Today we went low and high: low into the Lehman Caves and high to Mt. Wheeler. When the area became a national monument in 1922 around the Lehman Caves, it was about 1 square mile. For years many tried to declare this a national park, but interests in Nevada fought the effort since it would mean they could no longer use the land for ranching, mining, or timber. Finally in 1986, the decision was made by Washington to place thousands of miles under federal protection.
This exit and the entrance was built in 1939 by blasting into the side of the mountain to create an easier way to tour the caves. Electricity was added so we could have low level lighting instead of carrying candles.
The single cave extends 1/4 mile into the limestone and marble that flank the base of the Snake Range. What we got to see started thousands of years ago.
Ranger Tim was our tour guide
This cave is one of the region’s most profusely decorated caves. We thought it was like Disney Land on steroids. It has the familiar formations of stalactites and stalagmites, as well as columns, draperies, flowstone, soda straws, and rarities called shields that we’ll see a picture of. Lehman Caves is most famous for these abundant shields.
When visitors first toured the cave, they were encouraged to take home a souvenir, so they’d break off the bottom of a hanging formation.
so delicate
Originally this area was a shallow sea. As the water receded, and drops of water came through the limestone and marble rock above (described in previous post), evidence of the dissolving action from slowly circulating water was recorded in the cave’s rock as spherical domes in ceilings and spoon-shaped scallops on walls. Eventually the water drained from the cave, leaving behind hollow rooms and sculptured walls.
This shield is called the Parachute.
Close-up of a shield: 2 roughly circular plates fastened together with a white layer of water like flattened clam shells.
The temperature in the cave stays at an almost constant 50 degrees, regardless of the weather outside.
One fun story about the caves comes from the 1920s. Groups of party goers would climb down the rope ladder with fancy clothes in bags to change into once in the cave, band members came with their instruments, and food and alcohol (it was the 20s) were catered and served. Even today some couples are married in some of the larger areas.
highs
After our cave tour, we got back into the truck and started driving along the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. In 12 miles we gained 3400 feet in elevation, going through a variety of habitats. While the summit is 13,063, we were able to drive to a height of 11,000!
As we drove this road, we realized that the mountain we had been seeing that we thought was Mt. Wheeler was actually the one in front of it, hiding Mt. Wheeler because of the angle we were looking at! Oh well.
vertical life zones along the scenic drive
Alpine is 11,000 – 13,000 feet in elevation, above the tree line, snow blankets the ground for most of the year
Mountain is 8000 – 11,000 feet in elevation, various trees grow in this area based on the elevation Pinon-Juniper is 7000 – 8000 feet in elevation, water is available to support trees even though they are scattered and stunted.
Sagebrush is 6000 – 7000 feet in elevation, soils are wetter and less salty and big sagebrush dominates Desert Shrub is 5000 – 6000 feet in elevation, plants live in extremes, salty soils, and minimal precipitation.
loved these views!
We tried again to see the bristlecone pines, but the road was closed because of snow! Will we ever get to see these ancient trees (can be 2000 – 3000 years old) in the mountain life zone?
higher still
That night the park sponsored a ranger talk about the night skies. A whole group of us brought our chairs, listened to the ranger, and then got to look at the skies with powerful telescopes.
The ranger did a great job of describing what we were going to be seeing and how to stay safe as we walked around in the darkness.
Once it got dark, we lined up behind one of these telescopes. We got to see the moon, the moons of Jupiter, the cluster of ancient stars in our galaxy, and the rings of Saturn. Amazing to be able to see all of this. Thanks to the park service!
