabi on the right, and the rock glacier in the middle. There's a tiny ice glacier at the head, but it's currently covered by snow and some recent rock fall.

I ate a leisurely lunch, looked at birds (got some good views of black rosy-finches!), looked at the mountains, read, called my husband, and eventually decided I was ready to head down. Along the way I paused to photograph some Parry's primrose (Primula parryi). Most hasn't bloomed yet, but a few plants had started.

Stella Lake was looking very different than it had on the way up.

It took just over 2 hours to get back to the vehicle, with some slow trots interspersed with walking and one 10-minute break because I was hungry again and just wanted to sit down. It was such a gorgeous hike. Although I missed having company with me, I'm glad I did it and hope the next mountain hikes are a little easier. Time spent in the mountains is time well spent. I feel refreshed and energized (even though my feet are a little sore). I feel blessed to be able to explore the magnificent Snake Range of Nevada.

Thanks for reading this far!

Backyard Birds 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Thu, 09 May 2024 00:43:00 +0000

Red-tailed Hawk

It's not a secret, I love birding. I submit checklists to eBird, I go on special trips just to see birds, I take photos of birds, and we have a backyard birdlist so I can try and get the family more involved. That's what I'm going to talk about today. Our 2023 backyard bird list wasn't so hot, we had had over 50 birds the previous two years (thanks, Covid), but in 2023 we didn't notice as many. So I started 2024 with a resolution--I was going to spend more time in my very own yard looking for birds!

Some birds are really easy to find, but others can be trickier, like the kestrel. It hung out for a few weeks but has unfortunately left. For a few years we had kestrels nesting in the yard, and I keep hoping they'll come back.

American kestrel

We have more non-native birds than I would like. Those include the Eurasian collared-doves, House sparrows, and European starlings.

Eurasian collared-dove

I have to admit, I like birds so much I have some of my own. Currently we have 6 chickens. We had been down to four chickens last fall. Then the neighbor's disappeared and showed up a few days later. I asked our neighbors if they were okay with their hen hanging out with ours, and they were glad she had found some company. And then another chicken appeared. I asked people around town if they were missing a chicken. They said no. Was this a drive-by chicken dropping off event? Someone who just couldn't stand their lone chicken anymore, so they drove way out to the Great Basin desert and dumped it? Probably not. But we still don't know where she came from. And she's not telling.

Two of my chickens- A Buff Orpington and a Polish

Sometimes a very special bird comes, like a Prairie Falcon. I usually dance excitedly around the house getting my long lens for my camera, even though I really should be quiet so I don't scare the bird away.

Prairie Falcon

And because this is my blog and I can do what I want with it, here's our 2024 list to date. We are at 39 birds, with the 39th seen today!

1. Great Horned Owl 1.1.24 (more on them below)

2. Pinyon Jay 1.1.24

3. House Sparrow 1.1.24

4. Eurasian Collared Dove 1.1.24

5. European Starling 1.1.24

6. Northern Flicker 1.1.24

7. White-crowned Sparrow 1.1.24 (I love their songs and they hang out in the bushes!)

8. Red-tailed Hawk 1.1.24 (nests nearby)

9. American Robin 1.2.24

10. Dark-eyed Junco 1.7.24

11. Spotted Towhee 1.7.24 (in the bushes right out the living room window)

12. Black-billed Magpie 1.8.24

13. Common Raven 1.8.24

14. Northern Harrier 1.8.24

15. Western Meadowlark 1.8.24 (I saw so many hanging out together this winter!)

16. American Kestrel 1.8.24

17. Mallard 1.13.24

18. Canada Goose 1.13.24

19. American Goldfinch 1.14.24

20. Bald Eagle 1.15.24

21. Prairie Falcon 1.16.24

22. Red-winged Blackbird 2.27.24

23. Sandhill Crane 3.6.24 (it's so nice when they come back!)

24. Killdeer 3.7.24

25. Brewer's Blackbird 3.13.24

26. Turkey Vulture 3.21.24

27. Cooper's Hawk 4.1.24

28. Yellow-rumped Warbler 4.12.24

29. Pine Siskin 4.12.24

30. Lesser Goldfinch 4.28.24

31. Western Kingbird 4.24.24 (my, they are noisy!)

32. Barn Swallow 4.29.24 (they nest on the house)

33. Lazuli Bunting 4.30.24 (so pretty)

34. Great Blue Heron 4.27.24 (Desert Boy saw)

35. Yellow Warbler 4.30.24

36. Osprey 5.4.24 (my husband saw)

37. Black-headed Grosbeak 5.8.24

Wait, I said we were up to 39 birds, and I only listed 37 birds. Well, it turns out it was good I went through the list because I had two double-listed. Oh well, we'll keep looking!

