Lehman Caves 2018

Lehman Caves Tour
Lehman Caves Tour

Lehman Caves, or more appropriately titled Lehman Cave was on the Memorial Day weekend adventure travel list with a potential summit of Wheeler Peak as the bonus.

Amongst the Lehman officianados, the underground limestone cave is a singular location but with multiple rooms by convenience it is then called the Lehman Caves (plural) versus Lehman Cave.

A tour is required and the Grand Palace Tour is about 90 minutes in length and well worth the $5 fee. A NPS Ranger provides excellent background and history to the Gothic Palace, the Music Room, the Lodge Room, Inspcription Room and the Grand Palace.

Lehman Caves has such familiar cave formations as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, flowstone and soda straws. There are also some rarities such as shields, which consist of two roughly circular plates fastened together like fattened clam shells, often with graceful stalactites and draperies hanging from their lower plate. Lehman Caves is most famous for its abundance of shields.

Before the Ranger even opens the door to the Caves below, he provided an excellent biographical history lesson about Absalom S. Lehman. You had to wonder how in the middle of nowhere some dude way back in 1870 discovered the Cave and what he did to make them a well known, international destination as the largest underground cave in the world!

By today’s standards, Ab would have blown away the Carnegie’s, the Getty’s, the Gate’s, the Bloomberg’s and certainly the Trump’s for his entrepreneurial successes back-to-to-back. After a typical adolescence of hardship and poverty consistent with the 1800’s, Lehman headed out to California in 1849 looking to strike it rich in the current Gold Rush.  With nothing materializing quick enough, he boarded a ship to Australia hoping to strike it rich with mining interests.  At first nothing was to be found, but, with a stroke of luck and the stubbing of his boot on a large “rock”,  he found a large gold mine right in his back yard.

Ab returned back to the States in 1861 and ultimately ended up in the Snake Valley of Nevada switching his mining expertise to farming. One definition of entrepreneur is a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.  What Absalom Lehman was great at was finding the best return on investment. His farming operation supplied the boomtown of the mining crews in the Snake Valley and he became quite wealthy; more so than if he has pursued his initial mining interests.

Rumor has it that Ab initiallly discovered the cave in 1880 and after he had moved his family East to Ohio due to his wife’s illness and eventual death, Lehman returned to the Snake Valley and started another new adventure selling $1 tickets  to entry into the cave. That might equate to about $36 in today’s currency.

His death was mourned by many. Those who knew Lehman remembered him as a kindly man with a quick wit, who never turned a needy person from his door. An obituary in the White Pine News read, “It was he who discovered and opened up the wonderful cave which bears his name.” Another opined, “His liberality knew no bounds; to many a wanderer, he was a benefactor. His life was indeed an eventful one, full of romance and adventure.”

Lehman died in 1891 and subsequently his ranch at Lehman Caves was sold to Charles W. Rowland. Mrs. Rowland guided visitors in the cave until the early 1900s.

In 1922 President Warren G. Harding issued presidential proclamation establishing Lehman Caves National Monument. On October 27, 1986 President Ronald Reagan signed the Great Basin National Park Act creating a 76,000-acre park that included what was the Lehman Caves National Monument.

Lehman Caves is one of the most richly decorated limestone caves in the United States. Underground streams carved the caves over millions of years. The water dissolved the natural limestone rock and the liquified calcium carbonate slowly precipitated into forms such as stalactites, stalagmites, helectites, shields, and many other unusual shapes.

Small creatures have recently been found in the cave that have, so far, been found nowhere else on earth.

Wheeler Peak and Beyond

wheeler peak summit circa 2007
Wheeler Peak summit circa 2007

I had remote aspirations of bagging Wheeler Peak as an homage to my 1997? summit while I was based in Ely, Nevada for wildland firefighting duties. Worse case the plan was to setup basecamp at the Wheeler Peak Campground (elevation: 9,886 feet) and shoot some astrophotography and make a partial attempt. No way Jose….turns out the White Mountains had a recent snowfall and the campground was closed and there was a 3/4 moon so the sky was too bright at night to shoot stars. I made a reasonable attempt to hike the four mile Bristlecone Grove trail but the trail developed into continuous post-holing and with zero other hikers on the trail I turned back after a mile into the trail. Not with much fight either….hiking at 10,000 feet got my head and heart pounding in quite a hurry.

