Another name for Great Basin might as well be Nevada. In almost the entire state no rivers flow out of the basin, they just dry up in the desert.
Great Basin national park is made up of 13,000’ Wheeler Peak and its environs, where water is abundant this time of year. Access to the peak is up the several creeks that come down off it in torrents. Where we are, Lehman creek rushes down at least 3 separate channels through a wide, lush meadow at 7700’. The sunlight is intense, and the shade can be chilly at the same time. Further up Wheeler Peak road above 9,000’ there are groves of Bristlecone pine where some living trees are more than 5,000 years old. The view off the mountain, probably 30 miles across the misty blueness of Snake Valley, is like some scene from The Hobbit – like the fake backdrops you see in “Seven Brides…”. Just beyond what seems to be the horizon, another mountain range floats low in the sky, almost unconnected to the valley. Strange to think that all these rushing creeks just fade away in that valley.
We rest and work four days at Great Basin, walking the campground and exploring Wheeler Peak.
Travelling SOBs 