Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Hello there, and thanks so much for joining us here! You are probably wondering what this podcast is all about? In this podcast, we will talk about all sorts of outdoor adventures, but primarily, for now, we will focus on hiking and backpacking. No other outdoor adventure is so accessible to so many people! So please join us as we talk about how to hike/backpack and learn how to hike any length trail from your local neighborhood parks to those long trails such as the Appalachian and others worldwide! Remember... "in every walk with nature; one receives far more than he seeks... - John Muir " See you on the trail!
Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Conquering Wheeler Peak: A High-Altitude Adventure in Great Basin National Park
Ever wondered what it takes to conquer one of the most stunning peaks on the Utah-Nevada border? Join me, Craig the Natural Medic, as I guide you through a thrilling adventure on the Wheeler Peak Trail in Great Basin National Park. Experience the vibrant autumn colors of golden aspens as we climb over 3,000 feet from a challenging trailhead starting above 10,000 feet. You'll master the art of acclimating to the high altitudes and learn essential tips to combat altitude sickness. As we trek through the park, discover its rich history, including tales of its establishment and the renaming of nearby peaks, all while surrounded by breathtaking vistas and diverse ecosystems.
Set your alarms early because this hike demands a commitment of both time and fitness. With nearly 9 miles of trail to conquer, plan for a full day exploration starting at 8 AM and wrapping up just after 5 PM. I'll provide a comprehensive fitness level guide to make sure you're ready for the challenge. Engage with our journey by leaving comments or questions, and if you find this episode helpful, a thumbs up would be much appreciated. Get inspired to embark on your own outdoor adventures and witness the unparalleled beauty of the great outdoors. Join me as we explore, learn, and conquer nature's wonders together.
Hi, welcome to Natural Medic Adventures. My name is Craig the Natural Medic. Today I'm in Great Basin National Park on the Utah-Nevada border and for this part of the trip, going to hike up Wheeler Peak, the second highest peak in the state of Nevada, the highest peak of Nevada that is entirely within the state. I hope you'll join me. My first advice would be to get here early. We almost missed a parking spot because we weren't here early, but we are here and we're fixing to take off, starting on the trail. The trail is 8.6 miles according to the National Park Service sign. Other sources I've heard is 9.1 miles. Depending on how fast you want to go and conditions etc. It's about four to ten hours to take it to the top. You are starting this trail off at over 10,000 feet. I believe at the trailhead sign you're at 10,161 feet. That's pretty high. If you're from a much lower elevation, definitely give yourself time to acclimate and take your time Away. We go. You can certainly tell that fall is here. The aspens are turning a beautiful golden color, enjoying the trees while we have them because eventually pop above tree line. I believe that last two miles of the hike is completely exploring the beautiful forest, very old tree species. Up here you have these bristlecone pines that are here in the shadow of the mountain, and right now it's pretty flat on the trail, about six tenths of a mile in. But I believe we're going to be going up this ridge in front of in front of me and then following that spine all the way to the top. So stay tuned, let's see what happens next. Okay, we either peek behind me in order to get up there. There's a turnoff, there's a one-tenth cut off to Stella Lake. That first mile or so was the easy part. Now it looks like it's going to be up and up. There is 3,000 feet of elevation gain on this hike and on top of that you're already at elevation. Just another reminder this is for people in good physical shape. First mile approach is not bad, only about 200 feet of elevation gain, but the rest of this is going to be going up up. Let's keep going.
Speaker 1:Okay, looking over here back toward the west, we've got the flatter plains typical of this region. You have north-south mountain ranges. This particular hike that we're on is part of the Snake Range and in between the mountains there's large open meadows, pastures, whatever you want to call them, meadows, pastures, whatever you want to call them, and yesterday, driving up, saw a significant amount of elk, of course, plenty of cattle that were out there in the field, along with whatever they happen to be growing out there. Pretty crazy Getting a little harder to breathe, which is understandable. Keep going up just one foot in front of the other is the way you make it, and I definitely foresee many miles, about 1.38, probably at the 2 mile marker, if not, before Taking a water and snack break.
Speaker 1:Remember y'all Altitude sickness is no joke. If you're hiking this trail, or any trail, and start feeling sick, you need to stop, rest, consume some water, have a snack and don't let yourself get in a bad way. And if you keep ascending and you're still feeling bad, unfortunately you probably need to head down. Just words of advice. Wow, behind me, you can really see how tall and exposed the route is to the top of Wheeler and to its neighbor, which is, I believe it's pronounced Dosee Diaby. Sorry if I'm butchering that. It was formerly known as Jeff Davis but for obvious reasons, being a Confederate leader, they changed the name back to a native one.
