Ledge jetting out over Baker Lake
In addition to this trail journal, I also filmed my Basin and Range Trail thru hike. I’ve produced a detailed series (11+ hours runtime) documenting this thru hike adventure, the product of over 1,000 hours of video editing. I highly recommending watching the Basin and Range Trail vlog series for an in-depth look at thru-hiking the Great Basin and central Nevada.
Terri called me at 7:30am and asked if I was ready. I said no, I was sleeping because you said you wouldn’t be here till 9. I said give me a half hour and I’m ready.
Terri and her boyfriend Ronnie picked me up from the Motel 6 parking lot, right outside my door. She was driving a really shitty Ford Escort from the 90s. I guess Raj had bought her the car, I guess you got to do what you got to do to get people to work for you at the motel in a small town. The trunk was held down with bungee cords, there was a big gash in one of the side doors that prevented the window from operating properly, no AC, shocks were completely gone and it leaked oil. But hey, it only needs to get me an hour away!
We stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast, then the Love’s station for gas and oil, as well as drinks. I filled up her gas tank, which was only 15 bucks. We agreed on a hundred bucks for the ride, not bad for 2 hours of work on her end.
The drive was pretty slow, Terri is a slow driver, have to nurse that car I guess so it doesn’t blow up. Decent drive, got to see some different country and a view of Spring Valley, Mount Moriah and Wheeler Peak.
Once we turned on to White Pine County Road 36, the dirt road going into Spring Valley, the going was pretty slow. The dirt road itself was in great shape, but Terri’s car was not. With no struts, she was going like 7 miles an hour the whole way. Still the dirt road section was pretty slow. Lots of windmills in Spring Valley. This is somewhat unusual for Nevada, I have not seen this yet.
It was even slower when we turned onto the next dirt road that let us to Deerhead Canyon. Eventually, we reached a cattle guard along and open fence line. There was a spot to turn around here, so I said this is good enough. They were a bit apprehensive to drop me off in the middle of nowhere, in this kind of heat, but I assured them I’ll be alright. I paid her the $100, they checked their oil, and they were on their way. Alone again, for the final section.
There was indeed a ranch, or at least some type of home, down in the ditch along the road. I was glad to see that the road was not blocked by no trespassing signs, this public Road went through private land and allowed me to access the public land on the other side. This is not always possible in Nevada, so this was a big win for me.
I began the hike up Deerhead Canyon. Before long, I found a spot that had flowing water. Good flow to it actually. This was good, I didn’t have to worry about water today. However, there were signs of cows, and this became more of an issue as I progressed up the canyon.
The canyon itself became more green and Lush the higher I went. At first, it was just a Thicket along the creek, but the road was so good that it was no problem. I saw one Sagebrush Bush that was 8 to 9 feet tall, perhaps the largest I have seen on the Basin and Range Trail.
There are several side Canyons that intersect Negro Creek in Deerhead Canyon. Eventually, after a junction with another Canyon, the road pretty much died out. All of the sudden, it was a thick bush whack through thorn bushes long the creek. Then I found a way around it, and the trail was a little better. But it was a trail now, not a road.
A little further Upstream was where things got really bad. I’m wondering if I missed the main Trail, because the bushwhacking was so bad that I thought the trail was going to fade out completely. Along the creek it was like a jungle. Green, Lush, Vines hanging from the trees. Several Creek Crossings, lots of mud and muddy fields, and at times the trail itself was a flowing Creek. My backpack would catch on everything, all of the branches. This was a major pain, but eventually I emerged into a small field where things cleared out a bit and a better Trail existed.
Now, the canyon was lined with interesting rock formations. A lot of Flat Rock stacked on each other. These would tower over the Canyon in interesting ways. Fingers, crags, spires. Even saw a small cave, but I could not reach it without doing some climbing. This was a cool area.
The trail itself did have some maintenance done to it in a few random sections. There were cut logs here and there. There is also a lot of cow shit. It was clear to me that the Rancher at the head of the canyon had done the maintenance himself, so that his cows could reach the high country and Graze there.
The route up Deerhead Canyon continues to intermittently have some path to follow, while crossing the creek and a few small waterfalls, casacdes.
Today was supposed to be 101 degrees in Baker. It was certainly hot, but I felt hotter a few days ago on a climb in the Shell Creek range. I was pleased at how well I was handling the heat today. I took the opportunity to dunk my head in the water every chance I could. Didn’t drink as much water as I thought, though. Typical for me.
Last time the trail crosses the creek, I stopped in the shade to filter two liters of water. One to chug, one to take with me. This gives me 5L to carry. This is enough to get up to the table, Summit Mount Moriah, and come down into Henry’s Creek where I know there’s water.
