This late evening view from the summit of Ryan Mountain is one of the best that I've experienced. The view here looks northwest over Lost Horse Valley. Ryan Mountain is a two mile, one-way, hike, with about 1,000 feet gain, all on good desert trail. This completed our short desert adventure, except for a short hike at another park, on the way home. I have hiked Ryan Mountain, now, five times, with plenty of pictures taken each time. I repeat climbs, hikes, and ski tours, because it is different, to me, every time. Weather conditions will offer variations as unlimited as the clouds, with, sometimes, dramatic lighting, changing from minute to minute.

Summit cairns will pop up and disappear from visit to visit. So seems to be the case with Ryan Mountain. It takes only a few minutes work to erect one, and only a few minutes to tear one down. Wilderness purists vary as to their appropriateness. They were originally built to signify that the point had been reached, by modern humans, therefore demonstrating that a first ascent has already been made. Peace signs, words, and other constructions have been laid out about a very few of the summits of the more popular peaks about the West, in addition to more mundane locales. While some may be historical, most are made in recent times. The best thing for a peak hiker to do is to leave them alone.

Photos taken March 10, 1997, by Petesthousandpeaks.

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