Speaker 1:Interesting little tidbits about Great Basin National Park. First started with the setting aside of the Lehman Caves in 1928, I believe I forget which president but using the Antiquities Act, set aside the caves for protection. The rest of the park was added later, 1987. And then the whole area became Great Basin National Park before 1987. Just remarking last night while looking at the super dark skies here, that it's pretty amazing to me to have an area of such significance set aside in my lifetime Now, granted, in 87, I think I was in the 7th grade, but I was alive. Natural, cultural, etc. Significance of the park was definitely realized then whenever the park was established formally as a national park in 1987.
Speaker 1:I'll continue on ahead, getting close to running out of timber here. The wind is picking up. You can hear my breath being a little stronger Because it's been pretty much up as I've made it through the forest. I'm about to run out of the forest. Might be hard to see where the trail goes On the other side of this uppermost section of trees it looks like it goes over here on the backside of the spine. I guess, depending on your perspective, the best is yet to come. All right, leaving most of the woody tree species behind, climbing up this rocky path to the spine of the mountain. Go up over that spine, crossing the saddle, to the prize at the end, wheeler Peak. I know I'm not as heavy as I anticipated, but it's no cakewalk Over 11,000 feet, probably closer to 11, 4, somewhere around there. So far I've covered 1, covered 1200 feet of elevation gain, and that's a lot, and about slightly over twice that to go Up up we go.
Speaker 1:There's a few small trees here and there at the tops, taking a form called krummholz, which is a German word, I believe it means stunted. They're just barely hanging on to this life zone, the few that are here. They're just barely hanging on to this life zone, the few that are here. And I'm sure the weather gets pretty harsh up here. Across the way there's another mountain. I don't know what mountain that is, but if you look down the slopes, lots of golden leaves on trees. We see the trees as a whole. You don't really see the leaves from this point and there's a bird of some kind I think it's a jay of some kind. It's very cool, but anyway, yeah, there's a mountain across the way and came up this ridge here and going up this direction Further towards the top and the mountain reappeareth.
Speaker 1:Okay, almost up this ridge line right here, slow going, getting close to 12,000 feet. So the air is getting thinner as we go up here and just been gradual climbing since leaving treeline well before that, but definitely gradually increasing tree line or gradually increasing climbing as we go up the mountain just reappeared. Couldn't really see it. So we got to go over top of this ridge down the saddle and then up on top and we'll be. Can't hardly wait. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Quite a sight. Folks Made it on top of this ridge here. The last part is going to be going up that, however the trail goes, and getting on top, stay tuned. You will notice in the foreground there are some rock shelters that were built to take refuge in case of storms. Let's keep going. I see people going up the spine of the mountain right here. I may not be able to make that out on video, but off they go, so off I go.
Speaker 1:Finishing up that last little leg here, about 600 feet, and all the way on the top Got about a in Great Basin National Park, nevada. Now behind me is where the benchmark should be. The geodetic survey should be the geodetic survey. However, some loser removed it, but you can see where it was in this rock Right here. Look at the view. This is looking west. This is looking east.
Speaker 1:The actual book is down here that you sign the logbook. It took approximately five hours to get up here. There's my backpack. There's a little mailbox that's got a logbook in there and a Wheeler Peak sign. I already signed the logbook. I already took a picture with the sign, but let's do a video Me and the sign. Look at that. Whee, wheeler Peak. Wheeler Peak, second highest mountain in Nevada. What do y'all say out there? Do y'all say Nevada or Nevada? Back where I worked EMS last in the Dallas area, there was a town called Nevada, but it's pronounced Nevada, so I guess there's a bunch of different ways to say it.
Speaker 1:Anywho, I'm up here and now it's time to head down, trying to get up and down in about eight hours. See what happens. Yeah, coming down, you definitely have a lot of rocks to negotiate. You have to step up and over them Going up and you're really pushing those calf muscles, but on the way down you are most definitely having to choose your path wisely. Take your time. I do recommend trekking poles up and down. They just give that extra level of stability and and that's good. I can't tell you all the hard part is over, but majority of it is over.
Speaker 1:I'm taking a little break at one of the rock shelters over here. Going up probably took dozens of breaks, felt like hundreds of breaks. I could never get to the top, but turned out all right. I should be on time to get back to the vehicle about I'm hoping about five, but we'll see what happens. Yeah, it's hard to believe I was on top of that thing. There's a twin, but it was a challenge. I'm tired, my feet hurt. Ready to eat, take, take a shower. I'll give you a full summary when we get back to the parking lot.
Speaker 1:Okay, made it back to the summit trailhead and elevation gain. It was a little bit under 8 miles total. Again, a couple of guidelines. Don't attempt this trail if you are not in at least good shape and you want to commit a full day to it, because you're going to have to get up here early and start. We started at 8 o'clock and we're just getting back a little bit after 5, about 520. So if that's something you can do, then definitely consider this trail. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. If you like this video, give it that old thumbs up so people will know that it was helpful and other people can watch it. So I hope you have a great day, afternoon, evening, and we will see you out on the trail. Bye.
