2020 Trip up Wheeler Peak

The highest peak around, Wheeler Peak, at 13, 063 feet, was calling my name. I didn't want to spend a whole day going up it, so I decided to do a trail run up it to make it faster. That meant an early start, a light pack, and few breaks.

My niece Kayli said she was interested, and since she's on her school's cross-country team, I knew she could do it, even though she hadn't been up the peak before.

We were the first ones to the trailhead at about 6:30 am, which surprised me, as that wasn't super early. We started off at a slow jog, interspersed with fast walking, as even at 10,000 feet, the air was a little thin. As we went higher, we did a lot more walking than jogging.

When we got to the ridge, we took our first break at one of the wind shelters. It was nice to sit down for a few minutes and have a quick snack.

Then we headed up to the summit, pausing here and there for what I call breathing breaks. We crossed a couple snow patches. We didn't see many flowers, probably because it has been so dry. When we got to the top, we signed into the full register and then took some photos. I didn't want to rush the top, so we decided to spend 30 minutes up there.

I'm not good at staying still, so I took Kayli down the summit ridge so we could get a good look at Doso Doyabi, at 12, 776 feet. It has an impressive face.

The most common flower we saw were sky pilot (Polemonium viscosum). They were in the best shape on the southeast side. As they mature, they start smelling like skunk, hence another common name for them: skunkweed.

We descended a bit so I could get a good view of the Wheeler cirque rock glacier. The lobes in the upper part of the rock glacier indicate movement, or where there is still ice under the rock. The section farther downhill, where the rock glacier gets narrower, does not appear to have ice under it anymore.

 We found a survey marker from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1944. This one was No. 5. 

We also found No. 4. Now I'm wondering if Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are also on the summit. I'll have to look next time!

The large rock shelters on Wheeler Peak started as heliograph stations. They were used during two winters(!) to help map the 39th parallel west of the 100th meridian in the 1880s. Other nearby peaks with heliograph stations on them include Ibapah Peak in the Deep Creek Range to the north, Mt. Nebo in the Wasatch Range to the east, and Troy Peak to the west.

Often in July, a hiker can see lots of Parry's Primrose near the top of the peak. This year, though, I only saw two that were blooming. We might have been a bit early, but it just seems so dry.

We found some gray-crowned rosy finches on the snow. They eat the little insects that get trapped.

As we headed down, we found we were able to jog more than we expected.

We also started meeting people coming up. About 15 people were headed up. We had fun chatting with some of them. The temperatures were also heading up, so we were glad we were going down. We didn't need to carry as much water due to the cooler temps.

Kayli got in quite a good workout for cross country!

We were surprised how fast it was to descend. I always considered the descent fairly difficult, but maybe all the trail running I've done over the past couple of years has helped me to reframe my thinking. We didn't break any Strava records by any means, but did get back to the vehicle by about 10:20. That meant we still had the rest of the day for more adventures!

Hiking Sacramento Pass Trails in White Pine County

It was spring break, and we needed to get out of the house! Fortunately we live in a county where the population density is 1.1 people per square mile. We wanted to hike on a trail, so we headed to Sacramento Pass Trails on Highway 6 & 50, about 15 minutes northwest of Baker, Nevada. These trails were developed as part of a SNPLMA project and are some of the most overlooked trails around. Here are previous posts about mountain biking, trail running, and camping.

The kids were eager to go for a hike. That's when I knew what a toll all this social distancing is on them. They usually groan and complain, but they were quite ready to get out of the house, even when I said we were going to do a two-hour hike.

We drove to the upper trailhead and started on the Sac Pass Trail. The views were fantastic.

Then we took the Lucky Boy Trail to the junction of the Mine Shaft Trail and took that.

The Mine Shaft Trail heads to the east and goes around a long, rocky knoll. Our plan was to do part of it and take a shortcut back.

I was expecting a lot of wildflowers, but we didn't see that many blooming. We did see a lot of this phlox, which I think is grayleaf phlox (Phlox griseola). I've uploaded it to iNaturalist, but haven't gotten a confirmation yet.

The leaves are very grey, and the flowers extend a bit from corolla tubes (I think that's the right terminology). 

After a bit, we reached the loop of the Mine Shaft Trail. I convinced the kids to stop and smile.

We continued on a bit, going over a pass and onto the east side, where we could see the curving highway. Off on the distant hills, I could see...

 ...the scattered patches of lighter color. These used to be nicknamed the "silver dollars." When gophers or harvester ants disturbed the surrounding vegetation, winterfat would grow. However, when cheatgrass invaded the area, it took over many of the silver dollar circles. From closeup, the patches don't look very circular or even all that noticeable. But from afar, you sure can see a pattern.

 While we were hiking, the kids came up with a survival game. They picked different locations, like a deserted South Pacific island or the Sahara Dunes, and we each got to choose seven things we would bring with us to survive. It was quite entertaining as we considered different items.

When we got near the balanced rock and the wash, I suggested we take the shortcut. The kids readily agreed.

Going up the wash was a little trickier than I had thought. Of course we weren't looking for the easiest route, but the funnest route!

The kids are in the photo below for scale--these rocks are big!

It didn't take too long to emerge on the west side. 

I suggested we take a break and play on the rocks.

As we climbed higher, we got some good views.

It was such a nice place to scamper.

Eventually we decided it was time to head back. We decided to bushwhack. It was easy at first, through sagebrush, then a little more complicated through pinyon-juniper, but none of it was hard.

And along the way we even saw another wildflower, dwarf lousewart (Pedicularis centranthera).

