A Trip up Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park

Last week I had the opportunity to climb several mountains as part of the GLORIA project, a world-wide project that is looking at climate change by studying how plant species are changing on mountain tops over the long term. The basic idea is that as the climate warms, plants will have to move upward in elevation to survive. Eventually they will reach the top of the mountain, have no where else to go, and will disappear. Yikes!

One of the four peaks we studied was Wheeler Peak, at 13, 063 feet the second highest peak in the state of Nevada. The hike is 4.1 miles long starting from the Wheeler Peak summit trailhead at about 10,000 feet. To get to the trailhead, you simply enter Great Basin National Park via Nevada Highway 488, then take the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive about 12 miles to the sign.

After a briefing about possible dangers (lightning, altitude sickness, hypothermia, tripping and falling, dehydration, etc.), we set off through the aspen groves on a rather flat section of trail.

After a mile, we reached the second trail junction, with Stella Lake nearby and the summit of Wheeler Peak only 3.1 miles away. Only. Ha.

The trail gets progressively steeper, and the peak still looks far away! Wheeler Peak is the high peak on the right, while Jeff Davis is on the left and stands about 400 feet lower. Wheeler Peak is named for Lieutenant George Wheeler, who summited and surveyed the peak in 1869 as part of an Army mapping expedition. For more on the history and climbing the peak, see the highly recommended  Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area. (Disclosure: I wrote it, so of course I highly recommend it!)

Before long we were above treeline and following switchbacks up the talus. Although we were gaining 3,000 feet, before the Scenic Drive existed, people would either ride horses up part way or start hiking about where the Upper Lehman Campground is, just short of 8,000 feet. And Wheeler started in Spring Valley at 6,000 feet, for a 7,000 foot elevation gain. (albeit with a horse for part of the way!).

More than half way up is a giant shoulder that is sort of flat. Some big wind breaks have been created. The wind sure can blow up here, and it's usually cold! Be sure to bring some extra layers.

During our rest break, I found one lonely little snow cinquefoil flower (Potentilla nivea). The rest of the flowers are wrinkled up and barely noticeable.

As we continued up, I commented on the flat areas with no vegetation. usually vegetation seems to like the flatter areas. I learned that these may be periglacial features. The movement of the ground due to freezing and thawing keeps it unsteady (or something like that, I'm not entirely clear about periglacial features).

A lot of planes fly over Wheeler Peak, and that particular day the contrails were staying put, giving an idea of just how many fly over in a short amount of time. Across the valley I saw my first ever contrail shadow.


A skunky-smell started permeating the air, and I looked around closely to find skunkweed or sky pilot (Polemonium viscosum). Beautiful purple flowers are suspended on some stinky upreaching leaves.

Then came a surprising sight: Parry's primrose (Primula parry). This species usually grows next to streams (the inlet to nearby Teresa Lake is a beautiful spot). Somehow, these flowers have been able to adapt to live in the alpine environment.

Although the oxygen became more limited the higher we went, the views kept improving. Soon we reached the summit and could look over the mountain top.

From the top we had the glorious view of the south Snake Range, beginning with the North Fork of Baker Creek, and continuing down to Pyramid Peak (it really does look like a pyramid!), Mt. Washington (the light gray peak), and Granite Mountain in the far distance.

Up on the summit are several round shelters. These just aren't for sheltering day hikers, they were used as part of a heliograph station to map the 39th parallel. They have a really interesting history (see Chapter 5 in the Great Basin book).

We began our vegetation resurveys on the west shoulder of Wheeler Peak, which has less disturbance. We used a variety of different survey types to document what vegetation is present. We also retrieved data loggers to find out what the temperature has been like for the past five years. Over the next months, that data will be studied to make some preliminary conclusions. Five years really isn't much time to see huge changes in plant communities, although we did see a couple of ferns that weren't spotted last time.

This rockslide yellow fleabane (Erigeron leiomerus) was outside of our survey area, but was one of the few plants still flowering. Due to our very dry conditions this year, most flowers were past their prime.

During a break, I walked to the far east edge of Wheeler Peak's summit to get a view of the rock glacier in the cirque below. Check out this post for a close-up view of the rock glacier.

I really wanted to see the glacier at the headwall, so I moved closer, and was stunned when I realized that the ice ascended nearly all the way up the steep face. It looks so much different than from down n the glacier. The slope is covered in dust, gravel, and rock, but it's smooth surface left no doubt that it's ice. I felt a moment of realization that this really could be a glacier. (I will admit that I've been a doubter, even though Osborn and Bevis have declared it a glacier in scientific literature.)