The trail almost completely disappeared now as I was in the upper reaches of the canyon. All That Remains is a faint cow Trail through the Sagebrush, and eventually, Aspen. The grade of the trail got a bit steeper here as well, which got me breathing hard for the first time today. The rest of the trail Downstream from here was pretty well graded.
Made it out of the canyon around 5pm. I immediately hit a dirt road, which I was thankful for. Now I have a good road to follow. It was mostly wide open Hills now, slightly rolling, with patches of Aspen here and there. I walked a ways down the road before finding a spot to take a break in the shade and eat.
After a quick break I continued on the dirt road. While walking up this road, a side-by-side was coming down. It was two guys, probably in their 30s, all dressed up and camo. I asked if they were out scouting for Elk, they said no, chasing cows. Well just as fun, I said. They asked what I was doing, and I told them this was day 63 for me on a long-distance hike through Nevada. They made a quick joke about being like a mountain goat, said alright have a good evening, and left.
Next I entered the Mt. Moriah Wilderness, proper. There was a sign here for a Trail, Big Creek Trail I think. It said the table, 2 miles. I could see Mount Moriah very well now, the back side of it, the rugged side.
The trail climbs up out of Big Creek Canyon to a a flat plateau at 11,000ft called “The Table”. Near the top of the climb, there is a stand of bristlecone pine trees. These trees were huge! Bristlecone pines are the oldest living organisms on Earth. These trees can live to be over 4900 years old! One was massive, its trunk was wider than the width of my arms extended. Next to it was a tree I called the T-Rex. Big, fat and tall, but with two stubby little branches on the sides like T-Rex arms.
It was 5:30 now, and I had hopes of reaching the table by 6:30 or so and setting up camp. If I could do that, I had a shot at Summit in Mount Moriah this evening. The plan would be to make a base camp, then I could run up the mountain with minimum weight on my back.
The climb up to the table really wore me out. I had already climbed about 4000 ft today, but this was all on fairly well graded terrain. Now, the trail was extremely steep, and I had 1200 ft elevation gain to go. Found a spring that wasn’t on the map, just like I did in the upper reaches of Deerhead Canyon.
View of Mt Moriah on The Table
Farther along the table, The terrain becomes flat and open, with patches of trees. Great view of Mount Moriah from here. There were several good campsites, but I was intent on camping wherever the climbers Trail up to the summit meets this trail. That way, when I’m done climbing the peak in the morning, I don’t have to backtrack to my campsite. It was 7pm now and I had decided not to go for the summit. Clearly, I didn’t have the time to do it.
At one point the trail emerges from the last patch of trees and out into a very open and flat area. Hard to believe I was at 11,000 ft. From here, I could see into snake Valley and into Utah. It looked pretty desolate. But, there’s Beauty in desolation, and this was a perfect example.
Even though the terrain was now flat and open, there was still a bit of a Ridge or High Point on the horizon, even if it was not that much higher than everything else. On top of this high point was a bull elk. Then I noticed another Elk next to him in the shadows. As I moved closer, they ran away. It was around this point when I noticed the first cairn leading up the Ridgeline to Mount Moriah. I found the climbers Trail, so now it’s time to look for a campsite.
Fortunately I didn’t have to look long. I climbed up the Ridgeline a short ways to a patch of trees, and found a small Rockwall that someone had built to block the wind. I didn’t set up my Camp behind this Rockwall, because the wind was blowing in a different direction, but I still was able to find a pretty good spot here.
Excellent views to the east out into Utah, as this campsite sits on a bit of a High Point along the Ridgeline. The moon was full, or almost full now, and just starting to rise from the horizon. I set up my GoPro for a time lapse while I set up my tent.
I was hoping to be able to Summit mount Moriah today since its my birthday, that would have been a memorable moment. Oh well, I’ll bag it tomorrow morning. I’m pretty tired now anyways, and was actually feeling a bit short of breath coming up the climb to the table. A night of rest will be good.
Left camp around 6:45am to climb Mount Moriah. Pack was very light, only carried 2L water, toilet paper, camera, GoPro and GPS. In fact it was awkward carrying the pack without any weight in it, it didn’t sit right on me and the water in my side pockets moved around a lot.
Went back to the area where the cairns marked the climbers trail for Mt Moriah. Down below on the table, I saw 4 Bighorn sheep. At least, that’s what I think they were. They were too far to tell for sure.
After a little climbing, the trail goes to the left of a ridge. From here, it goes to a saddle between the ridge I skirted around another prominent High Point. Great views of this high point, the same one that I could see from my camp. One would think it was Mount Moriah itself, but the summit is hidden from view behind this.
At the saddle, I took a little time to explore the small High Point. This gave great views of the backside of Moriah, which was basically sheer Cliffs. Then I continued on the trail around the high point. Eventually reached an area where I had my first view of Mount Moriah proper. It did not look impressive at all, at least not compared to the high point that I skirted around.
