We set out on an expedition to summit Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park. Usually, this peak has an easy trail, but it was early in the season, so more than likely, that trail would not be much. It was a short three hour drive to the visitor center where we talked to the interp ranger who warned us about the possibility of postholing on Wheeler Peak. Did not sound too dangerous, so we continued up to Wheeler Peak Campground. We found the campground mostly deserted. It was probably because all of the sites still had snow in them. We did not care considering that we would be sleeping in the back of the truck. I was feeling the altitude, so we decided to head back down the hill and hike the Osceola Ditch Trail. 
Jacqueline was a bit worried about her toes as they were still having issues from the Barracks trip. They seemed fine, though, and the hike was gone. I felt a little loopy the whole time as this trail was still at 8500 feet, though lower than where we were camping at 9600. The trail was an old ditch used for hydrolic mining. I like this former use a bit better. It was predominatly flat and we had ourselves a good stroll. It runs into the Strawberry Creek road, but we turned around within a half mile of the road as dinner was calling. We spent the evening chilling out, enjoying the cold weather before it d
isappeared. Unfortunately, we did not have the campground to ourselves by the end as a Cruise America pulled up right beside us. They were quiet, though, as they built a campfire and kept to themselves. We were in bed early, happy to get some rest. We awoke bright and early. I got Jacqueline out of bed and we were off in quicker time than normal. We were moving on the trail by 7:45am. We were making good progress until we hit the snow above Stella Lake. This was the most snowy part of the whole trip as the forested area helped keep a lot of the snow. We were in and 
out of snow all the way until we were above treeline on the ridge. We tried to find the trail when it was prudent, but most of the time we stuck to the rocks. Above treeline, we were able to make some good ground for quite some time. The ridge was not incredibly steep for some time and we seemed to be flying. I was excited about the time we were making. Then we hit the steeper part of the ridge and we started to slow down. Jacqueline had to throw on her snowshoes once for traction purposes, while I just used my new La Sportiva boots and my good friend Sharad, the ice axe. We continued on up and we were still making good time when we hit the section that I looked at from below and was afraid of. The trail traversed a steep, snowy area that crossed above a huge drop. I did not think much about it and just blazed on through. My voice of reason from behind stopped me saying that she did not want to go any further. I could see the wind shelters built on the summit and this could not happen. We could not get stopped so close to the top. I coaxed Jacqueline back to the ridge where her shaky legs could sit down and be secure. I contemplated our options and
looked up the ridge to see a steep, but snow free ridge. I thought I could probably make it to the top. So I dropped the pack and scrambled on up. The going was a little difficult at first, then it got easier. Suddenly I popped out on the summit and had the whole world beneath me it seemed. I signed my name in the summit register and continued on down to where Jacqueline was chilling. When I got to her, she was set to go down. Luckily, I have been honest with her before about the difficulty of scrambling adventures. So when I told her it was easy, she believed me and suddenly swayed to go up. She made it no problem and while I told her to follow me and that t
here were cornices on top, I turned around to see Jacqueline taking one step into a cornice on the summit. I yelled at her just in the nick of time. She stopped and luckily did not finish that step. Jacqueline skis quite a bit, but I guess you only get experience with cornices when you go places others don't in the snow. We safely traversed over to the summit proper and enjoyed our victory. We continued on down and it took no time
. In just over an hour, we were chilling at the lake. Stella Lake had the most amazing skipping rocks and I couldn't stop skipping rocks until I felt some sort of tingling sensation in my arm after the last throw. We found our way down to the campground where we spent the evening doing basically nothing. We hung out, played cards and looked forward to a brilliant night's sleep. It turned out to be hard for me to sleep as we got to witness the switch from winter to summer in the mountains. A warm wind came in, so strong that I worried about the safety of my vehicle around so many trees. Plus it was warm, a fifteen degree change from one night to the next. The wind was still roaring when we awoke in the morning. Good thing we did not plan to attempt the peak on this day as it probably would have been miserable. Good luck, good weather, and a couple in good shape helped us get a summit on another excellent Great Basin National Park trip.
Jacqueline was a bit worried about her toes as they were still having issues from the Barracks trip. They seemed fine, though, and the hike was gone. I felt a little loopy the whole time as this trail was still at 8500 feet, though lower than where we were camping at 9600. The trail was an old ditch used for hydrolic mining. I like this former use a bit better. It was predominatly flat and we had ourselves a good stroll. It runs into the Strawberry Creek road, but we turned around within a half mile of the road as dinner was calling. We spent the evening chilling out, enjoying the cold weather before it d
isappeared. Unfortunately, we did not have the campground to ourselves by the end as a Cruise America pulled up right beside us. They were quiet, though, as they built a campfire and kept to themselves. We were in bed early, happy to get some rest. We awoke bright and early. I got Jacqueline out of bed and we were off in quicker time than normal. We were moving on the trail by 7:45am. We were making good progress until we hit the snow above Stella Lake. This was the most snowy part of the whole trip as the forested area helped keep a lot of the snow. We were in and 
out of snow all the way until we were above treeline on the ridge. We tried to find the trail when it was prudent, but most of the time we stuck to the rocks. Above treeline, we were able to make some good ground for quite some time. The ridge was not incredibly steep for some time and we seemed to be flying. I was excited about the time we were making. Then we hit the steeper part of the ridge and we started to slow down. Jacqueline had to throw on her snowshoes once for traction purposes, while I just used my new La Sportiva boots and my good friend Sharad, the ice axe. We continued on up and we were still making good time when we hit the section that I looked at from below and was afraid of. The trail traversed a steep, snowy area that crossed above a huge drop. I did not think much about it and just blazed on through. My voice of reason from behind stopped me saying that she did not want to go any further. I could see the wind shelters built on the summit and this could not happen. We could not get stopped so close to the top. I coaxed Jacqueline back to the ridge where her shaky legs could sit down and be secure. I contemplated our options and
looked up the ridge to see a steep, but snow free ridge. I thought I could probably make it to the top. So I dropped the pack and scrambled on up. The going was a little difficult at first, then it got easier. Suddenly I popped out on the summit and had the whole world beneath me it seemed. I signed my name in the summit register and continued on down to where Jacqueline was chilling. When I got to her, she was set to go down. Luckily, I have been honest with her before about the difficulty of scrambling adventures. So when I told her it was easy, she believed me and suddenly swayed to go up. She made it no problem and while I told her to follow me and that t
here were cornices on top, I turned around to see Jacqueline taking one step into a cornice on the summit. I yelled at her just in the nick of time. She stopped and luckily did not finish that step. Jacqueline skis quite a bit, but I guess you only get experience with cornices when you go places others don't in the snow. We safely traversed over to the summit proper and enjoyed our victory. We continued on down and it took no time
. In just over an hour, we were chilling at the lake. Stella Lake had the most amazing skipping rocks and I couldn't stop skipping rocks until I felt some sort of tingling sensation in my arm after the last throw. We found our way down to the campground where we spent the evening doing basically nothing. We hung out, played cards and looked forward to a brilliant night's sleep. It turned out to be hard for me to sleep as we got to witness the switch from winter to summer in the mountains. A warm wind came in, so strong that I worried about the safety of my vehicle around so many trees. Plus it was warm, a fifteen degree change from one night to the next. The wind was still roaring when we awoke in the morning. Good thing we did not plan to attempt the peak on this day as it probably would have been miserable. Good luck, good weather, and a couple in good shape helped us get a summit on another excellent Great Basin National Park trip. 
1 comment:
Wow, nice climb! I didn't know you guys were going to go do that. Lots of snow.
Bry
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