The Grand Tour: A 15 Day Mountaineering Road Trip (Part 5)

Day 14: Lehman Cave & Wheeler Camp

In the morning Michael decided that he would stay at the car while Gimpilator and I climbed Wheeler Peak. Looking at the surrounding landscape I felt as though I was on the far ends of the Earth. Hardly anyone seemed to live in these lands, but that's what made this place special. Before heading out we all went for a cave tour at the near by Lehman Caves.

Sunrise on Jeff Davis	Alpenglow on Baker Peak	Shield Formations	Cave Stuff
Cracks In The Roof	Cave Reflection	Cave Popcorn	Cave Columns

Large Stalactites

Cave Path

Jeff Davis with Contrasting Light

The road to Wheeler Peak was closed a few miles from the trailhead, so to save time we took a trail that went to the trailhead from the upper Lehman Campground. The snow was so soft and powdery that we decided that shoeshoes would be a waste to carry up. Once we arrived near the trailhead we set up our camp on the road itself. The snow was so powdery that we were able to quickly kick off the snow down to solid ground in speedy time. After the usual troubles of filtering water we were able to rest for the night.

The Trail to the Trailhead

Our Camp with Wheeler

Jeff Davis's North Face

Jeff Davis with Fluffy Clouds

Day 15: Going for Wheeler Peak

It was a very cold morning when we woke up, Gimpilator's thermometer read 0 Degrees Fahrenheit. It is very possible that it might have been colder depending on if it can read below 0 degrees, plus the fact that it was touching our tent. But Whitney felt colder even though in reality it wasn't as cold. After making some quick breakfast oat meal we were on our way for the summit of Wheeler.

Sunrise on Wheeler Peak

Photography was very difficult because not only would it come at the costs of making your hands very cold from taking them out of your thicker gloves but the camera would freeze up making it impossible for me during the morning hours. In the woods there was a bit of trail breaking Gimpilator and I had to do. Once we got out of the woods and onto the main ridge of Wheeler things suddenly got a lot easier. The ridge often gets windy which it blows most of the snow off down the mountain, or makes other parts of the slope nice and wind loaded.

Wheeler Peak with Winds

The Start of the Ridge

Myself Climbing Wheeler

Jeff Davis to the East

Gimpilator Hiking up Wheeler Peak

Wind Blowing on the Rocks

The winds forced me to put on not only all my long sleeve shirts, but also my puffy jacket that I almost never wear while climbing. As we near the summit I start to feel the altitude quite a bit. I didn't feel this way on Whitney or Russel. I suppose it has to do with the fact that we did this climb in much less time, plus of course all the rime. After pressing on for a while we arrived on our last summit of the road trip.

Climbing towards the Sun

Taking a Summit Nap

On The Summit Of Wheeler

Baker Peak to the South

Wheeler Peak's Summit

The View to the South

After taking a bit of a rest and hydrating we started heading down. At the time it seemed like wishful thinking, but we wanted to get to the car before dark. It turns out that we made very good speed dashing down the mountain. When we arrived back at camp we speedily packed up our gear for the way down to the trailhead.

Wheeler Peak's Summit

Wheeler Peak and Jeff Davis

Gimpilator High Up on Wheeler

The Side of Wheeler Peak

Heading Down Wheeler Peak

Gimpilator and I had some decent conversations on Wheeler Peak and was certainly like always a good partner to have on the mountain. We arrived back at the car around sunset, it felt good setting down the pack for the final time. I requested for us to use the ranger station rest room for me to change my clothes. Both Gimpilator and Michael told me that my feet reeked which is very true. I had to use the bathroom sink to wash them off, I discovered that there was a little bit of mold on my feet. I guess that's what happens when you go on a 15 day mountaineering tour.

The Final Sunset of the Trip

Going Home

At first I wasn't sure how many days it might take to get home, Michael drove on for hours and hours though out the night. Eventually I fell asleep for a while until around 12 a.m. in the morning. For the rest of the drive home I had to stay awake talking to Michael to help keep him awake. All the way from Eastern Nevada to Western Washington it was almost always foggy which I couldn't believe how long it was lasting. After many hours of driving we finally arrive at Gimpilator's house where we exchanged gear and such. Then I was dropped off at my house with my gear. After having a glass of milk and a warm shower I could finally get some rest.

A Big thanks goes out to Michael Blake for doing most of the driving, helping us find places to freshen up at his families places, and for everything else.

Special Thanks to Gimpilator for helping out with cooking, having great talks, taking many of the photographs and videos, and being a awesome climbing partner.

This was an incredible experience that I hope to do many others like this in the future. This story feels like a summary of the things that we did on this trip, but I figure this will give you a taste of what I experienced. I encourage anyone who reads this to try something like this someday.