The route up to the summit wasn’t exactly straightforward, though. From the trail, I chose to leave it and go straight up a steep and loose Hillside. It looked like the trail went around to the south side of Moriah, maybe there was another route up that way. Maybe the trail I was on was just a game Trail. Either way, I made my way up to the saddle just below the summit, and then eventually the summit itself.
Mt Moriah summit view. The flat plateau below is the area I hiked last night called The Table. If it wasn’t obvious why last night, it certainly is from this perspective
Great views from The Summit of Mt Moriah at 12,067. Forest fire smoke rolling in from California, so everything was a bit hazy. It’s always nice to have a crystal clear view, but with the angle of the early morning sun, the haze added a mystical vibe to the view. Found the summit register, which was basically full. I wrote on the back. It had just been climbed about a week ago. I had cell phone service on the top, but it was going in and out. Quasi-4G.
The hike back down from Mt Moriah was quick and mostly easy. There was a bit of scree sliding to do, which I actually enjoy. Dig your heels in and slide!
Made my way back down to camp. Packed everything up and started hiking around 10am. It was a weird feeling getting such a late start on the actual hike of the day. I don’t typically make a base camp to bag a peak in the middle of a hike, its usually either along the route or it isn’t.
I went back down to the trail that ran across the table, and followed that to the Hendry’s Creek Trail. There was a sign marking the trail, an obvious path and lots of carins. I was hopeful that it this would continue all the way down through the end of the canyon and out to Snake Valley, but that’s a lot to ask for.
The upper reaches of Hendry’s Creek canyon were okay. There was no water yet, but a bit of a view of the surrounding Cirque. Besides that, it was not all that interesting.
Soon the trail drops down off of the hill sides and into the bottom of the canyon. Almost immediately, I found a spring creating a small Creek. From here on out, I would have water almost all the way down to the mouth of the canyon.
Immediately Downstream of the spring, the trees grew thicker and provided shade. There was a nice Trail through the forest. When the creek got large enough, I stopped to filter water and eat some food.
The upper reaches of Henry’s creek where Pleasant in the sense that I had a solid Trail to walk, it was going downhill, and I was in shade. Also along a nice water source. Some of the pools in the Creek had trout in them. Passed a clearing in the forest that had a cooler just sitting out. I opened it up to find a large rock inside, that was it. Okay then.
Around the middle section of Hendry’s Creek canyon, the rock formations and sheer Cliffs began to command attention. When the tree cover subsided for a moment, the canyon walls were there to impress. And big time! I found myself in awe of the canyon walls, now with a smile on my face and walking slower. Taking more pictures, and filling my GoPro SD card quicker. Looking up at some of the cliffs, they must have been 1000 ft straight up. Looking up into a side Canyon, there would be layers of Cliffs that had haze in between them from the incoming forest fire smoke. Pretty cool looking, actually.
There were some extremely large pine trees along the trail as well. The trunks of these were as wide as I could stretch my arms horizontally. I really like this Trail. I began to reflect on my Basin and Range Trail thru-hike as a whole, as the miles and days count down.
As I got lower in the canyon, the water in the creek dried up. This had me worried, but then a few hundred feet down Trail, there was water again. And then a few hundred feet later, it was gone. So next time I saw water, I made sure to stop and fill up. It was mostly flowing after that.
The very lower section of Hendry’s Creek canyon was interesting. It was mostly open now, and becoming much less green. But the Canyon walls were still impressive, they just had a different style to them. Some of them resemble more typical desert rock formations, while on the other side of the canyon there were still a few lingering sheer cliffs. It was an impressive view up the canyons. Water was still flowing too. I passed a very large group of chukars. Thinking this was the last time I was crossing the creek, I took my shirt off and washed it in the water, mostly for the purpose of cooling off.
The lower segment of Hendry’s Creek Canyon continued to impress. Definitely drier and more barren looking, but a different kind of beautiful.
As I reached the mouth of the canyon, things looked extremely dry and desolate now. There was a junction in the road, and I took a turn heading towards Great Basin National Park. Now, I would skirt the hillside for several miles, going up over a few hills and small passes. First, I follow some roads up the Hill, where the road disappears. I side-hilled over to a ridge/pass. I marveled at just how desolate it felt now, such a far cry from the beautiful Canyon only a few miles away.
Now I dropped down into an area marked on the map as the Cove. There were a series of roads weaving in and out of here, an old Quarry of sorts. And the distance, I could see the pass I wanted to go over. It looked like a gun sight, and in the distance be on the gun sight was Wheeler Peak, standing out among the haze. Something about this stood out to me. My final destination lies straight ahead, through this gun sight pass, in the mysterious haze. It was beautiful. It was symbolic.
