I'm a bit late getting this posted, but I thought you would enjoy some pictures of my hike to Overland Lake in the Ruby Mountains near Elko, NV on May 5th and 6th.



The mountains didn't get much snow this year so the trails are open a little earlier than usual. The picture above shows only the tops of the mountains have snow. This trail is fairly steep with lots of switchbacks and no snow makes for easier walking. About a mile up the trail you enter the Ruby Mountains Wilderness Area.



I started to hit patches of snow three miles up the trail. About a quarter of a mile from the lake is where the snow got deep. I packed my snow shoes but didn't need them. The snow was hard enough to walk on.

It's just a little over 5.5 miles to the lake from the trail head on the Ruby Valley side. The lake sits at an elevation of 9,465 ft. and of course it was still covered with ice and snow. There is a sign nailed to a tree at the lake next to an old cabin.





I found a nice place to set up my hammock and tarp. This was my first time using the danger bird and I love this hammock. Very comfortable.




I stored all my stuff in the Molly Mac Gear Box to keep it out of the snow.



The temperature dropped down to 19.2*F. I had my Flame Thrower underquilt rated at 30*F and I was still warm. I don't think I would want to go much lower without more insulation.

When I got ready to leave my tarp guy lines were frozen in the snow. I had wrapped them around sticks and burried them. It got cold enough the snow froze and I had a heck of a time digging them out. I thought I was going to have to leave them.

I had beautiful weather for this trip. I wouldn't have had to use a tarp except for the wind was blowing fairly hard when I arrived at the lake.

Here are a couple more pictures of the area around the lake.