One of the definitions of a glacier is that it must be moving, and crevasses (cracks in the ice) show that the ice is moving. I zoomed in for a closer look at the crevasses. It would be kind of cool to get really close with an ice axe, rope, and crampons, and check them out more. The only problem is that there is so much rock fall off the Prospect Mountain Quartzite--hence the very dirty glacial ice.

Then it was time to get back to work looking at plants. The Ross' avens (Geum rossii) with its yellow flowers is one of the most common plants on all the peaks we looked at.

I only found a few cushion phlox (Phlox pulvinata) in bloom during the trip; most of the flowers had already disappeared.


We finished our work in the mid afternoon. Before heading down, I took a photo looking east, over Garrison in Snake Valley and the Burbank Hills to the Confusion/Wah Wah Range and beyond. If you know the area, can you spot Crystal Peak?

The afternoon heat allowed for a wildfire to the northeast of Spring Valley to produce an impressive smoke column. We also saw a lot of dust kicked up on Yelland Dry Lake bed. During the spring, the playa will be covered with water, but for most of the year it is dry and dusty. Many people fear that more of Spring Valley will become like Yelland Dry Lake bed due to a massive groundwater pumping project by Southern Nevada Water Authority that is expected to significantly drop the groundwater level in the valley and change the plant composition.

It took me about three hours to hike up Wheeler Peak (with people in our group both ahead and behind), and about two hours to hike down. It was a beautiful day to go up to the highest point in this part of the world.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the views! What's your favorite peak to hike?

Your Most Important Gear for a Hike

(This is a post sponsored by The Clymb. Although I am being compensated for this post, all ideas and content are my own.)

What's your most important piece of gear you take with you or wear when you take a hike? Take a minute and think about your priorities. (Are you really taking a minute? How about 15 seconds? Okay, maybe just 5?) What hiking gear or clothing can't you leave behind? What is the deal breaker for you, something that if you don't have, you simply won't go out hiking?

Although I usually grab my backpack, water bottle, chapstick, camera, and sunglasses, I would have to say that I wouldn't even be going for a hike unless I had something for my feet. Long ago, I could go about anywhere barefoot. Summertime included the ritual of stubbing my toe at the public swimming pool, to which I walked barefoot, getting stung by a bee as I ran through a clover patch in the backyard, and not worrying about shoes at all.

Now I'm not so tough. I might tiptoe around the yard occasionally, but I live in the desert, where there are lots of poky, spiny, nasty plants (even around my not-so-well-manicured yard). If I venture further, I definitely need to have some foot protection. And if I want to go for a hike, I want some footwear that's going to be comfortable and keep my feet safe.

I get along well with my hiking boots. In fact, for a very early Fourth of July run, so early that I was clearly not thinking straight, I managed to arrive at the race start without my running shoes. They sat near my front door, forgotten in my early morning daze (some days I wish I drank coffee!). What was I to do? I was wearing flip flops, which clearly wouldn't be appropriate for a trail run. Fortunately I had my hiking boots with me, and they worked just fine for the race. I didn't have any blisters, sore spots, or other problems afterwards. That's when you know you have a really good hiking boot.

Finishing the run in my hiking boots. Photo courtesy of Sharon Conrad.

Maybe you already have your perfect hiking boot. If you don't, or you'd like to grab a deal on a new pair because yours are in imminent danger of wearing out, you might try www.TheClymb.com . This is an online retailer that offers deep discounts. I always like sales, and many of their prices are half off or even more. I couldn't resist and just ordered from them a couple weeks ago. I was so happy when the box with my shoes arrived. I smiled when I saw that the box said that it had been delivered carbon neutral. Why should that matter? Because when I go out hiking, I want to enjoy my outdoors, and when a company is environmentally responsible, that's one step towards a better world for all of us. If you need some hiking boots, or other gear on your top priority hiking list (or for that matter climbing or cycling or yoga gear), check out The Clymb.

Then head outdoors and enjoy a hike!

A Jaunt through the Woods

 Back in mid-May I took the kids and their friend Charlie for a quick hike on the trail between Grey Cliffs and Baker Creek Campground in Great Basin National Park. It was a cold day, so we had to bundle up, but we were all eager to get outdoors.

 I had my camera in tow and took a lot of flower photos. A lot. But I'll refrain from posting them all and just include a couple of the best, like this beautiful Erigeron (fleabane--such an ugly name for such a beautiful flower!).

 This short trail has a fun bridge on it. Bridges are always fun.

 We stopped and took a closer look at these tent caterpillars (at least I think that's what they are) on the rose bushes. I was surprised how many tents were there, and when I got closer I saw the caterpillars crawling. The kids loved that!

 Charlie and Desert Boy puzzled over the huge skeleton under a pinyon pine. They examined the very large hoof, and with some help determined that it was an elk skeleton. A few years ago a mountain lion killed it, and it's so cool to still see the remains. The reminder of the mountain lion makes me tell the kid to stay close enough that they can see me.