At first when I dropped down into the Cove, it was not that scenic. However, the Final Approach up to the pass, the gun sight, was very beautiful. The peaks of the Snake Range to the north now show their true character. They were tall, Jagged and imposing. In the foreground was fields of golden grass. I really enjoyed the walk up this pass, it felt like a cross between Goshute valley and, well, I don’t know, someplace with Majestic mountains. With the sun setting behind them, it was just really nice.
Eventually I crested gun sight pass. Wheeler Peak showed itself on my last few steps up to the pass. The same Peaks I had been admiring to the north remained, but now I could also see Wheeler Peak and the rest of the Great Basin National Park Ridgeline. Additionally, I could see a patch of green below the pass. I had nothing on my map marking a spring or any water source here, but that’s sure what it looks like from here. Better check it out.
When I dropped down off the pass, sure enough, there was a spring among the green. It was a round metal trough with a hole in it, and water squirting out like a faucet. There was a lot of algae in the water, but the water itself was crystal clear. Additionally, there was a wooden sign here that said Craig spring. This was a really great find. My original plan was to leave the road and walk up Hill a ways to a guzzler. This would have been at least a 200 ft climb up the hill. So this spring saved me time and hassle of seeking out the guzzler, which surely would have been a lesser quality water source. Ate dinner here, filtered several liters, chugged a few, and washed up a bit. It was now closer to 7pm, and the sun and finally gone down behind the mountains and cooled off. Today was forecast to be 99 degrees in Baker, so it was a hot day and this was a welcome relief.
From here I followed a road that basically skirted the hillside for a couple miles. I overlooked snake Valley as the sun went down. Forest fire smoke lingered in the air. My feet were feeling a bit sore actually, mostly in a way that resemble them being wet and being rubbed raw. However, my feet really weren’t wet today.
It was a surreal feeling walking towards Wheeler Peak on my hike this evening. The end point of my entire 2+ month long thru-hike of Nevada is now in plain sight. On one hand, I am ready to be done. I don’t want to do any more climbing, no more bushwhacking, I just want to rest. But on the other hand, I’m not looking forward to piecing together some sort of meaningful life again when I return from this hike. Out here, I have meaning and purpose, but back at home, I always feel like Im just living life in-between adventures.
As I made a turn onto another dirt road, I saw a spring that was flowing right out of the center of the road. I have never seen anything like this. The pool was probably about 15 inches in diameter, and deep enough to dip a bottle into easily. Crystal Clear water, a great source actually! Just a strange place for it, in the middle of a dirt road.
Now around 8pm, the sun was fading. There were many spots to camp alongside the road, so I just chose a random clearing. There were more lights down in the valley than I thought. The Moon Rose to the east, it was full and extremely red looking. Probably thank the forest fire smoke for that. I called it the Super Ultra Mega Ultimate Harvest Vampire Blood Moon, like all the ridiculous names they give full moons on the Weather Channel.
Hot night, don’t even need sleeping bag. Hope I can sleep.
Woke 6am. Hot night. Must have been tired, slept like a rock.
Its a road walk into Baker now, mostly along some old 4×4 roads to begin the morning.
While planning the BRT route, I came across a GPX file marking a bunch of old plane crash sites across Nevada. I plotted these out over my route and if they are close enough, will investigate the marker to see if there is anything there. This morning was one of those opportunities. I headed a few miles cross-country to a waypoint I marked for an old plane crash site from the 60s. When I reached the coordinates, there were no signs of anything here. No debris, no physical evidence of a crash, nothing.
Followed road along some powerlines thinking it was the correct road, but apparently it wasn’t. Took me at least a mile out of the way to Silver creek reservoir.
At one point this morning, my GoPro fell off a fence post and cracked the screen protector. At least, I hoped only the screen protector was cracked, and not the lens behind it. However, since I will be walking through the town of Baker today, I figured Id just stop at the post office, get my bounce box, and slap on a new screen protector that I keep on hand for just such an occasion. Otherwise, I wondered if a hairline crack would be visible on the footage taken now with the GoPro.
The walk into Baker seemed like it took forever. It didn’t look far away, but man did it drag on. Crossed hwy 50\6,then another 4 miles into town.
Baker is a very small town. In fact, its downright pathetic for a National Park gateway city. The population is only 58. Baker has one motel, an rv park, no breakfast places, no lunch places, and only one place to eat dinner, on certain days of the week, which is operated by the motel. Baker is so small, the gas station here doesn’t even have a convenience store attached. You can only pay at the pump. The Stargazer Motel offers a small selection of snacks, but is only open in the late afternoon for like 4 hours, on certain days of the week. You cant just go to the store and buy something simple like a Pepsi in Baker. Crazy, for the closest own to a National Park. That ought to give you an idea of how little visitation Great Basin National Park gets, if the closest town isn’t even large enough to support such basic services.
