The Ruby Crest Trail is one of those things that you spend a lot of time thinking about. I've known about it ever since I'd moved to Elko, but it was always too big of an undertaking, too much time, too much planning. This year, all that changed. A friend and I decided to complete the trail over Labor Day weekend and we set out on a Thursday morning, packs loaded down armed with a GPS unit and a handful of paper maps. Our itinerary consisted of four days and three nights in the wilderness.
This was my first official backpacking trip, and I was finally going to put some of the gear I'd accumulated to good use. The approximately 40 mile trail runs South to North, or at least that's how we decided to approach it. The road up to the trailhead begins at Harrison Pass, and shout out to Padre for bringing the side by side to get us as far up the 4x4 road as possible.
A note here on attempting advanced trails the first time out. I've lived a very physical lifestyle for many years and am comfortable with walking long distances and carrying heavy loads thanks to my day to day work life. This particular hike is not something I would recommend for most people getting into backpacking or for those not acclimated to the elements or altitude.
We started out strong that first day. The weather was great and the excitement was real. We found out pretty quickly that Padre had dropped us about two miles from where we wanted to be, so there was some initial bush whacking back down to the road. We did end up with some great views of the Ruby Marshes thanks to our small detour.
View of Ruby Marshes from Harrison Pass
The mileage for the first day ranges greatly depending on where you start. With our detour and head start up the 4x4 road, I clocked it right around 9 miles. The landscape is immediately impressive as the trail winds around the front side of the Rubies, dipping in and out of aspen groves. The inclines on day one are not particularly bad, and the elevation gain and decline stayed pretty manageable for most of the morning.
Aspen Grove on the Trail
Though a fairly well known trail, we only saw three other people that first day, giving us the blissful feeling of solitude. While the Rubies are home to deer, mountain goats, big horn sheep and mountain lions, we saw no wildlife other than a few birds.
Lunch was trail mix and taffy while sitting on a log across the trail. Camp for the first day was still miles ahead at South Fork Springs and we weren't in much of a hurry to get there.
The afternoon temperature crept up into the low 80s as we continued on. The aspens fell away in favor of open slopes and expansive views. Creeks and springs were common along the way and Fall was already making a strong appearance as much of the underbrush flashed in shades of orange and crimson. Wildflowers still bloomed despite the late season, including Lupine and Aster. I took a long break on the last summit of the day before descending down into camp for the evening.
Early Fall Color in the Rubies
That long descent involved more bush whacking through baby aspen trees and getting yelled at by a particularly vocal flock of domestic sheep. It would become a running joke that the only wildlife we were seeing was of the farm animal variety.
After camp was set and dinner was consumed, it was still light out. My compatriot went to bed for an early night and I wandered through the aspens, watching as the sunlight backlit leaves already turning their famous golden color. It was still surreal to me that I was finally on the trail, doing something I'd only thought about for such a long time. Things had been fairly smooth up until that point, and I couldn't wait for the next day. I was already looking back through my photos, thinking of the collection of paintings I was going to create based on the trip.
Turns out, things were going to get pretty interesting from there on out.