A climber signs (and reads)...

A climber signs (and reads)...

A climber signs (and reads) the summit register on Wheeler Peak . Mt. Moriah is on the horizon. One of my 2005 objectives 10-23-03
Dean
on Dec 30, 2003 9:31 pm
Image ID: 37050

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rpc

rpc - Dec 30, 2003 11:58 pm - Voted 10/10

great shot!

Dean,

This one is pretty high on our list. Been to Great Basin NP once (prior to our peak bagging days) and only did a day hike. Can't wait to go back and climb this beauty of a mountain!

Thank you for posting.

radek

Dean

Dean - Dec 31, 2003 12:08 am - Hasn't voted

Re: great shot!

Thank you Radek, you've always got nice positive things to say and your words are appreciated. Wheeler was a fun hike and I was lucky enough to hit it on a day that had no wind on top.

Klenke

Klenke - Dec 31, 2003 1:04 am - Hasn't voted

Re: great shot!

Radek,

I recommend a loop trip doing Wheeler, The Pinnacle, and Jeff Davis from the same trailhead. This loop takes advantage of multiple viewing angles and a chance to visit both the bristlecone pine forest at the north foot of Jeff Davis Peak and the rock glacier below the NE side of Wheeler.



From the upper parking lot next to Wheeler Campground at 9,970 ft, walk the Alpine Lakes Loop Trail for maybe about 1 mile to where it intersects the normal Wheeler Peak trail that starts a little up the road before the campground. There is no real mileage benefit to starting at the WP Trailhead and it only starts about 200 feet higher anyway. Take the trail (sometimes faint) up to the summit. Takes maybe 2 hours. Drop down the backside of Wheeler and run the class-2 ridge to The Pinnacle. The Pinnacle is merely a class 3 scramble along a loose fin. Not too difficult but definitely exposed on both sides--especially in one section. No need for technical gear. While standing on it one gets the feeling the whole thing is going to collapse under one's feet. Such is the rock of the area. Doing The Pinnacle only takes about 15 minutes roundtrip. Good views of East Face of Wheeler from there. Continue on to Jeff Davis' summit. It'll take maybe an hour to go from Wheeler to JDP. From the summit of JD, go east along the ridge about 100 yards until a pleasant place can be found to descend the north side. I descended a little spur ridge. It was class 2-3 talus mostly. I was aiming for the Prometheus Tree--the cut bristlecone that was discovered to be 4,700+ years old. This pine is not far from the upper fringe of the forest. It's gray, not vibrant yellow-orange like living pines, and it is a flat stump. Maybe about an hour is needed to drop from the summit to the forest and find the special pine. Lots of other living pines here are quite a sight to see (much better than the ones along the Bristlecone Pine Glacier Trail). Go west along the fringe of the forest. When the terrain drops down to the valley draining the rock glacier, contour toward the glacier on open terrain. Or, go across the valley to intersect the trail that goes to the glacier. You'll know where the trail is by the sight of people on it. I'd say maybe 7 hours round-trip including a visit to the rock glacier.



Here's a rough map of the park.

Dean

Dean - Dec 31, 2003 1:27 am - Hasn't voted

Re: great shot!

Paul, I wish I had known about the Prometheus tree before I went to do Wheeler but found out about after I came home. Do you happen to have any pics of it? Here is one I took at Charleston Peak two days after doing Wheeler.

The south loop trail up Charleston is great as you get to walk through about 1 1/2 miles of BC forest. Awesome to think how old they are.

Klenke

Klenke - Dec 31, 2003 1:48 am - Hasn't voted

Re: great shot!

I drove past Charleston two summers ago. It sticks up quite prominently when coming from the west.



Your bristlecone pic is a lot like the ones I've photographed. Boundary Peak example, Wheeler Peak example.



I did not take a photo of the Prometheus Tree. It was not at all photogenic. In fact, "tree" is a misnomer. It's really just a light gray stump about two feet high. The stump is broad and in pieces, making it hard to photograph as one unit and still look like a stump. You didn't miss much, just the ponderance as you stand there of what once was.

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