Great Basin National Park is on the very eastern edge of Nevada where it borders Utah. It's one of the most remote National Parks in the country -- on the drive here we encountered maybe a handful of other cars. The reason for the strange name "Great Basin" is that this region of the United States offers no outlet to the sea. In Central Nevada the rivers and streams flow inland and eventually evaporate from shallow lakes and mud flats because of the arid conditions.
But the park itself gets heavy snowpack thanks to its proximity to Wheeler Peak and the mountains here. Our campsite in Upper Lehman Campground was surrounded by plenty of lush tall trees that provided ample shade. Unfortunately we had to set up the tent here twice because the first time we forgot to sweep away some of the sharp and small pine cones and rocks -- ouch! Good practice, I guess!
Our site was right next to the Lehman River. A tranquil spot for reading a book or having a glass of wine at sundown. We did see deer coming through here on several occasions.
Because of its isolated location, Great Basin is a Dark Sky park -- there are no big towns or cities nearby, making this a wonderful spot to stargaze because there is minimal light pollution. The excellent ranger program was a great introduction to stargazing -- they set up three Celestron telescopes so that everyone had a chance to see the stars after the sun went down. We were there on a fairly clear night and the Milky Way was plainly visible with the naked eye.
Another feature of the park is the Lehman Cave system. You can go into the caves on one of the guided tours, and it's best to book ahead because they sell out. We got lucky and were able to upgrade our pre-booked 30-minute Gothic tour to the longer 90-minute Grand Palace tour that explores all the open sections of the cave.
There are lots of hiking options in this park, but it is definitely high-altitude hiking. The brave (and very fit) can hike to the summit of Mount Wheeler (13,063 ft), which is above the treeline and involves quite a lot of scrambling over rocky scree and talus. We opted for the still-challenging but less fatiguing Bristlecone Pine-Glacier Trail.
The Bristlecone Pine trees in this grove are nearly twice as old as the ones at Cedar Breaks. Note how the wood of the trunk twists and curves.
We went as far as the rock glacier, which sits at 11,500 feet elevation in a cirque just below Wheeler Peak. This glacier is mostly covered in rock and is one of the southernmost glaciers in the U.S. It is Nevada's only remaining glacier.
We did several other hikes including the loop that goes past both Stella and Teresa Lakes. We were glad we had the opportunity to visit this remote park, it was definitely worth the long drive and far off the beaten path!
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