A Trip up Mount Washington

Ready for a road trip? We're going to head up the west side of the South Snake Range to Mt. Washington in Great Basin National Park. It's a long trip (and a long post), but it's worth it! The road goes nearly to the top of the mountain, but the road is not the easiest to drive. Think switchbacks that are so steep you have to do three-point turns to go up some of them. This is a section my dad would rather get out and walk. (Dad, you have to come visit sometime in summer so you can see for yourself!) 

The trip starts from Nevada Highway 894 (a spur off US Highway 93 in Spring Valley),  opposite from the Pickering Ranch. The unmarked gravel road goes up the bench (in other places it would be called the alluvial fan), crossing from sagebrush to pinyon and juniper. Up in the pinyon-juniper, the road starts switchbacking, but is still passable to passenger cars up to the Pole Canyon adit of the Mount Wheeler mine at 7850 feet. The adit is over a mile long. Water flows out from the entrance (see photo above), but I've heard that it contains heavy metals so isn't recommended for drinking.

This beautiful swallowtail was enjoying the coolness of the water.

Several structures still stand from when this mine was in action, in the late 1940s and 1950s. Beryllium and tungsten were the primary targets. (You can find more information in Chapter 20 of Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area--link in the sidebar to the right).

From the adit, the road becomes much more of an adventure. It was made as a jeep road in 1948. High clearance and four wheel drive are required. A chainsaw wouldn't be a bad idea, as we didn't get too far up the road until we found this:

We didn't have a chainsaw. Or a handsaw. Or a hatchet. But fortunately there were three of us, and through brute strength we were able to roll that tree off to the side of the road.

Then came the numerous switchbacks. I was busy driving so didn't manage to get any photos of them. I don't know if you could capture them well on photo--they are definitely an experience!

A bit further on we reached the small sign informing us that we were entering Great Basin National Park. The road crosses the park part of the time. The other time it's on private land owned by LongNow, a foundation interested in the very long perspective. (See their website for more.)

From up on the cliff we had super views of the switchbacks we had just traversed, Spring Valley, and the Schell Range.

Located along the cliff edge were bristlecone pines. Bristlecone pines are a great way to think of a longer perspective. Needles stay on the trees for 40 years. The harsher the climatic conditions, the longer the tree grows--one was found nearby that was about 5,000 years old (and then it was cut down, but that's a story for another day).

There's a lot of concern about bristlecone pines and other five-needle pines due to the combination of mountain pine beetle (MPB) and white pine blister rust.  MPB is a native beetle that has benefited from climate change. In some areas, instead of completing one life cycle in two years, it may do it in just a year. That means lots more beetles, and all those beetles need something to eat. As they eat the trees, the trees die. In normal years, a few trees die every year from MPB. When epidemics occur, and MPB beetle populations are especially high, nearly entire forests can die, although MPB generally just attacks trees greater than six inches diameter, so at least the young trees are spared.

However, the non-native white pine blister rust is spreading. It can attack trees of any age and kill them. Some trees are naturally resistant, but those trees may still be susceptible to MPB. It's a nasty one-two punch that has nearly wiped out whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), the predominant tree near treeline in the northern Rockies. In some areas, more than 90% of the population has been decimated, and the tree was petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared it warranted but precluded in 2011, meaning that it deserves protection but that the staff and money don't exist to do that. In Canada, it's been listed as endangered.

What about the bristlecone pine? Could it suffer such a fate? That's not known. For now, some proactive measures are being taken. A number of seeds were collected several years ago and are being tested for white pine blister rust resistance at the Dorena Genetic Resource Center. The main test takes seven years. If the tree shows resistance, more seeds can be collected to protect the genetic material, and if needed, help restore populations. But what happens if mountain pine beetle attacks the tree during those seven years, and the tree's not around to produce more resistant seeds? That's where our trip came in. We were putting pheromone pouches containing the chemical verbenone on the selected trees. Verbenone is what the mountain pine beetles send out to tell other beetles that the tree is full. It basically is the "Stay out, we're full," signal. If MPB populations aren't too high, the beetles are tricked and stay away. If they are high, nothing can really be done. But we do what we can, in the hopes that we can help this majestic species.

The trees we were visiting were scattered, which meant we had more higher up the mountain.

Further up the road, we took a side trip to some historic cabins. These were made by miners. Guess what trees they used. If you guessed bristlecones, you're right! These bristlecones are taller than the really old ones, mostly due to a gentler climate--not as much wind.

You can tell that the cabins are really old by the construction style. They didn't use nails to put these logs together--they built these cabins lincoln-log style.

Oops, I got distracted by a pretty penstemon with a pollinator in it.

