Wheeler Cirque Glacier Area--Snow in July!

I was looking for some researchers who were planning to be up on the Wheeler Cirque Rock Glacier in Great Basin National Park. It's been a while since I've been way up on the rock glacier, so I welcomed the opportunity. Interpretive park ranger Andrew was doing a trail rove and joined me. As we kept hiking up, we found these beautiful pools of water about half-way up the rock glacier. I had never seen them before and pulled out my cell phone to photograph them. The color indicates that the pools are from glacial melt, and the location says that it's from the rock glacier melting. So the pools are really cool, but also a little sad, as that means the rock glacier is decreasing in size. (A rock glacier is ice covered by rock. The rock insulates the ice from melting. At least for some time. If the climate is warm enough, eventually all the ice melts, and just piles of rock are left behind. That's what has already happened to the lower part of the rock glacier.)

I saw splashes of yellow and went over to check out these flowers, which I had never seen before. (Still haven't had time to look them up--the last few weeks have been extremely hectic.)

We continued on the uneven footing and reached this sign: Rock Glacier, Elevation 10,800 feet. But it still continued!

So onward we went, up towards the real glacier, which is still covered with snow. For years I was skeptical that it was a real glacier. I worked a couple seasons up in Glacier Bay in Alaska, and we took glaciers pretty seriously. Our criteria were they had to be moving, at least an acre in size, and consist of ice. A few years ago I got a good look at the glacier from the summit ridge of Wheeler Peak and I saw that the glacier is at least an acre, although most of it is at a very steep angle; has some blue color, which indicates ice; and has crevasses, which indicates movement. In addition, the latest peer-reviewed publication about it (Bevis and Osborne) call it a glacier. Right now, it's snow-covered (see photo below), but that snow is melting rapidly and soon the blue and crevasses will be evident.

We saw many patches of rock on top of the snow. The Prospect Mountain Quartzite is rather crumbly, and that contributes to the rock glacier. It's not a good idea to get too close to the walls.

The snow was rather soft, and I thought it might be a nice change to have soft footing than the jumbly talus. So Andrew and I headed across the big snow patch at the top towards the glacier.

Eventually it got too steep, so it was time to sit down and slide. Whee! It was fun.

Andrew didn't look so sure, but he gave it a try.

I was keeping my eye out for Black Rosy-Finches on the glacier and was delighted to see three. They breed up in that area. They are mostly black with white patches on their heads. You can see a fuzzy one in the photo below under the "e."

We had come up the right-center part of the glacier and decided to go down the left side, where I had noted a continual patch of snow.

We found lots of green bugs--Hemiptera.

The continuous snow gave us an opportunity to practice our glissading skills. That takes some balance!

We came across some pink snow and I got excited again. This is watermelon snow, where bacteria are producing that color. They in turn become a food source for bigger creatures. Just like yellow snow, don't eat the pink snow.

We found the researchers on the way down the trail; they had been delayed. It was a good reconnaissance of the rock glacier area, and I was able to share with some birders that there were indeed Black Rosy-Finches present. Here's to topography that allows for visiting snow in July!

Hello, Snow

 When we got to school the other day and Desert Girl saw snow on the car of the bus driver who lives 1,500 feet higher than we do, she immediately exclaimed, "After school, can we go skiing or sledding, Mama?"

"Yes," I replied, delighted she wanted to be outside. And so after school we packed up and headed up the mountain. I wasn't sure what we would find, but when we got above 7,500 feet, it was still snowing.

We wandered around Upper Lehman Campground a bit and found a lot of sticky snow on the picnic tables.

Desert Girl was in full winter attire and ready to catch some snowflakes.

And eat them.

This weather has been so crazy, but we sure do appreciate the moisture. It will be a great wildflower year, even if some of them are covered with a little snow right now.

South Fork Baker-Timber Creek Trail in Great Basin National Park

 Two Sundays ago I had a last minute change of plans, so instead of a long drive I had some free time. I decided I wanted a challenging but quick hike, so I went up to the South Fork Baker trailhead. My plan was to do the South Fork Baker-Timber Creek loop, which is about five miles long and gains maybe 1,500 feet elevation (that's a guess). I knew there would be a lot of snow up high, so I brought snowshoes and trekking poles with snow baskets.

Then I set off at a fast pace. During the summer I can do the route in two hours. How long would it take with snow?

The lower part of the trail was snow free, and I heard a variety of birds singing.

As I climbed up to the big first meadow along the South Fork Baker trail, I encountered some snow patches, but nothing requiring snow shoes.

The meadow was gorgeous. This view makes me think I'm in Yellowstone, and I expect to see a bear wander out of the trees. But there aren't any bears in Great Basin National Park, so if one did actually wander out, I'd probably fall over in shock.


Beyond the meadow, the snow got noticeably thicker, sometimes a couple feet deep. I eventually got tired of postholing and put on the snow shoes.

