Images of Great Basin National Park – eastern Nevada, taken in May 2016.

Great Basin National Park is but a small part of the entire Great Basin which covers most of Nevada, half of Utah and portions of the surrounding states. This area is known for its lack of drainage to the sea as all water flows into the basin collecting in salt lakes, marshes and mud flats.

The park is also known for Lehman Caves famous for its shield formations, many of which are adorned by stalactites and draperies. As the weather was overcast and rainy when I arrived here the caves were my first stop. The entire tour took 90 minutes and covered only 6 tenths of a mile but was loaded with delicate and interesting formations.

As with every park I go to my goal is always to see as much of the park as possible but it was evident early on that I was fighting an uphill battle. The snow was still being cleared from the main park road and the intermittent snow flurries were not helping that process. I spent days driving up the park road as far as possible, to wherever the gates were closed, making headway slowly but surely only to be thwarted by the next snowstorm. Ultimately I only made it halfway up the park road to the Mather Overlook where I did get a good look at the park’s highest mountain, Wheeler Peak. I was also able to drive the other three park roads, all of which are dirt and one during a snowstorm, so I got through a majority of the park; however, beyond not getting to the highest part of the park there was one glaring item that was left unchecked…seeing the rare Bristlecone Pines; among the oldest living things on earth they grow to over 3000 years old!

Since Bristlecone Pines grow between 9,500 and 11,000 feet the fact that the park road was closed meant that I couldn’t get close to them. Under the best of conditions the closest trees were a three mile hike from any road; normally doable but not in the snow. It seemed that all was lost until, as I combed through my park images, I noticed some odd shaped trees high up on a sheer granite cliff. I quickly zoomed in and realized the fuzzy shapes were indeed Bristlecone Pines! No way was I climbing up any granite cliffs; time to bring out the “big dog”, my 300mm lens with the 1.4 extender! I used this combination many times shooting sports, particularly football, now it was going to get me at least a little closer to these amazing trees. The result, just one shot, is in this gallery (row 3, column 5). This little victory is by no means the end of the war as I vow to come back to Great Basin National Park in the future to complete my drive up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive and hike into the Bristlecone pine grove.