Ruby Crest Trail too hot in August?

[regehr]

I had hoped to do the RCT middle of August this summer, but (starting from the south) the first two days are largely below 9000' and have a lot of southern exposure. It feels to me like this won't be real pleasant if the forecast in Elko is still in the 100 degree range. Anyone have experience in these conditions?

Of course it's easy to find a higher route for August but my experience in the Winds / Uintas / Tetons / etc in August is that they're often still at least moderately mosquitoey. I have a pretty low tolerance for those bugs.

Anyhow, thoughts appreciated.

 

[Rockskipper]

Road Trip Ryan sometimes posts on here. He has an entry about it on his site (which you've probably already researched) and says:

Lack of water on the big day is a major concern. Be prepared to cover 14 miles between water sources. In mid-summer, there may be snow to melt along the ridge, but too early in the summer and the passes may be tough or dangerous to cross. I would recommend mid-July through early to mid-September as the prime time to visit. Fall brings with it an explosion of colors as the leaves change.

 

[regehr]

yeah thanks @Rockskipper, I've definitely read RTR's info. the big day on this route should be well within the capabilities of my group, I'm more worried about just kind of roasting the first two days.

 

[Bob]

HOT

 

[regehr]

HOT

yeah I know. backup plan is a loop in the Gros Ventres-- does that sound like the move here?

 

[Bob]

Most bugs should be minimal by about Aug 15..... I usually do my trips after that date. Except this year.......

 

[fossana]

I hiked it mid Aug 2019, a relatively big snow year. Water was plentiful, but note the drastic difference in creek flow. The only section I found to be painfully hot was the very end when you emerge from the aspens onto lower elevation, exposed dirt road, but then again I am usually heat trained by then. Also, one of the water sources in the Middle Fork area was fouled by cattle.

 

[regehr]

I hiked it mid Aug 2019, a relatively big snow year. Water was plentiful, but note the drastic difference in creek flow. The only section I found to be painfully hot was the very end when you emerge from the aspens onto lower elevation, exposed dirt road, but then again I am usually heat trained by then. Also, one of the water sources in the Middle Fork area was fouled by cattle.

I'm pretty heat-acclimated but I'm not sure my friends are.
I was planning on starting us from the south, so we'd have the hot section first.
anyway, thanks!!

 

[fossana]

I'm pretty heat-acclimated but I'm not sure my friends are.
I was planning on starting us from the south, so we'd have the hot section first.
anyway, thanks!!

It's much more pleasant to finish with Lamoille Canyon wildflowers anyway.

 

[regehr]

Just coming back here to say that we walked the Ruby Crest Trail from August 10-13. This is a really nice route-- very pretty and it was quite relaxing to not deal with issues such as scrambling, route finding, bears, or water problems.

All of the water sources mentioned in the Mike White book were running, it was surprisingly wet for mid-August after a not-huge snow year. There are still some patches of snow clinging to high nooks. Also, there were very few mosquitoes, really nice conditions all-around.

Our only day of unsettled weather (August 12) was on the day when we needed to do the long, exposed middle section between Overland Lake and Furlong Junction. This ended up being fine, we got started early and moved fast, and we found shelter to wait out a few passing storms. There wasn't any lightning. The wind and cooler temps made this day very pleasant.

We didn't see any people for the first 1.5 days, but then there were two other groups at Overland Lake. We saw a pair of trail runners and a pair of hunters on the way from Overland Lake to Furlong Junction. Then nobody until the downhill side of Liberty Pass. A gentleman we chatted with for a minute on the way down from Liberty Pass mentioned to us that Wines peak is named after his grandfather!! So overall, while this area is popular, it still feels pretty open and wild.

We had a big herd of sheep nearby while camping above Harrison Pass before starting this route, plus some cows. South Fork Smith Creek (which some reports say has lots of livestock) happened to be empty when we were there, but there was a lot of horse manure scattered around the obvious campsites. Then we passed another herd of sheep in North Fork Smith Creek. There was a solitary cow right at Overland Lake.

Going back to my original question "is mid-August too hot for the RCT" we were definitely happy to start walking 3 miles above Harrison Pass (instead of walking this section of 4WD road) and we were definitely happy to get an early start on the first two days of the trip. It never felt hot but we certainly did plenty of sweating. On the first two days the high in Elko was in the mid 90s. Temps were decently cooler on the second two days of the trip, I guess some sort of front passed through on the 12th. The 4WD road up from Harrison Pass has a couple of legit sections, it's not for Subarus.

 

[regehr]

Oh and best of all, no smoke in the air!! Or at least very little. Sad that this is now a surprise.