The texture of the snow near the next bridge was really cool. I guess you could say I was going at a good pace, but I stopped frequently to take photos. That's kind of my favorite way to travel--I don't want to rush through all the good stuff!

The snow was melted out in places and I found several buttercups. These little flowers come up right after snow melt.

The big meadow at the top also had patchy snow cover. I took off the snow shoes. I saw mountain bluebirds and heard mountain chickadees. I took a few minutes to rest next to a big granite boulder by the trail. This is the same place we had our first family backpacking trip last summer, and it was fun to reminisce.

Then it was time to head to the Timber Creek side, which I knew would be snowier. In fact, the trail totally disappeared!

I put on the snowshoes again.

Then it was time to go down. I loved the late afternoon light on the aspen trees, but quickly realized I had left the trail.

This trail is steep even when you can follow it. I ended up in a mess of downfall and was crawling over logs. It was slow going. I was so happy when I found the trail again.

The lower part of the trail, up to the Pole Canyon turnoff, was mostly snow-free.

It took just over three hours to do the route with the snow and getting a bit off-trail. It was fun doing it with some snow and seeing how different it looked. I look forward to doing it again when more flowers are blooming.

Spring Snow

 We had a winter storm warning at the beginning of the week, something we don't often have. Desert Girl was so excited to see the snow. She got all dressed up to welcome the storm.

The next morning we found that it had snowed even more, covering the apricot blossoms. Looks like another year with no apricots.

The snowman from the previous night was looking a little whiter.

It was beautiful, but I was a bit bummed about the apricot tree.

School had been cancelled in the rest of the county, but not by us. The roads were a little icy but didn't have much accumulation on them.

I wandered around taking a few photos before work. I love thinking about how the pioneers would have dealt with the snow.

Lots of sheepherders are out on the range in small wagons. They are tough!

I checked our chicks, which we've moved out to the chicken coop because they were getting too messy. They are growing so fast and can already fly a little.

After school we had some kid friends come over. I challenged them to a snow-person-building contest. Here's a Snow Family.

It's always fun when you can decorate Baby Snowperson with a Dandelion for hair.

They were creative with the accoutrements!

The other competitors were also big into accessories. It was a fun contest and made the snow last a little longer.

Now it's virtually all melted, at least in the valley. There are still several feet of snow up in the mountains. 

March 1, 2016 Baker Creek Snow Survey

 Last week, five of us set out to measure snow at the Baker Creek snow course sites. Three sites, from 8,200 to 9,500 feet elevation, have been measured since 1942 at the end of February and end of March to determine how much snow and water content is on the mountain. This long-term data set is one of the longest for the area. Some of the snow course sites have been replaced with Snotel sites, automated sites. A few years ago, a Snotel site was installed near the Wheeler Peak campground. The Wheeler Peak snotel shows hourly weather data, including temperature and precipitation. That site is a few miles away and at a different elevation than the Baker Creek sites, so the snow courses are continued.

We started at seven in the morning checking our gear and doing a safety briefing. Then we headed up the mountain and started skiing on just a few inches of snow on the upper Baker Creek road. We reached the first snow survey site, a bit above the Baker Lake trailhead, before nine in the morning. At each site, the snow depth is measured with a special snow tube. The snow tube is then weighed to determine the snow water content equivalent. This is repeated four more times and the average value used.

It's about a thousand foot elevation gain and a mile and a half to the second site. We found some places along the trail where the snow had melted.

Fortunately the snow looked plenty deep at the second site.

We were happy to find the snow almost three feet deep and with a water content double that of last year.

I used the calculator function on my phone to help do the calculations. We have to have density within five percent for all five measurements or we have to redo them. The whole program has been worked out to be quite field friendly.

I can't remember what got us all smiling at this moment, but overall it was a great day, with very nice weather. Plus it's hard to beat being outside!

We ate lunch a bit further on and then continued up to the third site.

The untracked snow ahead of us.

We crossed a small spring to reach the third site.

I'm going to have to go back in summer to see how this tree looks in comparison to the sign! The third snow course site is about half way to Baker Lake.

The snow was over three and a half feet deep here, with good water content. It turned out to be an almost average amount, which is a nice change from last year's much drier results.

Brooke is holding one part of the measuring tape. The measurements are taken at prescribed locations along a transect.

After we finished, it was time to head back down the trail. This can be a lot of fun, but also a bit scary, with trees, rocks, and steep sections to navigate. We all wore skins on our skis for both uphill and downhill to have a little more control.

I thought this aspen trunk was so interesting looking.

We all made it down safely, in about two hours from the top site. Despite a few falls, everyone was in good shape.

We sent the data we had collected to the Nevada NRCS office, and they used it to make the March 1 Water Supply Outlook. You can find it and more information on the NRCS website.