Ruby Crest Trail – Part 3: Trail’s End

Overland Lake from above as we leave our Day 2 camp to start Day 3. Looking back toward Wines Peak.

Piece of Cake…or, Duck Soup!

Read Part 1 and Part 2 here!

Once we left Smith Creek on the Ruby Crest Trail and began the descent into McCutcheon, life got really good. Once again, we were enjoying the beauty around us and our spirits were lifted by the promise of the cool stream ahead. We had managed enough shade at the end of our climb out of Smith Creek to feel rejuvenated. Not that I worry or anything, but I couldn’t help noticing my urine was the “right” color. No dehydration at all. Details. These are the little fellas that make it all ok.

As we picked up the pace, we enjoyed the aspens and low brush around us. I began to notice all the perfumes of subalpine mother nature. Arriving at McCutcheon Creek, we noted a couple of fellas camped on the other side. While we were resting in the shade after filling water bottles, they came for a visit. Turns out they were the second team to cross our paths to have camped at this spot. I couldn’t believe it when Tammy told me they were packing at least one frying pan! Cool, but not the ultralight trek of my visions.

One for the Money…

Feeling a lot better, we made the decision to lower our heads and make it to the truck that evening. Reilly’s feet loomed as a problem and we reasoned that another night out wouldn’t be the right choice. The hike out of McCutcheon Creek was nice, with a gentle climb to the ridge and a flat sidehill trail through a jungle that was easy on the feet and nostrils. Again, we were having a lot of fun and the hot ascent out of Smith was a memory.

Gilbert Creek Sign at the trail junction with Ruby Crest Trail. A lush Nevada jungle awaits ye!

We had one more drop that would give us another few-hundred feet ascent. The trailhead into Gilbert Creek looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. What a beautiful place to spend an evening hiking. Tammy pointed out that Gilbert Creek may have the biggest stand of aspen we’d ever seen. It seemed so at the time anyway. We pushed on, racing the sun on its path to the horizon as we set our sights on the ridge leading to Green Mountain Creek.

Two for the Show…

We beat the sun to our respective horizons, and didn’t waste any time beginning our traverse of Green Mountain Creek basin. This is actually a two-track road, passable by ATV, UTV, Jeeps, and 4WD trucks with minimalist paint jobs and good clearance. It is a very mild descent to the trail head. We found the mild descent to be a helluva lot longer than we’d thought. As light faded, we donned our headlamps.

I could tell in the fading light we were missing some epic scenery. Some of the biggest trees on our trip were here, and the view to Pearl Peak must have been amazing. As dusk turned to full-on night, the fun receded…quite a bit actually. Now we were stumbling a little more, weaving a lot more, and attitudes might have shifted again a bit. It turns out that I’d placed my little GPS marker for the trail’s end, oh say about a mile short of where it really was! Needless to say, my wife was less than impressed, and I agreed with her.

Conclusion of the Ruby Crest Trail, North to South

At this point, I was so hopeful of catching a glimpse of our truck or the trailhead sign. The Ruby Crest Trail has a way of being a little longer than you think. Or maybe it’s just me. Tammy finally caught sight of the reflecting license plate on our truck and our hiking was finished! It wasn’t until we were somewhat down the road that the high-fives ensued. We had started that day at 6:00 am on Overland Lake. We fired up the pickup at 10:00 pm for the trip out.

Some folks will take off from the county road at the summit of Harrison Pass. This adds a few miles to the journey. We elected to shuttle our 4WD to the actual trail head. If you have a pal who can do this for you, it is worth it. The dusty ridgeline road out wouldn’t IMHO add that much to the trek, aesthetically-speaking. I was beyond glad that sucker was two or three miles closer than Harrison Pass!! I hadn’t figured on driving out in the dark and didn’t bring clear prescription glasses for the highway, so Tammy took us on home. We were so tired, neither of us was comfortable with the truck going the actual speed limit, so we took our sweet time getting home.

Points on Food

On that last day, I kept dreaming of two local delicacies. My gut was pissed at my net-very-low-calorie ingestion routine. Honestly, food did not sound good to me each time we stopped. One piece of advice I’d give is to stick to foods you love. The four stupid Payday bars were gone way too soon. The nuts, jerky, chocolate, granola, and protein bars not so much. For whatever reason, chocolate did not work for either of us. We won’t bother to bring it at all next time. The other stuff just became too unappealing to really keep up our caloric intake.

We also did not bring freeze-dried foods as we didn’t want to pack the extra weight. My view is to try to get as close to 200 calories per packed ounce as you can. Most dehydrateds fall WAY short of this. Also, we didn’t want to carry stove and fuel and pots and dishes and utensils and….so…nuts! While I don’t see the dehydrated as much of an option for many reasons, I’ll refine/redo choices next time. Paydays sounding pretty good.

