The Comeback Kid

 We had no clue what to expect from Great Basin National Park. It wasn't in our initial plans for our route (neither was the entirety of Utah for that matter) and we didn't know anyone who had been there before. Despite this, the park was one we were looking forward to the most!

Mostly based on the premise that the park had mountains in a big bowl-ish shape surrounded a lake, we eagerly awaited our time there. Big piles of dirt and water is all it really takes to amaze us. 

On the short drive from Zion to Great Basin, we were amazed at how out-of-nowhere mountains began popping up, from some of the flattest areas we have ever been in (and we are from Illinois!). The gorgeous views continued as we sped up into the mountains. For the first time on our trip, we weren't surrounded by dusty red/brown cliffs and canyons but instead a forested alpine environment. The elevation was new too, and we had a bit of trouble adjusting. 

After a quick stop at the visitor center, we drove into the Wheeler Mountain area, where we could see the basin from an overlook and where the tallest peaks in the park is. We started on a short trail, but in no time the symptoms of elevation sickness fell upon us, and we scurried back down. 

The next day we again started a trail, this time much lower in elevation starting closer to the base of the mountains. After we hiked a couple miles in, again we had to descent but we took the long way down, hiking through a couple offshoot loops along the way. We nursed our headaches with a couple of milkshakes from a cafe in the park and drank plenty of water the rest of the afternoon. 

Although we were not able to finish our hikes, we tried to alter our plans and get back on our feet each time (much like a certain someone? We actually don't know, never watched the movie). But nonetheless, Great Basin easily made it to the top of both our lists. The scenery is much like Glaciers National Park, which we both visited last summer, but the park is much less busy. There were no crowds or long lines for shuttles, and everything was an easy drive around the park. 

Also, it is a free park! Most of the time we use an America the Beautiful pass, which allows you to four people in the same car to get into any National Park (or forest or conservation area) for free, but it is completely free to visit Great Basin, making it one of the more accessible parks we have been to. 

Plus, camping at the park was super easy. At Glacier it is necessary to reserve campsites 6+ months in advance and it is extremely difficult to actually find a reservation in the park. For Great Basin we were able to reserve a campsite the night before and get two beautiful campsites overlooking the mountains. 

All of this is not to bash Glacier. Glacier is a fantastic park with beautiful and unique views and experiences and we really enjoyed our time there. But, Great Basin offers similar levels of hikes in a new location with much more seclusion. And hey, a delicious milkshake is a delicious milkshake. So not to sound too 'pitchy' but we will definitely comeback!