Weekend at Great Basin

 Jacqueline, Zyla, and I decided to make a bold move and spend 3 consecutive nights camping out in Great Basin Park. This was a bold move because we had never done more than one night in a row in the past. Zyla was a great camper, so it was just a matter of how she would do staying out for multiple days. Jacqueline's brother Paul was meeting us there, so it should be a fun time. We got off of work a little bit early and made our way through three hours of Basin and Range to Great Basin. Our first hope was to find ourselves a campsite. We decided to stay in the Upper Lehman Campground because that was the only campground in Great Basin that we had not stayed in yet.

 We were lucky enough to find one of the last sites. It was unfortunately right next to the bathrooms, so occasionally we got the smell of the bathrooms wafting into our campsite. Once we made camp, we drove out to another campsite to visit with our friends who were campground hosts. We had a nice chat about fireflies, then went back to our campground where we ran into Paul. We got Zyla to bed in her pee pod, then played some Catan out at the picnic table. The next morning we got a slower start, but that was kind of the point. Enjoyed a breakfast at the picnic table and then drove up the road to do the hike out to the glacier.

We even let Zyla hike on her own, which was the first time really that she showed any desire to actually do the hiking on her own. She had spent so much time riding in the backpack while her dad did the work that I wondered if she would be more ambitious or just want to keep riding. She walked for about half a mile before we got impatient and she wore herself out, then it was back in the backpack. We had done this hike many years ago on our first trip to Great Basin, but not since. It was an excellent trip taking us first through the forest, then by the lakes, then through the bristlecone forest before finally topping out above treeline at the glacier.

This glacier was more of a rock glacier then a snow glacier by this point in the days of global warming. We took a bunch of pictures including the same picture that we took 6 years earlier. This was Jacqueline and my first hike together many years in the past. Now it was 6 years later and we had one daughter and a son on the way. We really don't mess around. Jacqueline was doing well despite carrying an extra load. She still had 4 more months of being pregnant left, so I was hoping we could still spend some time getting out. On the way down, we stopped at Stella Lake to play. Zyla always enjoys throwing rocks into the lake.

We had a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky which is rather strange for late July in Great Basin. We wandered back down to the car spending a good 4 hours out and about. Then it was a little time to play around camp and in the tent. I think this was Zyla's favorite part. Time can sure fly out there because sooner rather than later it was dinner time. After dinner, we made an attempt to go to the evening program. A rather embarrassing thing happened while waiting for the program. Zyla was just sitting on the bench next to Jacqueline and I. Neither of us were watching for a second and when we looked down, Zyla had face planted in the dirt.

She was unhurt, but obviously a bit shaken up by it. I felt bad being the parent, but she is a kid and those things happen. We tried to stay for the evening program, but Zyla was just too young and did not get it. We only made it through a bit of it before heading back to camp to play in the tent before putting Zyla to bed. Then it was another night of Catan and even a campfire where Jacqueline and Paul had some smores. I am not a big fan, so I did not partake. I got to bed earlier on this night, because in the morning I was waking up early again. It was back in the Xterra for a drive back up toward the top of the road.  

This time, though, I was by myself. I was going for a hike up to the top of the highest point, Wheeler Peak. Having done this hike twice before, this was nothing new for me. But I wanted to be in good shape, so this was one way to do it by waking up early and getting up the peak. I woke up at 6 a.m. and was on the trail by 6:45. I ran into a couple of animals including a turkey and a herd of deer enjoying the early morning calm before the packs of hikers started swarming the peak. I knew I was moving good without the little girl on my back or a big pack for work, so this wasn't going to take long. As soon as I hit the ridge, I knew I was in for it.

 The wind was intense and I had to work to right my way through it. Still it had only taken me an hour to get this far. There was one group ahead of me, so that gave me some motivation also, but by 8:35 I was on top of the mountain. It had taken me less than 2 hours to climb over 3000 feet and about 4 miles to stand above 13000 feet. I knew I had not set any records, but I was proud of myself. I took a bunch of pictures including one of Pyramid Peak, the first mountain Jacqueline had climbed and also the place where I proposed to her. I talked to the father and son up on top, then it was time to get down.

 I was thinking that I might even make it back before the family was ready to go do something else. I ran into the deer again on the way down and then was back at the trailhead by 10:30 a.m. and to the campsite by 11:00 a.m. No one seemed particularly impressed by my swift hiking as there was a child to attend to. Jacqueline was happy to have my help again. Now it was time for a group hike. We chose to do the Timber Creek - Pole Canyon hike that we had done before. This time, we had a car shuttle so that would make it easier. We started at the higher elevation at Timber Creek.

I carried Zyla up to the saddle where we had a late lunch/snack. We took a bunch of pictures knowing that this was the high point of the hike. We would then drop off the saddle down to Pole Canyon where it was time to hike down through a dry grassland area. Zyla got out for a while and did some more hiking, this time going for 3/4 of a mile before tiring out. The hardest thing with her hiking was keeping her moving as everything was interesting. That was a good thing, because at least she was engaged in the environment around her. The hike took a good chunk of the afternoon before it was back to camp to enjoy one more evening of playing in the dirt and in the tent. Zyla was definitely a happy camper.

 We did not even think that she missed her home at this point. The tent and our campsite had now become her home. We enjoyed some more Catan and another small campfire before getting some shut eye. Zyla slept wonderfully in the tent. In the morning, I think she was slightly sad to pack up and go home. But we had to at some point, so it was now or never. We had a very enjoyable weekend with the kid enhanced by Uncle Paul coming along. Jacqueline did great despite her pregnant belly and I was happy that I had a family that enjoyed being outdoors as much as I did.