Points on Gear

I took two spare shirts with me and wore a button-up Columbia fly fishing ultralight shirt. I packed a UA shirt and an Arcteryx shirt, all three had long sleeves to fight sun. The Columbia was such a perfect choice, I never even touched my UA and I used the Arcteryx as sleepwear. Day two in the Columbia shirt was a bit smelly, so I started rinsing it at every stream. This also cooled me down nicely. I’d ditch the third shirt (0.4 pounds!) next time.

I did pack light poly long johns. I prayed the weather man had it right and did not bring a coat. Cha ching! I won that bet. Tammy brought an ultralight Kuiu down coat that came in handy for her. I brought three pairs of socks so I’d have a clean pair for bed, and a merino beanie to keep my dome warm while I slept.

A sun-friendly hat is a must on this trip. Tammy tried a visor and her dark hair absorbed some serious sun at some inopportune times. We both used trekking poles, and I’d advise in favor of them. They help with balance all the time and make both descents and ascents much easier. If you’re asking, I’d say go with Black Diamond and spend between $100 and $150 per pair. Tammy and I both preferred the Alpine Carbons as the Zlite straps started to chafe a lot en route to blisters.

We could have gotten by with the Steripen and saved almost half a pound. Sunscreen was a necessity, but the bug spray could have stayed home. Three mosquitos just didn’t warrant the extra few ounces. We have tried every style of camp bed under the sun and we are now 100% Exped air mattress converts. Light, warm, and incredibly comfortable suits me just fine.

Ruby Crest Trail Lessons Learned

Without further ado:

1. Your boots are everything. Know them and know how they perform at long distance on back-to-back days.
2. Plan your ascents wisely. We did, up until the Smith Creek pull. Unavoidable, but still underestimated.
3. Bring Leukotape and a knife to parse it out. I’m not kidding…this stuff saved the trip, period!
4. Only bring your dog if you KNOW his feet are up to it. Ours walks 4-8 miles on pavement and gravel every day and that turned out to not be enough.
5. Pack food you will want to eat.
6. If possible, start at or before sunrise each day.
7. Don’t bring anything that isn’t completely necessary. This seems obvious, but apparently it isn’t.

Ruby Crest Trail North to South Stats

I used the free version of Gaia GPS and here is what it had to say about our trip:

• Day one- Lamoille Canyon trailhead to N. Furlong Lake junction via Liberty pass was 7.52 miles. We ascended 2,960 feet and descended 1,820 feet. This took us a leisurely 8 hours.
• Day two- N. Furlong to Overland Lake along the “roller coaster” was 12.05 miles. We ascended 4,240 feet and descended 4,710 feet, including the short detour to summit Wines. We were at 12 hours for this leg.
• Day three- Overland to Harrison Pass trailhead via the hot route was 13.81 miles plus about another mile I didn’t put into the program. We ascended about 3,370 feet and descended about 4,800 feet (more, but I can only estimate). This bugger ran us a full 16 hours and I’m not sure I’d make that choice again without the dog along as a worry. The heat slowed us quite a bit, so on a nice day we’d have been faster.

Squirrel! Back to the Food

Remember I said I had been dreaming of two local delicacies on that last day before I sidetracked myself? It was delirium that prompted the lust, but it was sanity, the choices. The first was a big ol’ three-cheese burger and fries served at Stacey and Sean Clark’s Pine Lodge Dinner House in Lamoille that is one of my favorite burgers ever! The very next day Tammy and I took our son to the Pine Lodge to celebrate his Birthday and check off my craving. Awesome!

The best hamburger in Elko County was on my mind as I stumbled to the truck. Checked that box the very next day to celebrate Jason’s birthday and our victory over the Ruby Crest Trail.

The second delicacy I’m holding out on a little longer. I always crave Lane’s Combo Pizza and the Chicken Pesto Pizza at the Pizza Barn in Elko! Talk about a massive binge eat, especially with a nice cold pitcher of Stella! This is on my list of treats as a reward in the next couple of weeks. See you soon, Lane!

Again?

Would I do this again? This was such a big trip for us. We challenged ourselves so much just by taking the trip. It really was a blast. More than anything, this gave us another litmus test for judging future trips. Between the Ruby Dome and Thomas trips, our day-hikes around Lamoille Canyon, and this trip, we now have a lot of information to guide us. I’d do it again, but not right away.

If you plan to go, please take care of your feet and be able to pack enough water for the big day. That’s about it. Tammy and I are not the fastest hikers, so I’d expect many or most folks to be able to beat our times. Find ways to lighten your load. You do not need 45 pound loads to survive this trip. In hindsight, we could have quickly dropped two or three pounds off our collective 50 pounds of pack (27/23). This was a lifetime trek for us and it is attainable for most people. Just put one foot in front of the other…but please prepare.