[Great Basin National Park, Sep 1, 2024]

When I originally looked at hikes in Great Basin National Park, I set my sights on the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail. At 8.5 miles and less than 3,000 ft of elevation gain, it was totally doable for my hiking abilities. The only problem? The trail begins at over 10,000 ft of elevation! Most people start feeling the effects of high altitude at 4,000 – 5,000 ft. I remembered that when I hiked at 8,000 ft yesterday! Luckily, my other bucket list hike, Bristlecone Pines and Alpine Lakes Loop, started from the same trailhead. This meant I could make my final decision on the trail, but I was pretty sure Wheeler Peak Summit wasn’t in the cards.

In order to make sure I got a parking spot, I aimed to be at the top of the scenic drive at 6:30 am. Even so, the small parking lot was already full! Luckily, I was able to snag one of the four parking spots on the side of the road just before the parking lot. I was the second car there, and two more cars took the remaining spots as I was getting ready. I couldn’t believe that even this early in the morning, I was just a few minutes short of striking out on parking again!

It wasn’t long before I got my first views of Wheeler Peak!

I soon reached the junction for Wheeler Peak. Instead of taking that, I continued on to the Alpine Lakes and Bristlecone Pines loop. The first of the two alpine lakes was just after the junction. Stella Lake is a glacial tarn – a lake formed in a glacial cirque. I hadn’t eaten yet, so I sat down at a bench to have some breakfast while I enjoyed the views. There were no people around me, so I propped my phone on my bag and managed to take a decent photo of me in front of the lake!

The second lake, Teresa, was much smaller but still gorgeous.

The next section had more elevation gain, which had me gasping for air. On the upside, I was much slower than usual, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the gorgeous views around me.

Soon enough I was at the Bristlecone Interpretive Trail, a little side loop showcasing a majestic grove of these ancient trees. Some bristlecone pines are over 5,000 years old – the oldest living thing on Earth. They are found at high elevation in the southwest.

Bristlecone pines are resistant to decay, which is what makes them so resilient. Even after death, they can remain standing for centuries.

From here, the trail got rockier and steeper. I won’t lie, I felt like turning around several times. But I couldn’t help but get as close as possible to Nevada’s last glacier. The Wheeler Peak Glacier is getting smaller by the year due to the effects of human caused climate change. Nowadays referred to as a “Rock Glacier,” this amalgamation of rock and ice is slowly drifting down the sides of the Wheeler Cirque.

I took the pictures above and below less than 20 minutes apart. In the pics below, you can see the increasing cloud cover, which looked down right menacing in the last photo. Was I gonna get rained on? This sudden change in weather made me even more glad I wasn’t going up to Wheeler Peak.

Indeed, I got rained on for about 5 minutes on my way down. Alas, it passed quickly.

I was back in the parking lot before noon. With plenty of time left in my day, I decided to stop by the park visitor center in Baker on my way out. I rushed through it yesterday because I wanted to go ahead and make it to the top of the scenic drive. This time, I watched the park movie and took my time through the main exhibit, which was chock-full of information about this amazing park.

Then, it was time for lunch. One of the restaurants that my resort recommended was Sugar, Salt & Malt. The menu was limited but my turkey and pesto sandwich was delicious.

I spent my afternoon recovering from this hike, which was much harder for me than I thought! I spent some time at the pool. Unfortunately, it was closed but at least I enjoyed the views while reading on a lounge chair. I loved encountering deer almost every time I went outside!

The next day was Labor Day and I spent all of it making my way out of this park! I woke up early again and made the long 4-hour drive back to Salt Lake City. I had extra time at the airport, which I utilized to get a proper sit-down lunch and a massage in the zero-gravity chair of one of the mini spas. This is going to be my new airport treat!

I wish I had one more day in the park so I could at least attempt the Wheeler Peak Summit. Oh well, it was still a fantastic couple of days and I didn’t even have to take any PTO! Great Basin is my 47th park… I am getting there!