Although finding different bird species is so much fun, sometimes the best thing is to just watch what certain birds do. That's the case with the backyard owls. We've had Great Horned Owls nest in the yard for the past several years. They pair up and start hooting a lot in the yard in November.

Pair of owls in catalpa tree.

Then in February, Mama Owl moves into the nest, which is n the crotch of a tree. She lays the eggs and incubates them, rain or snow.

Mama Owl on the nest

She'll leave the nest for short periods of time to find food. And now I see her out of the nest quite a bit because she wants more space.

Why does she want more space? Because her baby owlets are getting so big! They are so fun to watch.

I hope you have a space near your home where you can enjoy watching birds. What birds do you enjoy the most?

A Tour of Great Basin National Park's Bristlecone Pine Groves: Part 7 - Baker Lake Grove

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:58:00 +0000

See Part 1 (Overview), Part 2 (Wheeler Cirque), Part 3 (Mt. Washington), Part 4 (Magic Grove), Part 5 (Eagle Peak) and Part 6 (Snake Divide) of the Tour of Great Basin National Park's Bristlecone Pine Groves.

Today we're going to finish this series with a long-forgotten grove of Bristlecone Pines, very close to Baker Lake. If you look at the photo above, you see lots of trees. These aren't bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva). They are Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanii), another tree species adapted to life at high elevations and in harsh climates.

I had read that there was a bristlecone pine grove near Baker Lake, but was always doing other things at the lake or was in a hurry, so I didn't have time to look. Until 2023. That's when I joined some researchers for an overnight at the lake, which meant I had some time to explore.

First off, where is Baker Lake? On the map below, it's to the south of Wheeler Peak and to the west of Eagle 10842.

If you head to the northeast of the lake, you go up on to the moraine. You can turn around and see those awesome cliffs above Baker Lake (although the lake itself is obscured).

And then you start seeing that the trees are different than the Engelman spruce. They're more twisted, have needles in clumps of five, and there's a lot of dead wood on a tree. Great evidence that we're seeing bristlecone pine!

I started wandering around and found some old tags on the trees. They were part of a study in the 1960s. I couldn't find final data on them, so contacted the Tree Ring Lab at the University of Arizona. They're in the process of digitizing their records and are keeping an eye out for more info on these trees.

Some of them are so amazingly beautiful!

I appreciated that the tags had been put on the dead part of the tree so as not to hurt it. Even hundreds of years after the tree has died, the wood is still looking good. The extremely dense wood of bristlecone pines helps it to persist so long.

Some of the trees looked more alive than others.

Some of the old wood is stained, making for interesting contrasts.

I noticed how the tree base and boulders intersected for this tree.

There are even rocks nestled into the wood!

This gnarled, twisting tree is a stunner.

I kept walking around it, looking at it from all the angles.

Wow, I am definitely going to have to revisit this tree again, it is seriously amazing.

I found a nest in a split in one pine.

I didn't get to see all the bristlecone pines, but just seeing some of them was really cool.

I'm hoping to go back and spend a little more time.

After all, Baker Lake is quite a beautiful spot.

Horses are allowed on the Baker Lake trail, and these horses were brought up by the Nevada Backcountry Horsemen to help the researchers transport their gear.

What a couple days, beautiful lake, ancient bristlecone pines, horses, and friends.

This concludes the series on Bristlecone Pine Groves in Great Basin National Park. I hope you've enjoyed getting to know these groves a little better.

A Tour of Great Basin National Park's Bristlecone Groves, Part 6 - Snake Divide Grove

noreply@blogger.com (Desert Survivor) — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 19:04:00 +0000

See Part 1 (Overview), Part 2 (Wheeler Cirque), Part 3 (Mt. Washington), Part 4 (Magic Grove), and Part 5 (Eagle Peak) of the Tour of Great Basin National Park's Bristlecone Pine Groves.

In this blog post, we're going to visit the Snake Divide Grove of bristlecone pines. On the map below, it's lumped in with the Mt. Washington grove. It's actually just east of the "n" in Mt. Washington as its own little grove. The bristlecones grow on white limestone (see photo above). They are accessed via a slight detour off the Snake Divide Trail, which stays in the forest to the north of the bare limestone knobs.

The trees are actually on two bare knobs, but they grow as regular forest giants in between. Even when the trees are tall and closer together, they are still amazing.

The wood is also exceptional. You can see this tree right from the Snake Divide trail (which starts at the end of the Snake Creek road).

The trees aren't super big, but they are twisted and tenacious.

Part of the fun of visiting the bristlecones is to see how odd they have become.

They are so good at clinging on to life, even when they fall over.

Prevailing winds can often be figured out just by looking at the trees.

This is one of the least visited bristlecone groves in the Park, mainly because most people don't know it exists. If you want to see the more popular Magic Grove, it's not too hard to add on a detour to the Snake Divide Grove to see some underappreciated but gorgeous trees.

The last part in this series is coming soon!