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

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...