The Ruby Mountain Range is pretty obscure. It’s located near Elko Nevada. I found this trail by a twist of fate. Twist of fate was me needing to squeeze every bit of goodness out of backpacking season and the Ruby range was the only place within a 4 hour proximity that wasn’t going to be pouring. I packed up myself and the 4 year olds gear as my Husband side eyed me in disbelief that I had managed to find an adventure to be had this late in the season. Best of all it’s not permitted.
The drive to the trailhead was on a paved road through Lamoille Canyon. You don’t need a high clearance vehicle to reach the trailhead. Since it’s so far out there from any major city you won’t find yourself fighting for parking. You will see people on trail. Which I was a bit suprised given the location. We backpacked this trail mid October. The colors were peaking and the temps were comfortable. This is a desert so hiking in the summer could be brutal. I feel this is route is best suited for early summer and late season.
Whoever created this trail did a beautiful job. The grade is pretty gentle, but my perception is probably skewed since I spend most my time in the rugged Wasatch range where vert feels real. It was fall so the lower river crossings that can be a pain and have some makeshift bridges were completely dry.
The stats to Liberty Lake are as follows. I tracked 4.68 miles to Liberty w 1,484 vertical gain and the final descent from the pass was 445 feet. You do go over a pass after Lamoille Lake. It took my four year old and I 3 hours and 2 minutes to reach Liberty Lake. This included a 30 minute break to photograph Lamoille Lake.
Starting out the trail you climb to your first set of switchbacks. The views are decent, but once you clear the first set of switchbacks the scenery really starts showing off. You can see down into the canyon where you began and the stone rises from the earth forming jagged peaks. You’ll soon after hit dollar lakes. They are a trio of small bodies of water that are more large pond status.
After Dollar Lakes it’s a relaxing short walk to Lamoille Lake. Lamoille is the halfway point to Liberty Lake. It’s stunning. It’s a green hued lake that is a glacial tarn that lies at the base of a stone mountain. There are some large capacity camp sites around the lake. I was so enraptured by the unique color of this lake that I contemplated setting up camp here. Lamoille Lake would make an ideal place to take someone backpacking for their first time or to do with small children.
After Lamoille Lake you’ll ascend Liberty Pass. The views from this pass where my absolute favorite views from the entire trip. The switchbacks are a gentle grade. Make sure to look around and really soak in the high alpine desert views.
The second half of the pass you’ll gently climb through a rocky section of trail. The high point of this pass is an impressive 10,524 feet above sea level. We had spent most of our summer at or above 10k feet so if you’re not acclimated to high altitude you could really be feeling it climbing this pass.
Once you reach the top you’ll be treated to views of Liberty Lake. You descend a little over 400 feet to Liberty Lake. There are some great campsites surrounding the lake. I saw four sites, but I wasn’t looking very hard. The smaller one was closer to the water. The other three could fit multiple tents.
We didn’t venture further than Liberty since we reached the trailhead in the late afternoon. The next day a storm was set to roll in around noon meaning we needed to be hiking back to the car by 9 am. You can descend a short distance to Favre Lake. This lake was recommended to camp at by a local if Liberty was busy. Funny thing was is the only other campers were at Farve. So, we enjoyed having Liberty all to ourselves.
Some things to keep in mind. Snow can be found on Liberty Pass in the spring and can make the trek impassible. The water sources are spaced no more than a mile or two from one another until you pass Farve Lake. I was able to just use my Sawyer Squeeze w a Smartwater bottle vs carrying a heavy bladder. The trail is well marked and straight forward. I do make a habit of downloading my routes into Gaia before I go on a trip in case the route becomes unclear at any point. I don’t know about whether or not breakins are common when leaving your car overnight. I just made sure to not leave anything worth stealing in sight. My car looks like my childrens personal dumpster so I’m sure someone would take one peek and hard pass.
While my kidlet can hike big miles easily I usually carry most of our gear. I do have him carry our puffers and raincoats in his pack. Below is our complete list of what I packed for this adventure
- Rei Quarter Dome SL2 Tent
- Rei Magma 15 Sleeping Bag
- Big Agnes Little Red 15 Sleeping Bag
- Nemo Tensor Insulated Short Mummy Pad
- Nemo Tensor Insulated Mummy Pad
- Reflectix cut to size to add warmth under sleeping pads.
- MSR Pocket Rocket
- Fuel
- Lighter
- Kula Cloth
- Tent Lab Deuce Shovel
- Wipes
- Dry sack that is used for trash (please pack out your toilet paper. I put a gallon ziploc bag in my trash bag to put wet items and pooh paper in)
- Toiletries
- Headlamps
- Pillows
- Food in a dry bag
- Paracord to rodent hang
- Two handwarmers
- 10000 MAH battery charger
- Garmin Inreach
- Two Sporks
- GSR Halulite Kettle
- GSR Nesting Bowl
- Puffers
- Beanies
- Gloves
- Socks for nighttime
- Jammies
- Rain jackets
- Stuffed Mountain Goat Beanie
- Juice Cup
- Collapsible Mug
- First Aid Kit
- Leatherman Squirt
- Mace
My pack usually weighs about 35 pounds carrying two peoples gear. For backpacking w kids I carry a Gregory Deva 70L for storage capacity. I am not affiliated w any of these brands and paid for everything I own.
This was such a beautiful area. Please pick up after yourself and practice leave no trace principles. Don’t leave the Ruby Range like my kids leave my car.
Exploring the Wasatch and Beyond 