Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail, Nevada

July 10 - 12, 2022
When we returned to the trailhead after climbing Ruby Dome we were ever so lucky. First, the water in the bottom of our cooler was ice-cold so we got to enjoy cold drinks. Second, and more importantly, we drove around to Lamoille Canyon where we briefly contemplated camping for free but the free camping didn't look very attractive, so we continued driving up to the Thomas Canyon campground. Upon inquiry to the host, there was one campsite available, and that was presumably because it was only suitable for tent-campers. RV campers outnumber tent campers by about a 10:1 ratio. We couldn't believe our luck.
The following morning we drove further up Lamoille canyon to the Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail trailhead. We'd never been here before. We just saw it on the map, noticed how many lakes there are, and figured it must be pretty. The entire trail is 43 miles long, but hiking the entire trail would require a shuttle. Upon cursory inquiry, it appeared that this shuttle would cost $200, which we felt wasn't worth it particularly since all the lakes were concentrated in the northern section where we would be starting. We decided to hike in and out, even though we prefer doing loops or end-to-end hikes.
Our plan worked out very well. We found a great campsite for our second night, although our first night's campsite wasn't bad either even though it was immediately adjacent to the trail. We just had to carry a lot of water uphill on the afternoon of the first day since it was a dry camp.
On this backpack we got to climb two named peaks, Lake (10,922') and Wines (10,892').
After finishing the backpack and driving to Elko we discovered that the room rate for the Quality Inn had increased significantly since we stayed there 5 nights ago (when it was only $72), so we checked into the cheaper Rodeway Inn ($61) instead. Since these are both Choice Hotels we were able to take advantage of their Summer "Stay Two Nights and get a $50 Rebate" offer. Therefore, our 2-night average hotel stay in Elko cost only a ridiculously cheap $32 a night. You can't beat that! We've paid more for campsites. I made sure to redeem the $50.

[@JKBowman]

Thank you!

[@dougdekuiper3194]

👍

[@laurenbouchie2394]

That was magnificent! Wow! Beautiful meadows an lakes an mountains! I was surprised how green it was an how many flowers to! Thanks for sharing your hike!

[@biologySoon]

Wow, I love all the lakes!

[@OvertheHills]

Especially Liberty Lake.

[@livesoutdoors1708]

Whatever camera you’re using is really nice! So clear and vivid front to back. Thanks again for taking us along. It’s just beautiful!

[@OvertheHills]

You can laugh :-) I'm using a Galaxy S9+ phone. I also do the editing on it. The only thing I haven't been able to do on it is create custom thumbnails.

[@AdventureswithTom]

Love all your hikes!
You guys inspire me.
Planning an AT through hike next year.

[@OvertheHills]

Good for you! We're wary of the AT though. It's "the green tunnel" but we're really missing longer-distance hiking so we're off to the Pyrenees next for a 3-week-long backpack. It's a whole different experience than the short backpacks we've been doing so far this summer. We love it. Have you done the PCT?

[@HuckOutdoors]

Just found your channel and really enjoying the videos! This video helped us to decide to go here for our next trip!

[@OvertheHills]

I'm glad you're enjoying our videos! We're jumping around, but right now we're hiking in Sweden, above the Arctic circle. You should consider doing the whole crest. We balked at paying the shuttle price but we kind of regretted it afterwards.

[@HuckOutdoors]

@@OvertheHills We will spend two nights back by Liberty Lake fishing and exploring the area.