Stopped in the great basin National Park visitor center on my hike into Baker, bought a couple stickers. Did the free Backcountry camping reservation, even though its not technically required. Believe it or not, the visitation is so low in Great Basin National Park that there is no permit required for backcountry camping. You can just drive there, park, and hike overnight without doing anything else. In a National park!! This sums up my experience hiking in Nevada.
Stopped at the Post Office when I reached Baker. Closed till noon, and the post master was 10min late returning from lunch. Picked up my bounce box, she said I need to pay the 21 bucks again if I open it, even if I just grab something out of it. Asked where to eat, but there was nowhere in town that’s open. Just the coffee place next door, a small food cart.
Coffee shack thing has picnic tables and shade. Got an Italian soda and ate my own food while I opened the bounce box and put on the new Gopro screen protector. Charge batts with remaining juice in 20000 mAh pack, will put that back in BB. Put stickers and rocks in BB. Will try to leave BB with a motel before leaving town today so I don’t have to pay for postage again. Today is Tuesday, and will try to finish Thursday night.
Walked across the street to Stargazers Motel, with bounce box in tow. The office wasn’t open for another half hour, but since the UPS truck was there making a delivery, the door was open and I talked to the owner. I recognized the owner, I just saw her in the post office picking up her mail from a PO box. I asked if they had any rooms available for Thursday night, and they had one. 78 bucks, no fridge or microwave. Whatever, it’s not like there’s a convenience store to buy things from anyway! I said sure let’s do it. They also had a restaurant that was only open Thursday through Sunday, 4 to 8pm. Man the hours people work in small towns. Can’t blame them, but on the other hand, it’s super inconvenient when you happen to be there outside of those hours. I’m just lucky I will be there for dinner, because I’m going to want to eat after finishing this hike! I also asked if I could leave my bounce box there with them until Thursday, and they said no problem. And finally, I asked for a couple of liters of water to take with me.
I started walking down the road out of Baker to continue south. I’m trying to reach Snake Creek, the canyon that will take me to Johnson lake, my route up to the high country. Somewhere in Baker was the lowest point along my route here through Snake Valley, roughly 5,200. From here, Ill be climbing to over 13,000, and that’s without all of the ups and downs in-between. A 7,800 climb, in this heat, sounds daunting.
It was mid afternoon now when I reached Snake Creek and began the hike up to Johnson Lake. Its 2000ft to Johnson Lake, mostly along a road that leads up the canyon. Also interesting to note, Mt Moriah was part of the Snake Range. The Snake Range actually continues south of Hwy 50/6 into Great Basin National Park. Great Basin NP and the Mt Moriah area look like completely different mountain ranges, but apparently, they are part of the same range.
So now I have about 48 hours left on the Basin and Range Trail. This kind of hit me all of the sudden, realizing it after I made my hotel reservation. Realistically, I’ll get back into Baker mid-afternoon. Wow, only 48 hours to go! I feel like I should have some profound Revelations, some deep and meaningful thoughts about the whole adventure as it comes to an end. But, for some reason my mind is just blank. A bit like the CDT in a way, not what I was expecting at the end. But I still have 48 hours to go. 48 hours to reflect, Ponder and look back on this experience. Tomorrow will be my last full day… That thought just hit me as well!
The lower reaches of the canyon consisted of a rearing station, I guess this is like a fish hatchery. Up the road from this was some private property for about a half a mile. This parcel of private property seemed to be pretty adamant about no trespassing. His gate had numerous no trespassing signs, including a handwritten sign that said “there is nothing on this property worth losing your life for”. Looking into the property, it look like some sort of compound. Like a polygamist compound, or maybe just some loony prepper.
Father up the canyon, after the private property ended, there was a sign that said entering Great Basin National Park. Around here, was the first time you could access the stream that flows along the road, Snake Creek. I stopped to take my shirt off and wash it in the water, and put on a cold shirt. You wouldn’t believe how much of a difference this makes, it really takes the heat down a few notches. And of course, dunked my head a bit and tried to cool off.
I saw several deer on the way up to Canyon. A few at a time, and different places. There were some spots that had rock formations that were similar to Hendry’s Creek or Deerhead Canyon of the Mt Moriah area, but overall, the canyon was not that interesting. It was a bit disappointing, actually. But then again, its just the lower reaches of the canyon, and many canyons don’t get good until the upper reaches. Every so often, there were pit toilet bathrooms and a couple of campsites along the road. National Park has funding for all this, but not enough to take care of the horrible washboard road here. The only thing that sucks more than walking on a washboard Road is driving on one.
While Snake Creek was flowing in the lower potion of the canyon, it Was dry now in the middle section. The stream began to flow again as I approached the lower Campground, Eagle Peak or Eagle Pass, something like that. This wasn’t the campground at the end of the road, but about 2 miles before that.
