Mt. Washington

After watching the Annular Solar eclipse, and allowing Tom to have his cup of coffee, it was time to load in the Can-Am and traverse the scary switchbacks back to the base of Mt. Washington.  Part of the "fun" of this hike is the 6-mile road from Wheeler Peak Mine to the Bristlecone Pine Grove parking area.  It's amazing to think it was constructed by two men in 1948 so they could reach the St. Lawrence Mine.  We were thankful that it is still accessible and able to shave off 3,500 ft of elevation gain on our way to the parking area where we would begin our hike! Oh, yeah, and we were thankful for Tom's Can-Am!

Looking back to where Tom parked his Can-Am
You're probably thinking why didn't he drive up further . . .
Because it appeared the Park Service had it closed off!

 

It was a short but steep ascent of 200 ft

Mt. Washington has a rugged limestone cliff face that abruptly drops off 

What a view! We are standing on top at an elevation of 11,658 ft
  Wheeler Peak (13,063) is directly in front of Kent . . . we hiked this in 2012 . . .
We were just kids back then!

This is one of those hikes where we ascend (200ft), descend (500ft), ascend (500ft) and descend (200ft) again!

This panorama shows Mt. Washington on the right and Wheeler Peak on the left
(Click on the picture to enlarge for a full screen view)

Which one of these is older?
 Hope you guessed the Bristlecone . . . by a few hundred years!

Signage for a new trail system in Great Basin National Park  

We have entered the Bristlecone Pine Grove

 Rain, wind and freezing temperatures cause both living and dead Bristlecone trees
 to erode like stone, rather than rot, resulting in their unique shapes

This is the famous Great Basin Bristlecone!
(Used in the Park's pamphlet and also on the back of the 2013 Great Basin quarter)

A picture of us to document this special hike

Tom showed us these little claw-like bristles on the scales of the cones . . . thus the name Bristlecone! 

An example of a windswept tree

Someone must have been bored or enjoyed a long rest here . . .
We think it was meant as a directional arrow to the Bristlecone forest and Snake Divide Trail

We are headed over to the top of the gray bump for a break before heading back

A much deserved lunch break with a view of the Snake Creek drainage

Almost back to Mt. Washington . . . where the fun of the ascent will begin!

Yep, it was a little steep!

Over the first bump . . . now for the final push to the top!

Time to sign the register

Mt. Washington stats in the log book

Today was a special day!

Are they coming or going?
On our final descent, to the Can-Am, Tom's hamstring cramped up . . .
Walking backwards helped to relieve some of the pain . . . who knew!
(To us it just looked as if Tom wanted to show us he could moonwalk!)

Tom made a video, using his drone and GoPro, to capture our time spent watching the annular eclipse and hiking and exploring the Mt. Washington area.  Please take a few minutes to watch our posts "come to life" in video format . . . thanks, Tom!

What a perfect weekend!  We were able to accomplish all that we had planned . . . and then some.  If you would be interested in hiking Mt. Washington and locating the famous Bristlecone pine, you can click here for a link to Tom's Peakbagger.com post that will give you a topo map and our GPS tracks.  Round trip for this hike was less than 2.5 miles and about 700 ft total elevation gain.

  

Total Annular Eclipse

When we made plans to hike Mt. Washington, a month ago, we didn't know that an Annular Solar eclipse was going to occur on the morning of our hike.  When we found out, that not only was it occurring, but that we would be in the direct path of the eclipse, we were excited to add this phenomenon to our agenda.  What a great added bonus this turned out to be for all of us!  Honestly, we weren't expecting it to be this impressive and thoroughly enjoyed this spectacular solar event!

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Washington
Yep, it's going to be a special morning!

At 8:07 we put on our eclipse party glasses! 

October just feels like the perfect month for an eclipse

Halfway there!

9:45 - It started to look and feel like an overcast day as the moon blocked the sun

¾ of the way

It's getting closer!

Ezy dog isn't sure what all the fuss is about, he's says a party should have treats!
(10:27 - Notice how the lighting has changed from the first picture of us viewing the sun)

The Ring of Fire!
Very cool!

The moon is moving out of the way

We only have to wait until October 2041 to see this happen again!

Now it's time to head up Mt. Washington
 We are in search of this famous Bristlecone tree that is featured on the 2013 Great Basin quarter 

Thanks for the show Mr. Moon & Mr. Sun!  It was great to be in a remote part of Nevada, with some close friends, to enjoy this unique celestial event.  We don't know what was more special     . . . the events or the friends.  No need to choose . . . both were very special!

St. Lawrence Mine

Mt. Washington is located in the Great Basin National Park and our plan was to hike it on Saturday.  However, getting to the Great Basin from our home is a half day trip.  So, we decided to meet Tom, along with John & Mary, at Pole Canyon where we made a base camp on Friday afternoon.  Arriving early, and with still plenty of daylight left, we set out to inspect the road to the trailhead that we would be using the next day.  Along the way we took a spur road to the St. Lawrence Mine and had fun exploring the Bristlecone pine cabins that dot the area.

Mt. Washington
Our base camp is located on the western side (in the sage flats) of this very blocky limestone mountain
Believe it or not there is a steep 4WD road that goes all the way to the top!

The turnoff for Pole Canyon (the road that will take us to the top) is opposite the Pickering Ranch 

After setting up camp, Tom took us up Pole Canyon Road to the St. Lawrence Mine located at 10,200 ft

We found John and Mary exploring the mine remnants

Built in 1881 from Bristlecone pines, some of the cabins are still in great shape

Notched and stacked without nails

The miners weren't very good at recycling!
They must have traveled a long way for food and supplies 

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This beautiful Bristlecone was still alive!

The Acropolis can be seen off to the south
(To read Tom's trip report of when he climbed this peak, in 2020, click here)

After exploring the mine, we continued on to the end of the road (11,400 ft)
This is the parking area for Mt. Washington, which we will hike tomorrow
(Looks like we're standing on top of the world, doesn't it!)

Looking down the eastern side of the Snake Range

On the way back down, Tom stopped at this viewpoint to fly his drone
(To view his video, that capsulizes our trip, click here)
These are some rugged limestone cliffs and easily drop a thousand feet below our feet

The arrow points to our camp site back on the sage flats

Kent was a little nervous standing here . . .
He has a fear of heights . . . especially those you can't see the bottom of!

The setting sun brings an end to a great day . . .
We are excited for tomorrow . . . the Annular Eclipse of the sun is going to occur before our hike!

What a great day!  We weren't planning to get all of this in today, but we're so glad we did.  It will allow us to "sleep in" and enjoy the eclipse before we head out to Mt. Washington to try and find the Great Basin Bristlecone pine that appears in the Parks' pamphlet and on the 2013 Great Basin quarter . . . looking forward to tomorrow!