Terrific Trails at Cave Lake State Park

For Week 11 of my 16-week trail marathon training plan, I was supposed to do a 17-mile long run. I wanted a change of scenery, so I headed to Cave Lake State Park near Ely, Nevada. I hadn't really spent much time on the trails there, but it looked like a good trail system, and if I ran most of the trails, I could get in my mileage. (Trail running has really changed my perspective on trail miles!)

We parked at Cave Lake, then I took off on the Cave Springs Loop. I had never been on this pleasant five-mile loop.

The trail was nice, although in a few places there were eye-level sharp branches and the trail needs a little maintenance here and there. The flowers were great, and I saw some that were a little different than in Great Basin National Park, such as a different species of paintbrush and buckwheat.

This penstemon also looked different.

There was no one else on the trail, and I loved running towards the hills!

I ran the trail in a clockwise direction, which was good, because the trail popped out on pavement at this Area Closed sign, with no trail marker sign. If you read the sign carefully, it's area closed to motorized vehicles, but it's not obvious that this is the Cave Springs Loop.

Then it was back to the vehicle on the gravel and paved road. I passed this big limestone outcrop, with a small cave at the base. It actually goes far enough back to have a dark zone!

After a quick stop at the vehicle (my impromptu aid station!), I started on the Steptoe Creek Trail. This trail parallels the road that comes into Cave Lake.

It's a nice, rolling trail, also in need of some maintenance in overgrown sections.

Next up was the Twisted Pines Trail. I was floored by the abundance of wildflowers. They were everywhere, and all colors!

This trail looked more used, and I saw some mountain bike tracks on it. I'd like to go back out with my mountain bike!

The trail gained elevation and before too long I was near Square Top.

I got to a trail junction and took the longer route of the High Roller trail.

True to its name, the trail rolled up and down along the high country. It was beautiful.

It also passed through some amazing wildflower sections.

I was getting tired at this point, but I was also distracted by the great views.

Don't you want to jump up and start running this trail?!

The lupine was in full bloom.

Then the trail turned and I saw Cave Lake in the distance. It looked so small!

The color sure is a contrast with the surrounding pinyon/juniper woodland.

I couldn't help but notice this limestone outcropping and wondered about its cave potential.

This twisted juniper caught my eye. It was about here that I realized I needed to go the opposite direction on the Cave Lake Overlook Trail, so I turned around and headed back uphill.

Then it was time for a very happy sight--the kids and puppy! They were my next aid station, bringing me water and food. Thank you, kids! I had a longer break with them. They were good cheerleaders, urging me to finish strong.

The lake got bigger as I descended.

I kept pausing to check out the wildflowers!

It turned out the route was just shy of the 17 miles, so I ran through the campground (full!) and along the road a little bit extra to get the miles. Overall, the trails at Cave Lake are fantastic, and definitely underused. Besides the kids, I only saw two other people on the trails. There are lots of people fishing and kayaking, and we'd love to go back to enjoy those pursuits.

 

And here's what the route ended up looking like!  It was 4,491 feet elevation gain, total over 17 miles. The race will be 26.2 miles and 7,310 feet elevation gain, so I'm on my way.

Camping and Biking and Trail Running at Sacramento Pass Rec Area

 Last weekend we had Saturday night free, so I came up with the grand idea of camping at Sacramento Pass Rec Area. It was camping night #7 for the kids (12 is our goal for the Desert Survivor's Get-Out-and-Camp Challenge, so we're doing really well!). We decided we would catch our dinner at the Sac Pass Pond, where rainbow trout are stocked by the Spring Creek Rearing Station.

It didn't take Desert Boy long to catch three trout and then Desert Girl two more. They were on the smallish side, but we decided we'd eat them all.

Meanwhile the almost-full moon came up.

And Desert Girl had fun being silly. We moved to the upper campsites to get further away from the road. They were recently redone with money from a SNPLMA grant, and the whole area is so nice. Even though it was a Saturday night, we had it all to ourselves, which was quite surprising because it's so easy to access and free.

We had our little camping trailer, which creaked all night. We might get a better night sleep in our tent, but it still is kind of fun to be in the trailer.

I woke up before everyone and decided to go scamper on the nearby rocks to take advantage of the great early morning light.

The road up and over Sac Pass looked especially pretty, with the Schell Creek mountains in the background.

A bit later I left to go mountain biking. I really wanted to check out the Mineshaft trail, a 4-mile long loop trail that departs from the Lucky Boy spur off the Sacramento Pass trail. Desert Boy and I had biked much of the Sac Pass trail last fall, and so I knew it would be technically difficult. But I found I can only take so much technically difficult. Once I got to the loop part of the Mineshaft trail (1.5 miles from the trailhead), I decided I would be much happier if I just did the loop as a trail run and didn't have to worry about going over my handlebars as I navigated the rocky course.

The views were terrific on the Mineshaft trail, and I enjoyed it so much (even though I didn't have a camera!). It was obvious that the trail doesn't get much use, so I built up some rock cairns marking the trail that had toppled over. If you want technical singletrack all to yourself, this is the spot! If you want a trail run all to yourself, this is also your spot! And the trails are designed for equestrian use, but I don't think a horse has been on them yet.

If four miles is too long, there is a shortcut--a wash connects the trail at the narrowest spot, so you could  make it a much shorter loop. There's also a two-track road that crosses the southwest part of the loop, so you could bail out there if you're bike riding and the singletrack is getting too much for you. 

You can find the Sac Pass Trail map here. 

Time to head outside!

Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Peak

 

I went to Carlsbad Caverns, which most people think of as a huge, amazing cave. And it is. But it's under some pretty terrific landscape, the Chihuahuan Desert. It's not super eyecatching at first, but when you start looking, you see quite a variety of plants. Agaves predominate, and the lechuguilla agave is endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert.

I didn't actually spend much time on the surface of Carlsbad. After a full day in the cave, I headed to nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park and spent the night with a friend.

We had a lovely evening catching up and then she had to leave for work very early the next morning. So good to see you, Carolyn!

Since it was really early and I had a lot of energy, I decided to tackle a trail run. And not just any trail run, why not Guadalupe Peak? It's the highest peak in Texas at 8,751 ft (2,667 m). The trail starts 3,000 feet below and 4.2 miles away. Well, that sounded a lot like hiking Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park, just starting 5,000 feet lower. I've recently signed up for a high elevation marathon, so I needed to get training, and this sounded ideal.

The trail quickly switchbacked up the mountainside, and I enjoyed great views into the Chihuahua Desert.

After about 1.5 miles, the trail went to the north side of the mountain, and I saw trees! The protection from the hot sun creates a nice microclimate.

The trail also flattened out a bit, making running a lot more manageable.

After running through the trees and more switchbacks, past a campground, I came back out on the south side to more wonderful views.

 

And then finally I was at the top! I passed two people on the way up and was the first one on the peak that morning.

I put on my jacket, as it was very windy, and took a selfie with El Capitan in the back.

This rock used to be a barrier reef during the Permian time period, and fossils abound.

After about 10 minutes alone at the top, a nice guy joined me.

 

We talked a bit, then I was getting cold, so I headed to the subpeak and then down.

The views of El Capitan and beyond were amazing.

 It was quite a bit faster going down. I had a better view of this bridge.

I passed 22 people on the way down. It was a great run, even though I wasn't super fast. It made me feel like maybe signing up for the marathon wasn't too stupid of an idea. And it was great getting to know the high country in the Chihuahua Desert a little better.

If you go, go early in the day, I can see how this could be a very hot hike. And enjoy the views!