When I reached the end of the road, there was a pit toilet and Trailhead parking. You could park here and walk into a couple of campsites they were nearby. I stopped here at the trailhead parking lot to eat dinner. The national park has these nice little stone walls that are about a foot and a half tall, perfect to sit on. But pretty useless otherwise! Again, would rather have a non-washboard road than a little decorative wall. I felt like I’d covered a lot of ground today, but still wanted to make more progress. After all, it was only 6:30 or so now after dinner.
The Johnson Lake Trail starts here from the trailhead. It’s 3.9 miles and 2600 elevation gain to Johnson Lake, which is just below the crest of the Snake Range here in Great Basin National Park. I doubt I would make it tonight, but at least want to put a dent in that elevation gain. Tomorrow is going to have enough climbing already.
After leaving the trailhead, the trail passes through one of those walk-in campsites, which had a few people camping here. The two guys that were camped there were walking in right behind me. Up the trail, past the walk-in campsite, was a wooden bridge over the creek. I thought about it, and this might be the first bridge that I’ve come across on the Basin and range Trail.
At the creek with the bridge, I stopped to filter one liter of water. While I set up my gravity system, I washed my socks and my legs with my wash rag. Looking over at my water filter, It was clear that something was wrong, it was leaking too much. I removed the filter from the platypus bag and noticed that my gasket was messed up. That was from putting the water filter on upside down last night, when I was hot and tired. Stupid mistake. Now the gasket is all chewed up. Fortunately, I have a couple of extras. So it was no big deal to swap it out with a new one. I just felt a little dumb for doing that.
Upstream, I saw a couple more deer. Some nice Aspens alongside the trail. Eventually the trail weaves in and out and emerges in an open spot. For the first time today, I felt like I was in the high country. Still had a ways to go, though. Not all that much to say about I tonight’s hike, it wasn’t that interesting overall, compared to a lot of other places I’ve been along this route. The trails are well maintained, all of the downed logs have been cleared. But a lot of the time it just felt like I was walking through a forest with no view and climbing uphill quite a bit.
Found a spot to camp just before 8pm. A really good spot Actually, about a hundred feet off Trail, with a perfect area of flat ground that has already been cleared.
Left pinky toe has been sore all day. Looks like maybe a small blister on the inside, but really, more than that, something to do with the callus on the bottom of the toe and some rubbing issues there. Overall pretty tired. Just two more nights to go!
Have been feeling a bit more tired than normal last few nights. Slept pretty good. Felt a little rough when I woke up, but fine once I start moving. Rough in the sense that I just feel overall tired and worn out. Today is my last full day of hiking on the Basin and Range Trail.
Still another 1200 ft to climb up to Johnson like. Passed the Johnson Lake Mill, where tungsten ore was sent down from mines near the lake for processing in the early 1900s. The trail was steep and Rocky. I could hear a creek flowing near the Johnson Mill.
My thought was, today was going to be tough with a lot of climbing but since there were so few miles to cover, that I would have plenty of time, making it a somewhat leisurely day. I was in a really good mood this morning. However, I’m struggling to make sense of my emotions on this last full day of hiking. My mind is all over the place.
At Johnson Lake, there were several cabins. Some in better condition than others. Lots of Rusty cans, bottles, random mining equipment like Transmissions, gear shafts and Motors, rusty old barrels, fuel canisters.
I stopped along the shores of Johnson Lake to filter some water. I could hear voices somewhere, assuming they were up on the Ridgeline above the lake, but I couldn’t see anyone. I knew there was someone camping here based on the trail register at the trailhead last night. I could hear a tent rustling in the wind over in the trees, didn’t know if there was anyone there right now though. While I was filtering water, a guy walked up and started filtering water about 50 ft away from me. I asked him where he was going today, he said Wheeler Peak and then down to the Trailhead below wheeler. That’s what I’m doing too, I said. He had a very small and light day pack. He said he was just going to chug some water and take one liter with him for the whole way. Wow, that’s it?
I started the climb up to the pass above Johnson Lake. A little ways up, there was a metal cable running from one part of the mountain up to a higher part of the mountain with a little trolley on it. A relic of the old Johnson mine. Nice view looking down on Johnson Lake. The lake is pretty small, but hey, it’s a lake, in Nevada. What more can you ask for?
Made it to the top of the pass. Walking away from Johnson Lake, there were some cairns that led down to Baker Lake. In the distance, an imposing Ridgeline Loomed. Baker Peak and Wheeler Peak, along with the unnamed high points in between them. I took the trail down to Baker Lake to the point where it was about even with the saddle I was heading for, and then I was off Trail for most of the rest of the day from there.
Once I reached the saddle, it was pretty much just a boulder field. I was hoping this was just a temporary thing, but this was pretty much consistent with the rest of the day. Definitely a bit more intense than I had anticipated. I’m glad I had more than just one liter of water on me!