 We progress further up the trail to a huge meadow with a pyramidal contraption in it. I know it's part of an old grazing study, but the kids decide it's a trap. They take long sticks to poke whatever might be in it.

After a long snack break, we head the short distance up to the trailhead. We get to it and I tell the kids we can turn around.

 They take off running down the trail. I guess I hadn't worn them out enough!

 I really like the aspens with their newly leafed-out appearance. They seem so gentle and romantic. The kids actually pause long enough that I can take their photo.

Okay, one more flower photo, a shrub with reddish bark that is now bright with white flowers: Saskatoon serviceberry.

Just thinking about what other flowers makes me want to grab my camera and head back in the woods. In fact, we're going to do that in just a couple hours. Have a great weekend and week, and I hope you can get out and enjoy some wildflowers!

Spring Wildflowers in Pole Canyon, Great Basin National Park

 On Saturday we decided to go celebrate spring with a big group hike up Pole Canyon in Great Basin National Park. Pole Canyon is one of the lower elevation trails. It can be made into a loop with Timber Creek and the trails between the campgrounds, but our plan was to go up for awhile and return down the same path. We figured with seven kids, this would be the best idea, and we could play it by ear (or foot) to determine how far to go.

Right off I started having fun photographing so many wildflowers! Here are most of the ones that are out, along with a link to a more detailed description on A Plant a Day, a blog I started years ago but rarely update due to time constraints.

Tiny, tiny flowers: slender phlox (Microsteris gracilis).

A nearby companion: Maiden Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora).

A blast of color: desert Indian paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia).

Somewhat camouflaged: Desert Biscuitroot (Lomatium foeniculaceum var. fibriatum)

One of 26 milkvetches in the area: Newberry's Milkvetch (Astragalus newberryi)

Just starting to bloom: lambstongue ragwort (Senecio integerrimus)

Bright spots in the high desert: Roughseed Cryptantha, also called Yellow-eye Cryptantha 

(Cryptantha flavoculata)

A plant also cultivated for gardens: long-leaf flox (Phlox longifolia)

Whew! So many flowers, and we weren't even 100 meters down the trail! We caught up to Jenny and little Isaac, who was doing such a good job walking. As we continued in the pinyon-juniper woodland, I saw some another spring favorite:

Close to the ground: Dwarf Lousewort (Pedicularis centranthera)

We sauntered up the trail, with many stops to look at cool things.

The kids liked this little bee.

A flash of yellow: western wallflower (Erysimum capitatum)

A delicate purple: beautiful rockcress, also called beauty rockcress, Prince's rockcress (Arabis pulchra)

A springtime favorite: Tall Fringed Bluebells (Mertensia ciliata)

Isaac liked riding on his Mama's back.

Desert Girl also wanted a ride, but when she found some challenges, she was very happy, like at this creek crossing.

We found one little patch of snow.

As we ascended, the trail entered aspen-white fir habitat. A few aspens were starting to leaf out, but most were not.

We had many snack breaks, and the kids wanted to keep going.

Sometimes they walked, sometimes they ran.

A water strider on the little stream. Some of the stream was dry, but as we climbed higher we found water.

Jenny also took a bunch of photographs.

Then we emerged from the trees into a meadow, with sagebrush on the hillsides, water birch and willows marking springs, and matted brown grasses from last year.

We decided this would be a good lunch spot. And play area. And running arena. We spent a lot of time here, enjoying the beautiful day.

The willow tree had little furry catkins. They emerge long before the leaves.

Before we left the meadow to return to the trailhead, we tried to get the kids to pose. This is as good as we got!

The way down included more exploration. Isaac loved testing the water temperature.

The older kids thought they were pretty cool, hiking ahead of the adults, and occasionally taking rest stops.

Some of the many ants out. (The eyes are on the red part.)

Desert Girl hiked most of the way, over three miles. She's tough! On the way down I found a few flowers I had missed on the way up.

A yellow violet: Goosefoot Violet (Viola purpurea)

A big happy Asteraceae: Hooker's Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri)

A perennial favorite: Creeping Barberry, also called Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens)

It was a great day hiking with friends and enjoying nature. I should also mention lots of birds were out: vireos, spotted towhees, mountain chickadees, kinglets, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and more. 

Pole Canyon can be hot in the middle of summer due to its lower elevation (around 7,500 feet), but at this time of year, it is perfect for hiking.

An excellent reference: Glenn Clifton's 2012 Flora of the Snake Range (this is a big file, and includes photos of most of the 1,000 plants in the area)

Learn more about hikes in and around Great Basin National Park, along with natural and cultural history in this book.