Backup Rubies

September 2–5, 2022
4 days | 23.3 miles | 8,065 vertical feet

We had a grand plan for a different range. I’d been daydreaming for months about a high, off-trail loop in the Wallowas. But then the fires flared up and the smoke rolled in. One watershed over was too close, and the webcams in Joseph showed steadily decreasing visibility. The day before we left Bend, we had to come up with a backup plan, and we both had the same idea: the Ruby Mountains.

A quick bit of research online yielded little, so we went with open minds and a hope to see some Himalayan snowcock while we were out there. We’d find the route as we went. A day of driving delivered us to the end of the road in Lamoille Canyon where we packed up and hit the trail.

The trail up to Liberty Lake was so wonderfully graded. We gained elevation with ease as the shadows stretched across the valley behind us. We still felt fresh when we topped out at the pass, and any exhaustion would have been erased by the lake view anyway.