It was extremely slow going. Very slow. I assumed there would be a path around some of these unnamed high points, like a horse Trail or social trail. But since it was just a giant Boulder field, there was nothing. I was forced to mostly stay on the Ridgeline proper, which meant more elevation gain. And it was as slow as you could imagine moving through a giant field of Boulders. Reminiscent of the Wind River range high route, or perhaps the Sierras.
Moving around the first High Point was slow. After I dropped down to a saddle in between the first and second High Point, I got a good look at the second high point, which was basically the back wall of the cirque of Baker Lake. It was extremely Jagged looking, a collection of spires and hoodoos. It didn’t really look possible to walk that Ridgeline, so I took a path below it, skirting the mountain side. Here it was a steep field of boulders. Many of them moved under my feet. It was slow, tedious, and frightening at times.
Eventually I made my way up to the top of the Ridgeline, tired of skirting the hillside through steep boulders. To my surprise, it was easier walking up here then it was down below. Additionally, the views were spectacular!
On the Baker Lake side of the crest, massive sheer cliffs dropped down what looked like a thousand feet. The Ridgeline was segmented, little inlets and valleys, massive death chutes, that looked like a gun sight. They were too many of these to count. They required a little bit of work to go around them, but they were so darn impressive. The entire ridgeline above Baker Lake was outstanding.
Life was a bit more pleasant now that I am walking the Jagged Ridgeline, even though it’s still tedious in slow going. At least I had amazing views to make it all worthwhile. Talk about saving some of the best scenery on the entire Basin and Range Trail for last. That’s exactly how today felt, I was just blown away by The Incredible landscapes. What a way to end my BRT thru-hike, with a Great Basin National Park high route across the rugged crest of the Snake Range.
In between Baker Lake and Baker Peak, the hiking was a little easier. Here, it was just a walk along talus, with no steep slopes to contend with.
Next I began the Ascent of Baker Peak. It was less steep, so it made hiking on the boulders a bit easier. But it was still a boulder walk. Everything was today, all the way up to Wheeler Peak. Once at the top of Baker, I enjoyed excellent views in all directions. At 12,305, Baker Peak is the 4th highest mountain in Nevada.
Now I had a clear view of Wheeler Peak, and the Ridgeline leading up to it. The path ahead looked very steep, and needed to find a way down to the Ridgeline.
It was steep coming down the Ridgeline from Baker Peaks north side. Once I dropped down in elevation some, then it was time to skirt around to the Ridgeline. This was perhaps one of the most impressive segments of trail today in terms of pure Scenic Beauty. Looking back at Baker, it was just so damn impressive. A massive vertical rock face. A couple of them actually, dominated The View to the South. I couldn’t stop looking back.
I ended up taking a break here to eat some food. Sat right up on top of the fridge, and dangled my feet over the edge. The north face of Baker Peak is said to be one of the tallest vertical rockwalls in the entire Great Basin, perhaps only second to its neighbor to the north, Wheeler Peak. Seems like good spot to sit for a minute.
I really enjoyed this Ridgeline. Eventually, I reached the saddle, the low point between Baker Peak and Wheeler Peak, and began the 1200 ft Ascent up to Wheeler.
The Climb to Wheeler Peak wasn’t too bad, in the sense that the boulders were mostly pretty secure, didn’t move too much. There really wasn’t a path per se, but at times I felt like there were little patches of grass in between the boulders that made it seem like that was the right way to go.
Reached the summit of Wheeler Peak around 5pm. At 13,065′, Wheeler Peak is the 2nd tallest peak in Nevada. The highest peak in Nevada is Boundary Peak, and it’s right on the border or California and Nevada. Since Boundary Peak straddles two states, does it only “half count” as the tallest in Nevada? Wheeler Peak may be 2nd tallest, but it’s the highest point on the Basin and Range Trail.
I took my time on the summit of Wheeler Peak. I looked over the Great Basin, straddling two states here, soaking in the view. It was a pretty hazy day, still feeling the effects of the California wildfires in the form of forest fire smoke. This created that layered effect on the distant mountain ranges. I thought about my first distant views when I first started this hike, and saw Wheel Peak in the distance for the first time. I could see it from 100 miles away, in the Grant Range, and 140 miles away, in the Hot Creek range on Morey Peak. I thought about how looking out into the Nevada Wilderness meant mystery, in the beginning. Now, I look out and I see memories. That’s the reward of an arduous journey such as a thru-hike. To be able to look back on all that one has seen, endured, accomplished and gain a new perspective. To turn the unknown into the known. Mysteries to Memories.
Headed down off Wheeler Peak, the wind was picking up now. There was a trail to follow now, which helped me make much better time. Even so, the trail was not great, in the sense that it was basically still all rocks. It was just a path through the rocks.
