Friday Sep 22, 2023 - Angel Lake Camprground to Great Basin National Park

Oh crap, it snowed last night here up at 8300 ft but it stopped some time in the night so if the road did not accumulate ice, we should be ok. So we made our coffee and tea and were taking our time when it started snowing again. Oh crap again. We could either hang out here until the sun came out and it warms up or we could go now. Since it’s snowing and there is no sun to warm anything up, we chose the leave now option. We crawled down the hill in first gear and tested the traction with the brakes. The unnerving thing is this road, while paved, is really skinny with no guardrails and million foot dropoffs. After a slow mile or two we crawled down in 2nd gear, testing the braking traction and it all looked ok. Once down a couple of miles we could see that the snow was just behind us up in a cloud where our campground is/was.

The rest of the 12 mile descent was fine and we actually got some nice views. 

We got right on the interstate, I-80, for one exit and then got back on good old Rt 93 south. The first sign you see is “No gas next 160 miles” but we had enough. This van has a range of about 500 miles which is comforting (and expensive).

Guess what, there is a whole lot of not much in that 160 miles. We did stop at a Pony Express marker / rest area with “Beware of rattlesnakes” signs on the door, but other than that and nice mountain views to the east and west, not much.

We were hoping for a nice breakfast place in Ely (pronounced Eel-y) but all we found was McDonalds. We talked up a couple from France who had left Montreal 4 months ago and ridden  their bicycles all the way across Canada to Vancouver and were now heading to Phoenix, which they hoped they could do in 20 days. Wow..

We filled up with gas in Ely and headed east on Rt 50, the plan being to go to Great Basin National Park. We could see Wheeler Peak from the west side of the mountain, which is in the park, but to get to it we had to go north a ways and then cut through a pass and back south to the park entrance. The Visitor Center ranger told us about the campground options, and the one we liked the best was the topmost campground, Wheeler Peak Campground. It’s 12 miles up the paved park road at 9,886 ft altitude and she told us that it might be open, but the last mile of the road had closed the night before (along with the campground), and they were still clearing snow so no guarantees. We climbed the 12 miles and pulled into a parking lot where the rangers were stopping traffic. 

Deb talked to them and just our luck, they had just finished clearing snow and the campground was open and first come first serve. We were the second vehicle in, so we had our choice. The ranger at the top told Deb that this is the most beautiful campground in the entire National Park system. We think she might be right. Part of the beauty is that we hit it the day after the snowstorm so the mountains were all white, and also it was a bright sunny day which shows off the mountains and lakes. We picked a campsite with a bit too much of an angle, so moved to another which was more level. Then off for a hike. 

Deb here. I downloaded 3 hiking options on All Trails, all of them starting right near our campground at the end of the road. We decided to hike the Alpine Lakes Loop, a 3 mile loop that passed by two lakes with Wheeler Peak in the background. What can I say except absolutely stunning?! The water, snow on the peaks, golden aspens, sunshine, and blue sky all equaled a really wonderful hike. It was still cool and windy, but gorgeous. 

After the lakes I split from John and headed up a trail to visit the Bristlecone Pine Forest. It was a bit under a mile uphill to reach the Bristlecone Pines, and snow covered the trail through the trees. I’d hoped to visit a similar forest in CA but time ran out, so it was great to finally see some of these ancient trees. Gnarly and old, the trees were as much as 5,000 years old. Unbelievable.

By the time I finished the interpretive trail loop it was getting dark, so I beat it on down the mountain to our campsite. John had dinner waiting and our van felt cozy after spending the afternoon in the cold and wind.