Great Basin National Park, NV

Last year Brian and I flew to Phoenix and rented a compact car for a two week road trip eventually making our way to Denver. We tented most of the trip and hit seven national parks and two national monuments which included the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches and Rocky Mountain National Park with the two monuments being Natural Bridges and the Colorado National Monument. This trip sparked our interested in countrywide travel and put our current trip in motion. 

As we left Colorado, we drove directly west through Utah and reminisced about our first road trip that took place almost a year ago to date. Satisfied that we’ve seen southern Utah before, we didn’t stop until we crossed into Nevada and reached Great Basin National Park. It was hot in the valley but as we drove up into the park and into the mountains, the temperature dropped. We found the perfect site to camp and dubbed it home for the majority of the week. After all the hustle and bustle with traveling to Florida last week, we were yearning for some alone time in the woods. 

Great Basin is a vast region and quite literally a giant basin. Streams and rivers mostly find no outlet to the sea and water collects in shallow salt lakes, marshes, and mud flats and evaporates into the dry desert air. Great Basin also features the Lehman Caves, a single cavern that extends a quarter-mile. Author Jeremy Schmidt explains that cave formation started hundreds of thousands of years ago. Surface water, turned slightly acidic from carbon dioxide gas, mixed with water deep below the surface, dissolving the soluble rock at the horizontal water table. Evidence of the dissolving action from the slowly circulating water was recorded in the cave’s rock as spherical domes in ceilings and spoon-shaped scallops on walls. Eventually the water drained from the cave, leaving behind hollow rooms and sculptured walls. In the second stage of cavern development, water percolated down from the surface, carrying small amounts of dissolved limestone. Drop by drop, over centuries, seemingly insignificant trickles deposited the wonders of stone.

We signed up for the hour and half tour through the cave. It was different from the other caves we’ve visited, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, in that it was much smaller and more narrow. It also contained structures that are rare to see. Human impact was also much greater here. In the early days when it was discovered by Absalom Lehman for the second time, first was by Native Americans, Lehman would allow visitors to take a piece of the cave home with them and also allow them to signify the cave with char or oil from the lanterns. I wasn’t allowed to bring my tripod in the cave so my pictures are selective and dark.

Rain and snow were intermittent throughout the park and our stay. Most of the scenic road to the other side of the park was still closed and the water was still shut off at the campgrounds. The conditions didn’t deter us from getting out for a good hike. We took the Lehman trail to the other end of the scenic road, 6.8 miles round trip with an increase of 2,134 feet in elevation. We met another hiker at the top, we shared tea and cookies and places traveled. He was training for the PCT, the Pacific Crest Trail, which is a west coast trail that runs from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. 

We also enjoyed the company of a fellow Masshole. Her name is Hannah and she was on her way from Denver to San Francisco on a solo trip with her pickup. She lived in western Mass. in an old school bus that was converted to a cozy apartment. We were delighted to have a new friend and to share trail stories and a cold beer. 

We relaxed, cooked mostly all of our meals outside, watched dear graze from our window and completely embraced the peacefulness of this park. 

Lehman Caves:

Shield - a cave rarity; two roughly circular plates fastened like flattened clam shells, often with graceful stalactites and draperies hanging from their lower plate. 

 Hiking the Lehman Trail:

Next Stop: Las Vegas, Nevada