Made it to the pass above Stella Lake. Excellent view of wheeler from here. Started down the trail around 7pm. So many deer this evening, probably around 12.
Stella Lake was beautiful, great view of Wheeler Peak from the lake. However, no good campsites. Really, no pre-made campsites anywhere along the lake. I was really surprised by this. I found a spot under a tree, a small clearing, that had three rocks in the center. Didn’t think anything of it at the time, but when I moved the rocks to set up my tent, of course there was toilet paper under them. There was nowhere else to camp, so I pretty much had to camp here anyway. The tp looked older, and I made sure to put some dirt over it so that it doesn’t come in contact with my Tyvek. I’m camping here.
Couldn’t sleep last night. Wind was howling, but I was protected and so was Stella lake. But still, the sounds of the wind kept me up. Used ear plugs after mid night, that helped, and I was able to sleep a little. Besides the wind, I had a million thoughts on my mind with the end of the hike upon me, and I’m not sure how much sleep I would have gotten on a calm night.
Packed up and left camp, unsure with how to deal with the last day of the hike. My head was a mess, I could barely think straight. I want to be done, but I’m not ready to be done.
I walked around Stella Lake to Theresa Lake, which was clearly very low on water. I wondered how many more years Stella Lake would even be around. I could have hiked over to Rock Glacier, adding another 1.5 miles each way, but I didn’t. I regret it now. Rock Glacier is the only remaining glacier in Nevada, which sits below Wheeler Peak. Its only 2 acres, so this too will be gone in a matter of years.
Below Theresa Lake, the trail is a well-beaten pathway, totally unlike anything else along the Basin and Range Trail. Soon, I passed through the Bristlecone/Alpine Lake Trailhead. This is the main access point for the Wheeler Peak area. It was here I learned that Stella Lake was a day use only area, and no overnight camping was allowed. Ooops. The rangers at the visitor center neglected to mention that to me when I mentioned my route, and this information was not readily posted in many areas. Oh well, at least I can say I practice leave no trace principles.
Below the trailhead, a short trail leads to the Wheeler Peak campground. It was closed for the season as they did improvements, adding some large cement structures for fire pits and picnic areas. Man, this kind of camping really loses its appeal after spending so much time camping in the backcountry.
Below Wheeler Peak Campground, a good trail leads downhill for a few miles. It winds through forest, along a babbling creek, and through some meadows that look up at Wheeler Peak. Not bad! All of the sudden, I could see the transition in vegetation from the typical lush mountain environment to a drier, more desert-like one.
Eventually I hit the lower Wheeler Peak Campground, and it was a paved road walk into Baker from here. And I didn’t even mind this one. It gave me the time I needed to come to terms with the end of my great basin thru-hike journey.
Only about two miles from town now, I stopped in the middle of this lonely road to try and eek out some type of meager celebration, because I feel obligated to do something to recognize the significance of the moment. I let out a few screams of joy in the middle of the road, dropped to my knees and kissed the paved along the yellow line. What else can I really do? Unlike the CDT, the start and end points of this hike are arbitrary and meaningless. There are no monuments to mark the start or the end. The end point here is just so underwhelming. For me though, the summit of Wheeler Peak was my symbolic end point. I just need to reach the physical end point now, the town of Baker.
I walked the final two miles or so into Baker, reaching town early afternoon. The town is empty, so little here. I walked over to the Stargazer motel, and waited a couple hours for it to open, at 3pm. I checked in, got a shower, and headed over to the little restaurant they operate, attached to the motel. It was actually quite good food!
I stayed the night here in the motel and got a ride out of Baker the next day from Marlene, whom I met in the Rubies a few weeks prior. She drove me to Reno, I flew home to Michigan, and just like that, my Basin and Range Trail thru hike was a fading memory. Its funny how quickly these memories fade, too.
My takeaway from my Basin and Range Trail thru hike is that there is only right now, and to spend less time thinking about the past. You cant live life in the past, you can only live life NOW.
I think the one thing that makes ending this hike a little easier for me is not to think of it as the end of the greatest adventure of my life, but a stepping stone to an even greater one. No, I am not done, this is only the beginning for me.
Day 40: Pillars of Rome to Lambert Rocks June 20th After another big breakfast, we…
Day 34 June 14th After our 11am checkout time, Donny makes a stop at the…
Day 30: Red Mountain Wilderness Study Area June 10th After another delicious breakfast from the…
Day 27: Hiking the Pueblo Mountains June 7th The Pueblo Mountains Looking back at the…
Day 24: Steens Mountains, High Water Alternate June 4th The weather was looking very nasty…
Day 18: Crossing Hart Lake May 29th I left the Hart Mountain Store at 4:30pm.…
View Comments
I enjoyed your impressive hiking through Nevada story. What a great accomplishment-- congratulations. I liked the many photos you took. Thank you for documenting so well.