Ruby Crest Trail Experience


By: Alan Wakefield

At the time that I posted Alan's Ruby Crest Trail hike I had not known him long. We had corresponded through e-mail and I quickly found out that Alan does a lot of hiking in the Ruby Mountains and knows what he is talking about. I am grateful that Alan took the time to share his experience on the trail and I hope that everyone enjoys reading his story and viewing his photos as much as I did.
At first light on a mid-August morning, my friend Ryan and I began our trek at Harrison Pass with the intent of completing the Ruby Crest Trail in 3 days. Very early into the hike we spotted several deer. The deer made us curious as to what was in store for us over the next few days. Awhile after spotting the deer we began to hear an unknown noise around a hill. After going around the hill we realized that we had come across a lot of sheep and a sheep herder's camp.

So far the trip was hot and dry making the 1st night stay at Overland Lakes more appealing. The trip down the switch backs to Overland Lakes was both beautiful and surprising. Surprising, meaning the sight of two lakes thinking that there would only be one. We were stoked to see a small cabin. We arrived at Overland Lakes at around 1 pm. After eating lunch we set up camp and enjoyed the afternoon. The wind began to pick up so we used the cabin to have our dinner in.

At sunrise the next morning after a horrible nights sleep due to the wind, we set off to Favre Lake, where we had planned on spending our 2nd night. On the way to Favre Lake we saw multiple deer and a lone coyote. After going over several peaks that we thought were Wine's Peak, we finally arrived at the top of Wine's Peak. We realized this when we saw the sign that stated "Wine's Peak".

When we reached Favre Lake we refilled our water and started discussing how a nice meal and a real bed would be nice right about now. So we decided to keep moving. We arrived at Lamoille Canyon trail head at 2 pm. From there we hitched a ride to my house in Spring Creek. My wife wasn't due to pick us up until the next day.

In summary, this was a great hike. We saw several animals. We didn't' start seeing any people until the fork in the trail that goes to North Furlong.


Overland Lake.


The sheep.


Peaks along the trail.