Winter Ascent of Wheeler Peak - Day One

 Saturday began the grand adventure: a winter ascent of Wheeler Peak, the second tallest peak in Nevada at 13,063 ft. I've climbed Wheeler Peak many times in the summer, including last summer with a group of moms and 7- and 8-year olds. But I've never been up in the winter. I received an invitation to join a group of mountaineers, and it didn't take long for me to say yes. I'm hoping to go to a high, glaciated peak in late summer and could use some more experience with the snow, cold, and high elevations.

Our plan was to hike about 4 miles the first day to the Wheeler Peak campground at 9,820 feet elevation, starting at the parking area at 7,600 feet. The second day we would summit and then return to our vehicles.

Five of us went on the trip, and it was the first time for me to meet them all in person. Michael and I had a similar hiking speed as we went up the trail. About half way we got our first view of Wheeler Peak. It still looked pretty far away!

Here's Michael. We talked some along the way, but the snow crunching under the snowshoes makes a lot of noise and makes it hard to carry a conversation. The snow had really changed a lot in a week, consolidating and melting and forming a crust. In other words, it wasn't very good skiing snow, but fortunately it was fine for snowshoeing.

So what do you need for a two-day winter mountain-climbing trip? I packed quite a few of the same things I had for when we climbed Mount Rainier two years ago. That trip taught me more than I thought it had about being comfortable in the snow. International Mountain Guides, the guide company we went with, has a nice gear list. I added tent, stove, pot, water filter, shovel and subtracted helmet, harness, and carabiners as our hike wouldn't be technical.

As we continued hiking up (we gained 2,200 feet elevation that day), the trees changed from pinyon pine and juniper and mahogany to white fir and then to Engelmann spruce and limber pine, with aspen mixed in.

When Mike and I reached the trailhead, we found Tom and Jodie relaxing. We discussed our plans and decided we would find a place to camp. Our desires: a campsite with a picnic table, close to creek water, and near a bathroom.

Well, we found a campsite with two of our desired things, the picnic table (can you see it buried in snow under the backpacks?) and some running water in the creek. That meant we could easily get water and not have to melt snow. We stomped down our tent sites with our snowshoes and then leveled them with shovels. Before long we had tents set up and the picnic table cleared. It was only 1 p.m. What next?

There was talk of trying for the summit right then, but decided that we probably wouldn't reach the peak until dark, and that didn't sound like fun. But we could go to Stella Lake and make a trail for the next morning's early start.

So Jodie, Mike, and I set out, going through the campground and over the gate that closes the campground.

We checked out the emergency cabin, but the snow is so high outside of it (and the door opens outwards), that it would take a lot of work to get into it (and it's locked). We could see the stovepipe from the wood stove and the wood stacked outside it.

Right next to it is the Wheeler Peak Snotel site, where we had checked on temperature before even starting the trip. The previous two days, it had warmed up to 50 degrees in the campground!

Some skiers had already traveled this way (I'm guessing the previous Wednesday, when I had seen their tracks lower on the mountain). These tracks made it so much easier, as the they had compacted the snow so we didn't sink in as much. Usually snow shoers try to stay off ski tracks, as it really messes them up for other skiers, but with the very limited use up here, we used them.

Before long we got to Stella Lake. See the lake? Ha, it's totally covered with snow! The ski tracks went right across the lake and up the gully, which is the route we wanted to take the next morning.

We enjoyed the beautiful day for awhile, soaking in the sunshine and quiet. Eventually the shadows grew long and we decided we should head back to camp.

Our snowy abode for the night was peaceful, we were the only ones in the campground.

Even though it was only a little bit after 4 p.m., we decided to eat dinner. Soon a bunch of little stoves were going. After I ate my food, I warmed up some water to put into a Nalgene bottle to keep my feet warm at night. That worked great!

We joked that the next time we came up we should bring some hot dogs, as the grill was above the snow! For now, they kept the snowshoes dry.

I didn't really want to go to bed at 5 p.m., even if we were getting up at 3:30 a.m. the next morning, so I wandered around the campground for a little bit with Mike. It was a good way to get warm before climbing into the sleeping bag. I also called my family--it's amazing to have cell service there. It was kind of tempting to just hike down the mountain and go join them in the warm house. But instead I climbed into my sleeping bag along with all my water bottles (so they wouldn't freeze) and various clothing (so it would be warm in the morning), and went to sleep.

The next day would be the big adventure...

Lava River Cave near Flagstaff

For day 3 of our Fall Break (Day 1, Day 2), we headed to the Lava River Cave near Flagstaff (directions in the link). My brother warned me that this was a very popular destination, but I figured since it was a weekday and raining, there wouldn't be many people there. Wrong! We saw about 30 other people in the lava tube. And apparently that's a tiny amount, the parking lot is enormous.

The trail is signed and near the cave is a sign telling folks to bring headlamps and not to leave graffiti. Since I'm a caver, I thought the cave conservation and caver safety messages could be beefed up quite a bit.

