Most of the folks hiking the Ruby Crest trail that we had met were planning on spending an extra day in one place or another. As the night gave way to the morning sunlight, we started to pack up. There was no real sense of urgency like the day before. This would be a shorter day and probably the most picturesque. The thought of seeing the boys again was all it took to have a little pep in our step. We had only spent two full days away from them; however it was the first time that we had both been away from them for any extended time. It took little time to load up our camp. Down the trail once more we headed. The thoughts of hugs from 2 little boys and steak sandwiches were filling our minds.
We made our way out of the valley that North Furlong sits in. The quiet morning and the rugged landscape seemed to call us to stay and take it all in. Brandi and I spent some time enjoying the beauty. We pushed on down the trail, stopping to take in the sights from time to time. The landscape on this end of the trail provides a great contrast between the barren cliffs and the lush green forage in the valleys. Both of which were contrasted by the blue of the high mountain lakes. We continued past Farve Lake and started to climb once more. We continued the climb to Liberty Lake. We spent some time enjoying Liberty Lake and refilling our water before making the push up and over Liberty Pass. Over the past 3 days, we had run into only 3 groups and a lone runner. For the most part, the time on the trail had been just my wife and I with an occasional interaction with someone else. From our stop at Liberty Lake on, that was no longer the case. As we started to climb our way up to Liberty pass, we ran into numerous groups of people. Each and every one of the groups was out on their own adventure. Many of them were families enjoying the time together outdoors. Ironically, that was the part of the day that slowed us down the most. We stopped and visited with many neat people on our way up.
Reaching the top looking out over Liberty Lake was a cool sight. Ending the trip on this side of the Ruby Crest Trail was the right choice. The beauty on this end of the trail was worth every step. We took a few minutes and looked out over the vast landscape before topping over into Lamoille Canyon. We were in the home stretch now. We worked our way down the mountain. The closer that we got to Lamoille Lake, the more and more folks we ran into. We visited with fewer people on this side of the mountain. Each one that we did visit with was planning their Ruby Crest Trail adventure. We continued our way down to the parking area that we had planned our pick up from my Mom and Dad with our two sons. The closer that we got to
The reward at the end of the trail.
the turnaround, I noticed their car making its way up the road. The timing could not have been better. We were hitting the end of the trail as two little boys came running to greet us. Their little hugs felt like an Olympic medal around my neck. We piled our gear, including the small apartment on my back, into their Explorer and made our way down to the picnic area to enjoy the lunch that they had brought us. While this was the first time on the entire trip I saw my wife actually have an appetite, I knew that there was no way that Jimmy Johns was going to replace the Star’s steak sandwich that we had both been dreaming of. We spent the rest of the day playing with the boys at Grandma and Papa’s house. While they had a great time with their grandparents, they definitely wanted to catch us up on all of the adventures that they had. I think Grandma and Papa probably needed a rest as well! After an afternoon of playing with the kids and a night of sleeping in an actual bed, there was only one part of the trip left undone. I had promised my wife a steak sandwich at the end of this journey, so we headed with the whole family to the Star. While it was not a little umbrella drink sitting in the sand down in Cabo, the steak sandwich smothered in garlic and a side of fries was signified a Nevada vacation. The look on my wife’s face when she bit into that steak sandwich told me that the vacation was a success.
Daddy time with my little buddies.
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