Day 2, Great Basin NP

We started our day off with a delicious continental breakfast in order to stock up on carbs and energy for the long hike ahead of us. Once checked out of the hotel, it took us about an hour and a half of driving through basins and ranges to get to Great Basin NP. Clearly visible from 20 miles out we saw our destination, Wheeler Peak. The mountain had an elevation of 13,063 feet, but with the scenic switchbacks snaking up its side, we would only have to hike up around 3,000 feet if we were to make it to the peak. Round trip, the trail was 8.4 miles, which was about a mile shorter than Franconia Notch, our last vacation's mountainous highlight.

As we walked through scattered forests, Wheeler Peak only seemed to ascend further into the sky, and within the first mile and a half, I was ready to go back down. But thanks to the encouraging fist bumps and numerous rest stops, the Howland family continued to climb. After 2.5 hours of hiking, we made it to the ridge line, which was basically a mountain all in itself. Here the dirt trail suddenly turned into shards of rocks and boulders, and we found ourselves sliding down a few inches for every step forward. As we continued up in elevation, the wind really picked up and the temperature dropped a good 30 degrees. We were all prepared for this climate change though, thanks to the advice from a park ranger who told us to bring some jackets. By the time we made it to the peak of the ridge, we had encountered several snow banks, and enjoyed throwing snowballs at each other. Or at least, Dad and Jessie had a good time partaking in this game, seeing as I was on the verge of death as my lungs were on fire and my heart was threatening to explode.

In a hiker-made rock shelter on top of this smaller mountain (around 11900 feet) is where we had lunch, which consisted of tuna on crackers, apples, and granola bars. Yum! Still about a mile or so and 1100 feet from Wheeler Peak, Jessie and I decided to hang out in the rock shelter while Dad continued to venture to the summit. Laying back against the structure, out of the raging wind, I was enjoying the break. That is, until Jessie nudged me and pointed out an approaching thunderstorm. With Dad still climbing the mountain, we began to worry that we'd be caught in the middle of the storm. Luckily though, after about an hour, Dad made it back down in time for us to begin our descent and avoid the majority of the rain until we were under the cover of the trees. Despite the occasional slips here and there, we managed to make it back down the mountain in about 1.5 hours. Tired and ready to leave for the hotel we left the park and begun our 240 mile drive to Tonopah, Nevada.

The car ride was made up primarily of playing Password, listening to music we loaded onto our GPS, and making bets on how long each straightaway of the highway was (between 8 to 25 miles). Once in Tonopah, a town about two blocks long, and on the verge of extinction due to the lack of... well, everything, we searched for a decent place to get a bite to eat. We originally were planning to eat a local Mexican restaurant, but seeing as the majority of this town's 200 or so townsfolk had the same idea in mind, we settled for take-out at another restaurant. Back in our hotel room, we dug into our dinner and collapsed into our comfy beds, doing nothing but watching Wipeout and America's Got Talent for the remainder of the night.

Note from Dad: What the girls failed to mention was that I got a speeding ticket for going 9 over on the drive down the mountain. I never even touched the gas, just didn't ride the brake hard enough. But more disappointing than that for me was not making the summit. On our way back down the mountain I could more clearly see how close I got to the peak. But the combination of losing my water bottle in a snowbank at around 12200 feet and with rain and lightning coming in at around 12700 I thought it might be prudent to return to the girls, especially since I had the car keys. The basin and range area here is quite beautiful and desolate. During 300+ of the miles we drove in Nevada we probably passed a total of three buildings and would not see another car in some cases for 30 or 40 miles.