European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 19, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                4f to of Toor Irv Taw spa acc a we highest Point in Row great sfas it not final far. America s newest National Park by Thomas j. Knudson new York time 5d riving West from Delia on . Highway 50 in Southern Utah one is almost lulled to sleep by the desert landscape and is Infinity of Sand Sun and Sagebrush then near the Nevada is ale line there is a splash of Green and while on the horizon. Belores Long Tho color Sharpens bringing an incredible sighs into onus a Mountain Range is looming out there on Iho desert. So unexpected so out of place that it seems like a Mirage. The mountains Are part of the Brake Flange a Little known Uphill in Eastern Nevada Hal until recon Fly was Parl of the Humboldt National Foiest then on Del 27. 1986, president Reagan changed thai by signing legislation transforming the Region into America s newest National Park Greal Basin National Park. Ii marked the first time in 1s years Hal a major piece of land in the contiguous United Stales was set aside As a National Park. Great Basin National Park is also the first National Park in Nevada a seals More Ollen associated with casinos prostitutes and underground nuclear tests Inan outdoor splendours tha it rec Shoutd a a big Surprise Loi most tourists. It is alter All. Something Hal was t around last summer Al least not in name. It is a Imd a new Slop on the trip West. Visiting it air Rii Vincnt i ii a you Hirth up 111 Iho Oil re Krulc Cra i Wil Lilier in mormon a incr r Rirl the  while Man  Mountain in 1805 Ilir i . Or jul Andrj  or or  Rale a cow a in Mountain afr a mini Plain in hit,1 Wisl out who or r Pivak. I lie hire Hoot Point  entirely Wilton Iho  of . If  on of Man attractions Hal  this Park  near the Peak s Summit is a Small Glacier  anywhere else would he ii t in Uther Patch of if of thru it is Iho soul Horndo permanent k c lined in Ilio United Small s and the Only Glacier in the Vicat Basin scattered throughout Tho area Are shaggy stands of bus Loccone Pines. The of dose living things on ear i near Tho Park Entrance is Lehman caves the largest Tim Stone Cavern in Iho Wisl and throughout great Basin National Park Tho views arc magnificent Halfway up Wheeler Peak you can see 60 Miles across the a Csc i. Beyond notch Peak and Sasoy Peak in Ulah s confusion Range. From its Summit you can glimpse Ihn snowy Wasatch Range. 150 Miles to the East. Part of the Park s Charm is its isolation. The nearest major Lown is Salt Lake cily 210 Miles to Tho Northeast Las vegas is 2bo Miles away in the of her direction. Tho main Road  Highway 50, has been called the loneliest Road m America the 76.800-acre Park is typical of the Fuesl of the Greal Basin ranges splendidly rom Ole wonderfully rugged Rich in Bird Ana plan Hie and Lull of spectacular Oul Mohe Way places where people Seldom travel until now Iho isolation has helped keep the number of visitors to the Snake Range Down. Roughly 50,000 people visited the Wheeler Peak area ast year a trickle compared to the throngs thai crowd Well known Parks like Yellowstone and most did t stray far from Lehman caves Mal ional Monument. With its new Lalus. Visitation is up 51 per cell Over last year according to the Park superintendent Al Hendricks. A team of National Park service officials in Denver is now study my How Best to manage the new Park trying to determine. For instance whether More campgrounds and roads Are needed which Scenic areas to develop what kinds of interpretive programs Are necessary and soon. Until inc crowds grow. Greal Basin will remain a place of isolation and Solitude an Oasis in Tho american Outback. There Are plenty of places where you can walk a snort distance off the Road and not see another Sou where the Only sounds arc the hoarse croaking of a Raven and the wind whooshing through the Pine Trees the sense of isolation deepens in the Back country a Region of Steep Rocky canyons and Lush Mountain Meadows we really Don t know for sure How much the Back Counley has been  said one Ranger. Bui compared to what you see in places like Rocky Mountain National Park or Yos Emilo. It is almost  the Wheeler Peak area is the Park s most popular hiking area it is crisscrossed with trails including a Steep five mile climb from the Wheeler Peak Campground the highest Point reachable by Cor to the Mountain s Summit. The View from the lop is almost like looking out the window of an air plane it seems As if you can Sec Allol Nevada and Hall of Utah. Nol Lar away is another Trail through a Lores of Bris Lecona Pines some Over 3,000 years old. It is a gnarled delian and ghostly place once the oldest bust Lucono on Earth grew Here but. Sadly Trie 4,900 year old tree was Cut Down in 1964 Lor a study of ancient climatic changes. Many of the Back country trails Are rugged irom years of neglect and Little use. Some arc strewn with boulders blocked by dead Trees worn away by streams. Trail markers Aren t exactly common 50 to sure to Lake along a Compass and a map although wildlife thrives in the Back co a nary. You Are much More Likely to see cattle than a Mountain lion. Thai is because local ranchers were Ablo to persuade lawmakers and Federal officials to Permil them to continue to gaze cattle in the a a also some mining claims May still be world the Park will be officially dedicated on aug 15 Page 18 the stars and stripes sunday. July 13, 19b7