Day 4, the end of the Rubies

I can't believe how quickly this trip has gone, only 9-10 miles left on this beautiful Sunday morning. Not too chilly at all and what a view.

Okay so now let me explain the next few photos. I had heard that lots of hikers see mountain goats in the park, so I'll admit I had been crossing my fingers the whole trip. Sam said he had seen some the day before and I hoped the dog wasn't scaring them away, or that I had just been too oblivious to see them. And then within 15 minutes of starting my morning there they were. Coming off the ridge-line I startled a deer and as it bounded down the canyon I saw a group of fluffy white hanging out at the saddle. Now comes the sad part, iphone cameras don't like to zoom. Add the fact that I was directly facing the rising sun equals fuzzy sad photos. Lets not even comment on how I zoomed in and took about 10 awesome photos of a rock before I realized what I was doing.

Looking out from Wines Peak

Favre Lake

Liberty Lake

Quite the long descent from Liberty Pass. I don't remember climbing up for that long but I think the fog and excitement made my first day much easier than it could have been. I'll admit with the heat I was glad to be heading down not up.

Oh my goodness what a difference a day makes. Lamoille Canyon on a Sunday is quite the place to be. I think I passed over 50 people. It looked like mostly day hikers but quite the change seeing so many folks, all mostly within 2 miles of the trail-head. I even got to say hi to the 4 I had met on the pass above Overland trail. They mentioned that the 10 mile dry stretch had been super tough for them, which just reminded me how differently people experience the trail. For me the hardest bit was my afternoon after the pass above Overland. Hot and overgrown with steep trail had me worn out. While at least half of that dry stretch (N Furlong to Long Canyon) was my favorite section of the trail.
Once I hit the parking lot the dog hopped in the car and refused to move. I headed to the creek for one last dip to cool off and after chatting with some bicyclists from Reno I stopped stalling and hit the road yet again.
The trip was great. For me it was very doable in 4 days. The shorter days on each end made the driving fit in perfectly. I was asked numerous times on the trail if I had to pick one direction which would it be, my gut reaction is to start at Lamoille only because I loved it, but there is something to be said for ending with the best. Both directions have a few climbs and don't seem significantly different in that regard. I'm going to be indecisive and say I think my way was best, an out and back allowed me to see everything twice. I got to enjoy things I had missed my first time around and loved beginning and ending in Lamoille. I'll admit all those aspen have me thinking that a fall trip could be a pretty sweet option as well but I loved how I was surrounded by wildflowers and green.