In the next few weeks, hiking Sac Pass Trails should be ideal. They are currently snow-free, and even more wildflowers will be blooming. Take some water, as there is none available. And you're likely not to see anyone else, so take anything else you might need. It's a great getaway! As the temps rise, the trails will get hot in the middle of the day, so early and late in the day will be more desirable.

Improving the Sagebrush Discovery Trail

Just west of Baker, Nevada is a lovely little trail we call the Sagebrush Discovery Trail. It's about two miles of old two-track road that follows along some irrigation ditches.

 Here's a map, with the Sagebrush Discovery Trail in purple on the top side of the map. As you can see, we had some fun with naming different sections of the trail.

 You can find more info on The Snake Valley Trails Partnership website. Periodic workdays are held to improve the trail, and one occurred last weekend. We wanted to improve the trail where it had flooded last summer and where 1,500 sheep had walked on it. The pathway had gotten a little narrow in places.

Fortunately some raking helped remedy that.


It was also time to move some rocks. The kids excelled at that.

One of our issues is that there are so many rocks. The Snake Valley Trails Partnership has partnered with the BLM and over the next couple of years will be improving the trail with a layer of gravel, interpretive signs, benches, an exercise circuit, trailheads, and more. 

Right now it's a little primitive, but an hour of work made it a lot prettier!

The kids even removed some trash that was in the ditch. 

The trail is easy to access, right next to town, and dog-friendly, so I love taking our dog there. Hopefully as the trail is improved, more people will enjoy this great spot.

Baker Lake and Dead Lake, Great Basin National Park

My longest run to train for the Tushars Marathon took place three weeks before the marathon and was due to be a 20-22-mile long run. I wanted to be as high elevation as possible, but faced a lot of snow at upper elevations. Where could I go? I decided to start out on the Baker Lake trail, a bit over 5 miles long.

The lower elevations (about 8,000 to 9,000 feet) were totally snow-free, with pretty flowers blooming.

The trail was wet, with many stream crossings.

Baker Creek itself was quite impressive. I liked all the cascades.

I made a little detour to the third snow survey site . When I had been there the end of March, we had measured the snow at over six feet deep. This snow marker sign had not seemed so tall! I stood next to it and was about a foot shorter than the joint.

I continued higher and started running into snow.

And more snow! Beyond mile 4, it was pretty much all snow, but of varying heights. I did more hiking than running at this point. 

And finally I was there! The lake was still mostly frozen over. It was quite impressive.

 And that's when my phone died, without warning, I think because it was so cold. I had an external battery so plugged it in and wandered around a bit, wanting to get a few more photos.

I also ate some snacks and rehydrated. I am trying not to eat much sugar, so I haven't been doing any gels, so each run I've been trying different solid foods to see how my stomach handles them. So far, everything has been good. Trail mix is a big favorite. My phone got enough power to take a few more photos, then it was time to move on. I had several possibilities: 1. Do the Baker-Johnson Lake loop. This is a terrific loop, about 13-miles long. But with all the snow, it was too dangerous, especially descending from the ridge to Johnson Lake, a very steep section and one that I could see was entirely snow-covered. 2. Go up to the ridge above Johnson Lake, then continue along the ridge to the Snake Divide Ridge trail through the bristlecones. I did this last fall, and it was a gorgeous run. But it seemed very snowy, and since I was already on an external battery for my phone, I didn't want to be there without decent communications. 3. Go back down the Baker Lake trail and hook up with other trails.

 I chose #3. It might not be the most adventurous, but it would probably provide the best running surfaces, and that was what I was after. Plus, it would be safer to stick to marked trails. So I ran down to the junction with the South Fork Baker trail, took that past some tents (!), and to the beautiful meadow.

The last time I had seen the trail junction sign, it had been surrounded by snow! Now the snow was gone and it was good running uphill to the next big beautiful meadow.

Then I continued up to the ridge between Baker Creek and Snake Creek, where I found this sign : Snake Creek Divide (not to be confused with the Snake Creek Divide between Snake Creek and North Fork Big Wash), Elevation 9,871 feet. Johnson Lake 2.0 miles. Soon after I came across a group of backpackers who had gone up to Johnson Lake, and they warned that the snow was really deep past the Johnson Mill Site.

 The views from this connector trail, called the Shoshone Trail, are terrific. Here's looking southeast into the Snake drainage.

I met up with the Johnson Lake trail and headed uphill until I got to this trail junction to Dead Lake, 0.6 miles ahead. This is a new trail, and I wanted to check out Dead Lake.

I knew Dead Lake would be more than the puddle it is most of the time, but I wasn't prepared for just how much water would be there!

The trail skirts one edge, but I decided to walk around the lake so I could see it from all angles.

I could have swam in it! (I considered that.)

It was a super fun sight.

I couldn't resist a selfie!

Then it was back running to the Johnson Lake trail and the Shoshone trail. Along the way I saw this flower I had missed previously. I still don't know what it is!

Here's the view coming back into the big meadow and to the South Fork Baker-Timber Creek junction. I took a right and headed over into Timber Creek. There was just one big snow drift at the top of Timber Creek.

Then it was pretty quick heading down the trail.

And finally across Baker Creek and back to the vehicle!

I don't know the exact mileage, as my Garmin watch ran out of battery, my phone ran out of battery, and I had to just run without electronics! (A good thing to do!) It was a very pleasant run, and I was glad to have an excuse to get out on the trails. I certainly have a different view of trail mileage after all these trail runs, it's a wee bit faster than the many hikes I've done with kids over the past 10 years!