Great Basin Ntnl Park & Lehman Caves
We arrived at GBNP late on Sunday evening, just before the sun began to set. Just enough daylight still to setup camp, prepare a quick meal, and watch the sun set over the mountains.
Surprisingly, there is no fee to the park and camping was a mere $12 per night (about half that of all other Ntnl parks). The camp sites were very nicely spaced and you could easily say they were better placed in the landscape then most Ntnl parks. For the cost, this Ntnl park is in my top to re-visit next time we are heading anywhere nearby again.
It was a goal of ours to make it to the park and camp a night just for the advertised ‘darkness’ of night and it was worth it. The amount of stars clear and visible was unmatched. It is said you can view the Milky Way at the right times in this park, and I can see that they are telling the truth. Though my eyes are not up to the task anymore, and I could not get my camera to focus properly, the pictures I did get were amazing and worth the efforts.
After a few hours of sleep, we followed the 12 mile road to the top and hiked a quick 3 miles through the Mtn peak and past the two lakes up top. It did not take long for Timmy and I to realize that hiking up here was very different then we have hiked in the past. At 10,000 feet, we could only move a few hundred yards between short breaks to get breath. After an hour or so, we did get acclimated and things got easier.
It was not until well after our hike that we read about the trees along the *other* trail nearby. They are the oldest living trees in the world and we missed the chance to go see them. Turns out, an entire field of these trees still live up on Wheeler peak, just below the tree-line. It would have been amazing to see them in quantity.
After the hike, we made sure to visit the Lehman Caves, known for have the most pristine cave formations in the country, (Carlsbad Caves in NM has the largest rooms, while Mammoth Cave NP is the largest cave at 360+ miles long). This was both our first time in such a cave, and no doubt we will venture into more caves when we can. Just an amazing experience.
At the end of the day, we both agreed that GBNP is a park well worth the money and time. We would have been happy to stay multiple days and explore the other trails and caves within the park. We realized soon after that we hiked at 10,300 feet above sea level and only an hour later we were 200 feet below ground for another 1.5 mile hike in the caves. Pretty neat when you think about it.
