A Hillside Hike and Exploring Lehman Caves In Great Basin NP

After having driven through Great Basin National Park the day before, we needed to find some other options for our second day in the park. Fortunately there are plenty of things to do, especially hiking. Unexpectedly, we were also able to do another activity which was to explore Lehman Caves.

Great Basin National Park has quite a few options when it comes to hiking. Fortunately these options also include various ability levels. While at one point in our lives we might have been quite adventurous, we are less so now with the creaks and pains of old age. As we looked over the hiking options, we were looking for easy hikes.

We settled on a hike near Baker Creek. This was lower on the mountains than yesterday’s hike, but it still started at 7,000 feet so the altitude was still somewhat of an issue. We arrived at the trailhead and immediately became confused. We had seen a hike listed online for about three miles. However none of the hikes showing at the trailhead indicated such a length. We decided we would just follow a trail for a while, and when we got tired, we would turn around and come back. We didn’t need to reach the end.

The trail began by crossing Baker Creek. In fact we crossed two creeks, and they were roaring. The snow melt was sending a lot of water down the creeks with a great deal of force. It was quite a powerful sight.

After crossing the creek we started our hike, and it went up and up. Occasionally the path would level out some, but then it would start climbing again. We were climbing through forests and meadows. The forests were mostly pine and spruce trees. However in some parts we saw aspen trees growing. The meadows were sometimes small, but other times quite expansive. When we crossed the meadows, we could see the nearby mountain although it was from a different angle than yesterday and not as interesting.

The trail was self evident so there were no markers in the trees to indicate the route. Some portions were quite rocky, and those were more challenging to traverse. There were also a few fairly steep sections to climb. I’m not sure I would have described the hike as easy due to the uphill climb in such a high altitude. I tried to take it slow and steady.

We didn’t see any major wildlife on this hike, but we did hear and see quite a few birds. During our hike we saw no other person so we enjoyed the solitude of nature all to ourselves. There had been a number of cars at the trailhead, but they must have taken other routes to hike or been way ahead of us.

With an eye on the time, we decided that we would turn around at about the mile mark. Silvette was tracking the distance on her watch. Since we had been walking up the whole time, we figured a mile would be enough. So when we reached a mile we turned around.

On the way up we had passed through a number of wildflower fields. I changed the lens on my camera to a telephoto so I could take photos of the flowers more easily without stooping over. Yellow flowers seemed to predominate. They seemed to look similar until one looks more closely. Dandelions were also quite prevalent, but I didn’t take any photos of them.

Seeing blue and purple flowers was also common along the trail. We saw large areas of white flowers as well. Finally the orange paint brush flowers were common near the parking lot.

The reason we were watching the clock is we had a 3:30 appointment. One of the activities at Great Basin National Park is exploring Lehman Caves. All tours are guided. No one can enter Lehman Caves to explore on their own as we did at Carlsbad Caverns a few years ago. Unfortunately, we did not know about the caves until we arrived. I should have done better research here.

The tour of Lehman Caves is an extra fee, and one must have a reservation. Reservations usually fill out well ahead of time so it did not surprise me to find no available tickets when we arrived. However, I put in my email in case someone cancelled, and low and behold someone did. The night before I received an email saying three tickets were available for 3:30. I quickly bought two.

Our tour was for one hour. When we showed up, I learned that a half hour tour happens three times a day. That tour is on a first come basis so it is possible to buy a last minute tour, but it is shorter. We were happy with our tour. Having a guided tour allows you to get more information than visiting on one’s own. Our tour guide was a knowledgeable young ranger who seemed quite enthusiastic about sharing information about the caves.

We entered the cave area through a long concrete tunnel. Once inside we would walk some distance and then stop as our guide would share some things with us. The sections we walked through were often quite low so we had to crouch down as we walked. We were under strict orders not to touch anything natural in the cave as even our body oil could do damage to the walls or structures.

The area was lighted, but one of the first things we experienced was complete darkness as the ranger put out all the lights. Then she pointed out things like cell phones that continued to give off light until all light disappeared. One comment she made was that darkness is harder and harder to find which impacts the animals which adapted to darkness in the past. Our guide would turn off the lights after we passed through the cave to restore the darkness.

She also shared how people had used the caves in earlier times. When people first discovered the caves, there had been no attempt to preserve them. In fact people were encouraged to cut off some of the structures and take them home. Inside the caves large spaces held weddings and meetings among other things. People wrote their names or initials on the ceiling, probably using the smoke from the candles they brought for light. Those names remain visible on the ceiling and are now considered historical information.

In the tour information the instructions said we could bring a “hand held camera.” I decided that I would use my phone. Hopefully the photos I took can give you some idea of our experience. If you want to visit the Lehman Caves, I would encourage you to be sure to get tickets a month or so before your planned visit. You can check out the tour information here.

After our tour it was time for us to leave Great Basin National Park. Originally we had planned to stay two nights near here, but the accommodations were so bad, we decided to move on. Tomorrow we would leave out of Las Vegas to return home. By spending the night farther down the road, we would need less time to drive tomorrow. After our tour of Lehman Caves, we drove to Ely, Nevada where we spent the night.

Our drive to Las Vegas was pretty boring. It was basically through a desert. As we got close to Las Vegas, we encountered a thunderstorm. It rained quite heavily. We were concerned it might impact our flight to Seattle. It did. Our flight was delayed by a few hours, but we did eventually make it home..

Our trip through the four national parks turned out to be a great experience. I really enjoyed the trip. Utah definitely has a number of National Parks that need to be on everyone’s bucket list. How about you? What is your favorite Utah national park? I’d love to hear from you in the comment box below.