This fall we decided to stay closer to home, instead of traveling overseas, going on a six-week road trip to sightsee and hike in Oregon and California.
We are taking six days to drive to Oregon: (1) Memphis, TN to St. Joseph’s, MO … (2) to Ogallala, NE … (3) to Rock Springs, WY … (4) to Elko, NV … (5) to Winnemucca, NV … and (6) to Klamath Falls, OR. We could have made the drive in five days, or perhaps even four, but did not feel the need to drive multiple nine to twelve hour days.
Our overnight stay in Elko, Nevada is specifically tailored for us to hike the Lamoille Lake Trail in the Ruby Mountains Wilderness. The Lamoille Lake Trail is a very popular day hike at the northern end of the Ruby Crest Trail (a 36 mile multi-day backpacking hike). Per Alltrails, it is 4.3 miles out and back with 1,007 feet of elevation gain. Tough but not overly difficult.
I set the stage with Stephanie in advance, letting her know that this would be one of the more strenuous hikes on the entire trip, while reminding her that she has completed tougher hikes in recent years. After driving for four straight days, we were ready to hike.
Naturally Stephanie stepped in a hole, busted a sandal, and twisted her ankle in the parking lot at Burger King the night before our hike, so she begged off going. I witnessed the accident and, as such, did not accuse her of faking an injury. We have many more miles to hike in the next few weeks and do not need Stephanie to have a gimpy right ankle any longer than necessary.
Friday morning I was up and out the door of our hotel at about 8:00 AM for the one hour drive to Lamoille Canyon and the trailhead. The drive from Elko to Lamoille is nothing special, but wow the 12 mile drive through Lamoille Canyon is beautiful.
About a dozen cars were in the trailhead’s parking lot when I arrived at 9:00 AM. I figure most of those were owned by backpackers as I arrived earlier than the usual day hike crowd. After changing into my hiking boots it was finally time to go.
The trail is largely uphill leading to a series of lakes, first the two Dollar Lakes and then Lamoille Lake. The beginning and ending sections of the trail are fairly flat and easy to walk. But the middle 1.5 mile section is fairly steep and pretty rocky. Good hiking boots and trekking poles make life much easier.
I only saw four other hikers on the trail heading up that morning. One couple, somewhat incredibly, stopped on the trail about thirty yards ahead of me, just before reaching Lamoille Lake. As I approached the woman walked over to me and asked if I knew where I was. Huh? This was odd conversation starter:
Lady: Do you know where you are?
Me: Yes.
Lady: So you are familiar with this trail?
Me: Not really, first time here.
Lady: Where are you going?
Me: Lamoille [pronounced la-moil-ul] Lake, why?
Lady: Are you sure it is this way? We’ve already hiked two miles.
[At this point I’m looking around thinking: one, it is more than two miles to the lake; two, this is a defined, well-traveled trail, where else do you think it goes; and, three, is your husband really over there trying to get directions off his Apple watch?]
Lady: Wait, you mean Lamoille [pronounced la-moy] Lake? It’s pronounced la-moy.
Me: I guess so. I’m from Memphis. We’d say la-moil-ul.
Lady: I’m from Santa Cruz, California.
[You don’t say.]
Me: Okay, well, the lake is like 100 yards in front of you.
This is my first time to Nevada, but I was pretty confident that locals in rural Nevada don’t give Lamoille a fancy pronunciation. Later I learned that my pronunciation was about right.
While I don’t think I was necessarily being reprimanded for poor pronunciation (though I might have been), it was a strange conversation nonetheless. Who gives pronunciation lessons when asking for directions in the wilderness?
A few minutes later I arrived at the lake and met another couple who were being harassed by a chipmunk. Seriously. There are chipmunks all over the place, and they have no fear in them whatsoever. They have clearly learned that hikers, more particularly backpacks, mean food.
Chipmunks routinely approached within a few feet, if not closer, looking for a handout. And if you leave your backpack unattended on the ground, you can be assured that a chipmunk will try to get inside it. I ended up keeping my backpack on because I got tired of continually looking to see if it was under assault.
I probably spent about 30 minutes at Lamoille Lake, along with another half dozen hikers. The shoreline is large enough for dozens of folks to enjoy the lake without feeling crowded. Which is good because on the hike down I probably passed 20 to 25 hikers heading up, along with 5 or 6 dogs.
It was about noon when I started the drive back to Elko to get Stephanie before continuing on our way to Oregon.
Miles Hiked:
Lamoille Lake Trail: 4.3 miles
We are (okay, I am) off to a good start.
Garrett and Stephanie
P.S. This turned out to be one of the three best hikes on our entire trip.
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