The Wheeler Peak Scenic drives does as advertised – Very scenic, the weather was great and it was time to pop back into my eventual basecamp at the Upper Lehman Creek Campground. With this being a holiday weekend, I was happily surprised to score campsite #22 of 22 at Upper Lehman and it was gorg! I would guess there was approximately 1000 sq ft per individual campground and the amenities were perfect. Clean toilets are always appreciated! Wafts of serenity as I kicked up my heels and got caught up on some recreational reading. I happily devoured a Kindle book I had downloaded a month or so ago as I listened to the subtle rhythm of the neighboring woodpecker balanced with the glee of small children enjoying probably their first camping experience.

Baker, Nevada mapI had paid for three nights but after climaxing my experience with the Lehman Caves tour on Friday, I could discern that I would probably head out early and head home.  Any other weekend I would have made a stop in St. George for some mountain biking, but, since it was Memorial Day weekend camping a lodging would be at a premium plus crowds. Major props to Great Basin National park there are no crowds, no entrance fee (even though I have an annual pass), NPS campsites are only $15 and the weather was perfect.   Arches National Park in Utah or Yosemite in California will probably manage at least 100,000 people over the 3-day holiday weekend.

Hit the Road Jack (Kerouac)-

Where ever I travel, and especially smaller towns, I try to patronize the local businesses as much as possible. Unfortunately, the town of Baker is so remote but close enough to towns like Salt Lake City, Beaver, Ely and even Pioche that most people probably have very little reason to spend a ton of money in Baker.  The peak of the tourist season will be during the hot summer so unless you are selling ice, not much else is happening.  I planned poorly and really needed an ATM which required I make a 10 mile drive over to the The Border Inn – yep, you guess it…on the border of Utah and Nevada.  This place is a total oasis!  Wifi, ATM, good food, and super friendly people working there.  I ended up driving over there 3 times in my two days in Baker.  LOL

Breakfast at Kerouac's
Breakfast at Kerouac’s

As soon as you pull into Baker you do notice an establishment called Kerouac’s that uses a great font and has a great tagline – “Fresh Takes on American Classics“.  I knew I needed to break some bread there at some point in my stay and ultimately it ended up being for breakfast Saturday morning as I planned to head home via Cedar City, Utah.

Kate cheerily (but, not too cheerily at 7:30am for my sake) greeted me and allowed me to sit at the bar and stare into an impressive collection of seemingly old-time liquor bottles. I had brought my own coffee travel mug to ensure it was filled when I hit the road and Kate acknowledged that was not a problem.  When dining solo, I am fairly efficient in the small talk, retrieving a menu and placing my order. As she placed my setting, immediately I noticed the exceptional flatware and knew I was up for some good grinds (ol pidgin speak from my Hawai’i days) and the menu looked similar to something you might find on Melrose Drive or at a diner in Tribeca.  I was hankering for an omelet but Kate gently nudged me into some concoction with homemade bread, avocado, eggs over medium and even the greens garnish was delish.

Flatware at Kerouac's
Flatware at Kerouac’s

I spoke with Jake who is Kate’s business and life partner and I was complimenting him on their overall brand.  Both Kate and Jake were working in New York City before reconning this business venture in Baker back in 2016 or so.  Sometimes when you read the life tale of someone like Ab Lehman and within a blog post you think NO BIG DEAL.  I saw Kate and Jake pursuing the same dreams and visions that Lehman did back in the late 1800’s.  It might seem easier today but the principles have not changed.  Hard, hard and hard work in a remote area lacking many of the standard amenities that most travelers are used to, and  then providing a unique and positively memorable experience are the standard for success that Kerouac’s have brought to Baker, Nevada.  I can only imagine the fun energy on a Friday and Saturday night for dinner.  Reservations are not accepted so plan your dining adventure accordingly.  Check out their website: https://www.stargazernevada.com/eat-drink

The belly full, my coffee hot, my gas tank full.  Next stop……..

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ABOUT ROBERT BAKER

I have been shooting for $$ since 2000 opening my shop with a Nikon D1.  I am primarily interested in shooting adventure lifestyle and travel with a host of my  day-to-day clients being within the industrial sector.

Many of my editorial stock photos have been published in all major news outlets, with my primary focus is distributing my images on a client-by-client basis to ensure their branding is unique and compelling.

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