No way around the Corona-elephant in the room so gotta fess up right away to the fact that I should not be voluntarily road tripping during a pandemic. But I’ll chalk this up as actively protesting the countries response to the virus. The following thoughts & details are the experience of 2 guys car-camping some hidden gems, cycling the continents crowned jewels and the Big Sky Country experience amid a viral/social pandemic in America.
With the goal destination being Whitefish, Montana. Gateway to the North. We opted to get the loathsome portion of the drive out of the way first and set our eyes on Lamoille, Nevada. I had just done this drive last year from Idaho and an old friend/retired geologist recommended that the Ruby Mountain Wilderness out in Lamoille would be the coolest thing we saw on the way home. Alas on that venture, it got late, ran low on gas and were toeing a raft so instead we pushed through the last 8 hours to get home. BUT THIS TIME! We planned to camp there on purpose.
Lamoille Canyon is a special place. Many of the reviews state that it should be a National Park and we experienced why. From a distance, just below the ragged peaks there is lush vegetation going on making them unique to all the other peaks we drove by in the gut of Nevada. The scenic byway inside the canyon follows a creek up the U-Shaped valley indicating this was once a massive glacier. An out & back road with a parking lot at the end where the peaks all meet, it was fairly crowded. Both the campgrounds were full to the brim but a ranger told us where the dispersed camping was so we set up camp and watched the sun duck down behind the high canyon walls.
Early in the AM we packed up and parked back at the end of the road so we could hike over the pass. The hike was pretty mild and meanders its way up to be just over 10,000′ at Liberty Pass. Up and over the pass is adventure land! Amongst the peaks are several alpine lakes, good looking backpacker campsites and better yet the fish out biting. There are more lakes in the distance but for this adventure only a brief dip was allotted before hiking back out and down to get on the road before it got too hot.
While passing through Northern Nevada I believe it is safe to say that Lamoille Canyon deserves a day to stop and enjoy the scenery during any season. Just remember where you are at though. Lifted trucks with Trump flags, thin Blue lives matter and epic camper rigs a plenty, there were large groups all over the place having a good time. Not a mask in site from folks coming off the trails, hikers carrying small firearms as opposed to bear spray. It interests me the most that the same people that complain about athletes in sports bringing their politics to the game are the ones who head to the great outdoors and bring their flags camping. Gotta love double standards.
An AlTRNTative Perspective 