Great Basin National Park - Lehman Creek Trail - March 11, 2010 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Great Basin National Park - Lehman Creek Trail |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Nevada |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | March 11, 2010 |
| Duration: | 3 hours, 40 minutes |
| Trail Conditions: | Fair |
| Trail Traffic: | None |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny |
| Trip Winds: | None |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 21-30, Low: 11-20 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | I arrived at the entrance to Great Basin National Park about 730AM and very shortly thereafter I was at the snowgate closing off the higher portion of Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The snow beyond the snowgate was over 3’ deep. I parked in the parking lot adjacent to the snowgate, slipped on my snowshoes and walked through Upper Lehman Creek Campground. Snowshoeing is normally a profoundly quiet experience as it puts one in the wilderness during its quietest season. But this place was the quietest place I had experienced in a long time. Although I was near a road, there was absolutely no sound of any cars, or anything motorized, for that matter. The trail for the first 1.5 miles was a bit challenging, and only partly because of the altitude. This part of the trail is open, with mostly sagebrush and desert vegetation, dotted with small pine trees. Even though the air temperature was only 12 degrees F when I arrived, in the open sun it got too warm in my fleece outfit. Also, the 3’ of snow in the shaded areas was considerably reduced in the open sunny area. In fact, I had to hike around rocky areas with a southern exposure to try to keep to the snow. The rest of the trail was in the trees for the most part, so the snow was adequate for snowshoeing. The last mile was very difficult in snowshoes – it zigzags up a steep slope that is a southern exposure. At that altitude (9800’) there was still plenty of snow for walking on, but there were also a lot of rocks, and the slope was too steep to bushwhack around the rocky parts. After arriving at the Wheeler Peak Scenic Overlook, still under more than 3’ of snow, I decided that I would have to come back another time to see the bristlecone pine grove. The trip back took just under half the time coming up. |
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