We navigated the puddles to take a look at the map of the .75 mile long cave and the entrance. The map was pretty simple, it's one tube that goes in nearly a straight line. There's one place with an obstruction in the middle.

We put on our gear, which included not only headlamps, but also helmets and kneepads, and descended into the dark.

Actually there was quite a bit of algae growing on the lava near the entrance. It looked kind of cool and eerie at the same time.

What we found down below was a lot of walking passage, but the floor was often jagged and uneven.

Sometimes the ceiling was really high.

And sometimes it was kind of low (this is the right fork of the obstruction).

I had my good camera with me and enjoyed trying to take some cave photos that showed how large the passage was. I was a bit surprised at all the coloration, I was definitely expecting more dark lava color.

I also thought there might be some lavacicles, but I didn't see any lava tube formations except a bit of moonmilk.

We stopped to try and take a group photo, but it came out a little blurry.

Then we heard voices, lots of voices. It turned out a school group of 20 kids was in the cave with us. We stopped so they could pass and we could enjoy a quieter visit. They all had lights, but none had helmets. Some had some really inappropriate footwear that made me wince.

We continued on, but the back of the lava tube was nasty with a weird odor, plus a dirty diaper. We didn't want to stay there. So we headed back out.

I took a few more photos on the way out, enjoying the colors again.

The kids did great, this was an easy cave for them. I think they wanted a little more challenge. So we went into a little hole on the other side of the entrance and squirmed around in crawling passages for ten minutes in the collapsed part of the lava tube. If there's a way to the big one, we didn't find it, but we still appreciated a little crawling time. Maybe it makes me feel like a kid again.

One of the best things about leaving the lava tube is that the sun had come out. It was so beautiful in the ponderosa pine forest!

Did I mention it was beautiful?

We had a picnic lunch and goofed around. Then we got cold and decided it was time to head to our next adventures.

If you decide to visit Lava River Cave, I recommend good headlamps, backup lights, and a helmet. Kneepads really aren't necessary. Also be prepared for a lot of people. The cave was pretty clean, but it wouldn't hurt to take in a small trash bag and leave the cave a little cleaner than you find it.

Cathedral Wash Hike, Glen Canyon/Grand Canyon

 The kids had fall break part of last week, so we went to visit one of my brothers in the Grand Canyon. It's a long drive, so we broke it up with a hike at Cathedral Wash near Lee's Ferry. We turned up the road in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area towards Lee's Ferry, and at a big turnout at mile 1.3, parked. We found the "trail" went through a large culvert under the road. Then the "trail" ended. We were on our own going down the canyon towards the Colorado River. Cathedral Wash is a non-technical canyon, but with enough obstacles to keep the kids happy.

As we proceeded down canyon, the canyon walls grew higher.

We found lots of pools of water, and it was fun finding ways to skirt them.

It got more difficult as we went downstream, but there were lots of ledges.

The canyon goes down several dry waterfalls, but there are ways around them. Sometimes we were about 30 feet above the canyon floor. I didn't worry much about the kids, they are good climbers.

The last part was the least fun, just climbing over boulders and navigating around sticky mud. (Read--lots of kid whining!) But the reward was great--we made it to the Colorado River! We were now in Grand Canyon National Park.

Well, you know how kids are with water. They can't resist. They asked if they could go in the water, and I said sure. The water is released not far upstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and is only about 45 degrees F, so it's chilly. Nonetheless, they had fun.

The nearby rapids created some waves on the beach, so they did some wave hopping.

Desert Girl in particular seemed to really enjoy the water.

The kids would have liked to stay longer, but we still had to hike back and drive a couple more hours, so it was time to put the muddy shoes back on.

The hike back went smoother, the kids were now in a better mood after their playtime in the river. I find that they often go through various moods on any hike/bike. Overall they enjoy the experience, but there is bound to be some complaining at some point.

They were singing on the way back, so they had found their hiking groove.

I was awed by the scenery. I was also grateful the weather was cooperating. Flash flood debris was much higher than we were, so this is a place to stay out of when it's raining or there's a chance of rain.

Route finding was something we practiced on this hike. Rock cairns and muddy footprints were about all that gave hints to the best travel routes.

I offered the kids another chance to swim--but they declined.

Finally we were back to our big culvert entrance/exit. I was impressed with the steps they had poured to make access easier into the wash.

It was getting late so we didn't go down to Lee's Ferry (I'm hoping I will get to go there another time, perhaps on a river trip??), but we did stop at Navajo Bridge.

Desert Boy had said he wanted to float downstream on the Colorado River from Cathedral Wash. It looked like if he had, it would have been extremely difficult to get out at the bridge and make it up to the edge. I was fascinated by the mixing water--it's green coming out of the dam, but then the muddy tributaries start changing the river color.

Here's the bridge we crossed over Marble Canyon. It certainly makes travel a lot easier!

More of our canyon adventures to come...