Did the miners get distracted by the flowers? It must have been quite a hard life to get up there and then mine at such a high elevation. Then they had to get the ore off the mountain. One account says that they waited for winter and used toboggans to get the ore down.


Near the cabins is a thick metal cable. It goes down into the canyon. I decided to see what it was connected to up on the mountain.

First I found a huge pulley, probably ten inches in diameter, up high in a bristlecone. The chain holding the pulley in place is starting to get overgrown in the tree. This pulley appeared to help get the cable up high in the air.

Further uphill was the attachment point, the cable running around the base of a bristlecone. It's been there so long the cable is part of the tree now. I feel a little bad for the tree.

We got back in the truck and headed up higher.

Our next stop was to look at the Nevada Climate-Ecohydrological Assesment Network (NevCAN) weather station. This is a network that goes across the Snake Range and up one side of the Sheep Range in Nevada. You can look at real-time data and photos from the cameras at the link above.

The views kept getting better and better as we ascended. Finally we reached the end of the road and had to travel the last part of the way up to the summit of Mount Washington on foot. It was good going on foot, we had time to absorb the beauty around us.

These dainty Erigeron looked bright and cheerful with their yellow and white coloring.

A knob of wind-eroded wood made me consider the bristlecones that used to grow at this elevation, which is now above treelike.

The Colorado Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea) made a striking appearance.

I wasn't the only one being held captive by the diminutive but colorful flowers!

Soon we could see north towards Wheeler Peak. It's so interesting how the colors change. Wheeler , Jeff Davis, and Baker Peaks are all made of metamorphic rock, the Prospect Mountain Quartzite. Closer we start getting into granites, and then closest, with the grey rock is limestone.

We had to pause for a few photos.

Aileen's first visit to the summit of Mt. Washington.

Looking northeast towards Steve, with a view of the Snake Creek drainage and Eagle Peak behind him (another limestone area with bristlecones).

Looking west towards me, with Spring Valley and the Schell Range in the background.

The view to the east takes in the North Fork Big Wash. The day was a bit hazy, so we couldn't see Snake Valley or the next mountain ranges very well.

Then it was time to head down the mountain.

We paused to check out some trees that had burned during the 1999 fire. The fire had burned up into bristlecones. We're not certain what the effect might be to the bristlecone community, but the fire certainly has opened up a lot of habitat to bighorn sheep, which are being tracked periodically with collars.

The afternoon light was magical, and I couldn't help but take a few more photos.

I noticed a younger bristlecone tree. Here's the next generation!

This striking three-foot tall plant with four-petaled green flowers is green gentian or elkweed (Frasera speciosa).

In contrast, here's the tiny dwarf alpine paintbrush (Castilleja nana), with a bee pollinating it. Note the orange pollen on the hind legs of the bee. This has been a busy bee!

The stunning sego lily (Calachortus nuttalli) with a pollinator. 

It's a long drive back down the mountain, but with great views along the way.

It's worth the trip!

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!

Ten Minute Pickles

How is your garden doing this summer? Mine is doing okay, although I've figured out a few things I'll change next year. My new drip irrigation system is working well. I have a lot fewer weeds! I just need to put in a couple more tees at the beginning, because the plants at the end of the drip irrigation aren't getting enough water. Before I went on a long weekend trip and my cucumber plant sort of dried up (oops!), I harvested some cucumbers. I had specifically planted cucumbers because I wanted to make pickles.

I have to admit that when I moved out to the desert, I had never made pickles before. For some reason, I thought that when you made pickles, cucumbers shrunk into pickles. I didn't realize that pickles were just made out of small cucumbers. Ay, ay, ay. Live and learn!

Oh well, fast forward to today, when I actually understand that the cucumbers won't shrink when I pickle them. I picked three cucumbers about six inches long and found a recipe for quick pickles. I didn't want to bother with canning them, as that is a rather hot and long process. Fortunately, quite a few ten minute refrigerator pickle recipes exist. The basic process is to heat some vinegar, sugar, and spices in a saucepan, pour them over your cut cucumbers, and put them in the refrigerator. That's easy enough! Here's a great recipe from Rachel Ray. If you have another recipe you like to use, please leave a comment!

Make Your Own Cave

Great Basin National Park has a kids program almost every day at 1:30 (and sometimes on weekends at 9:30), so we decided to go check one out. It was Make Your Own Cave day, and the kids each got to select a box and get some clay to make their cave.

 Ranger Nomi showed the kids how to make the clay into different shapes.

 Desert Girl was very excited to be participating like a big girl. Oh yeah, the glue may have been a huge incentive. She doesn't get to do glue very often because she has a way of making the glue go every where in the house, especially on the carpet.

