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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