 Her cave soon started looking really good. Some of the bigger kids added animals to their caves. Each one was unique. Best of all, it kept the kids happily entertained for about 45 minutes!

To find out about the kids programs and other programs offered, check the park website section of ranger programs.  If you click the link under Evening Campground Programs, you can find the schedule for the week. Or you can call the park at 775-234-7331.

Great Basin's Glacier

 We decided to go see how a glacier could survive in the desert and headed up to the high country. It was nice to find some cooler temps, but they weren't as cool as we thought, despite our early start, so we were sweating as we hiked up the Bristlecone Trail in Great Basin National Park. Lots of people passed us on the trail as we had no fewer than four snack breaks on the way to the bristlecones (it's just over a mile to get there).

 After all those snack breaks, the kids were in a good mood and had their hiking groove on. We continued past the bristlecone grove to the Wheeler cirque glacier.

 Soon we had a good view of the rock glacier. The actual glacier is at the headwall, covered with snow and falling rocks (we heard quite a few while we were up there). When I was in Alaska, I was taught that in order to be called a glacier, three conditions had to be met: 1. Ice 2. Moving 3. At least an acre in size. I've hiked up to the headwall previously and can verify that there is ice present (and it's quite slippery!). Being tucked against the north-facing wall has protected it from most of the sun's rays. Here's a view from October 2012:

A couple crevasses show that it is moving (ice cracks when it moves, and a crevasse is simply a fancy name for a crack in the ice).

The third condition, the size, is the one I'm not convinced is met. It's hard to tell because so much of the ice is covered with falling debris, so it's hard to determine what's ice and what's rock. According to Gerald Osborn and Ken Bevis in their 2001 article "Glaciation in the Great Basin of the Western United States," a glacier exists, so until a scientific article proves otherwise, I'm going with it. This makes this glacier the only one in Nevada. Who knew Nevada had a glacier?

I'm much more comfortable talking about the rock glacier, which is the bulk of what fills the cirque. A rock glacier is ice covered with rock, and the rock acts like an insulating blanket, protecting the remaining glacial ice from melting. Various studies have been done over the years, and one of the most recent looks promising to help explain if the rock glacier is active (moving). More on this in a future post (once the data has been verified and published).

You can find an excellent blog post written by a geologist friend with more info about the glacier and rock glacier here. Also, the glacier is covered in Chapter 5 of Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area and includes additional info, including the strawberry algae that makes the snow a pink color. (Note: pink snow should be classified with yellow snow in the 'do not eat' category.)

 Desert Boy was happy to do a rock star pose for me. Desert Girl had a hard time deciding on her pose.

 The flowers were great as we continued.

 It's such a different looking world being in the cirque. On three sides are mountain walls over a thousand feet higher, and the steep cliff face of Wheeler Peak rises over 2,000 feet from the cirque. It's so barren looking, with so much grey rock. But the many flowers definitely brighten up the place for a month or two each summer.

 We found a patch of snow and the kids had SO much fun playing in it.

 The clouds floated by quickly, letting the sun peek through and illuminate various parts of the cirque.

 Finally I made it to the sign that says "Rock Glacier Elevation 10,800 feet." The trail stops here, so if you want to go any further, you have to figure out your own route. Rocks fell every few minutes, with the crashing sounds echoing in the confined space. A raven flew nearby, squawking and sounding so much louder than at lower elevations.

 The kids were excellent troopers. They had cooled off enough to put on an extra layer, and on the way down Desert Boy decided he was ready to carry his pack. We talked about moraines and how glaciers had pushed rocks around. He thought that was pretty cool.

 He also wanted to check the GPS periodically. Desert Girl mainly wanted to climb and jump.

On the way back through the bristlecone grove we went slower to absorb the ancient trees. They weren't here when the glacier was at its maximum, but they've been growing here for thousands of years. Seeing a tiny strip of a tree alive (like the one above) makes us marvel at the adaptations life can make.

This was a very fun outing. We were not particularly fast, as the terrain is rough, and we started at about 10,000 feet in elevation. To the glacier and back was a bit over four miles. Desert Boy did it all, and Desert Girl did over three miles (and slept the fourth--she was plain tuckered out!). The trail is generally accessible on foot from June through mid-October. It's possible to ski or snowshoe here in the winter and spring, but it would be a long approach from the Upper Lehman Creek Campground, where the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive closes in the winter. Nevertheless, someday I would love to see the  rock glacier covered with thick snow, bringing thoughts of a colder, wetter time period in the Great Basin.

(This post includes an affiliate link; check out my disclosure policy here.)