Ryan's Trail

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Ryan's trail is raw desert singletrack. This trail was successfully completed by the namesake, Ryan Grove, when he was 8 years old. You'll encounter loose-on-loose gravel material in ruts, and short, tough climbs and descents and a couple of tight switchbacks.

The westernmost part of Ryan's is either the first or last part of Bill's Loop, (First for Bill, but most people take it the opposite direction), and one of the main arteries providing access to the more interesting and demanding trails in the east half of this complex. The east end of Ryan butts up to Champagne, heading east and south, and Picnic table, cutting back west. Running Champagne from this end is the more demanding direction. If building strength is your goal, this will fit the bill. Picnic table will also push your endurance and will lead you to the most demanding running in the complex around the base of Sugarloaf Peak.

There is a section of the trail, between mile 4 and 5, where mining operations obliterated part of the trail and traffic had defaulted to the nearby doubletrack. Recent work by Larry Grove has reclaimed this section of really fun singletrack with challenging short climbs and a couple of switchbacks. Reestablishing this segment has eliminated nearly all the doubletrack from this trail.

If you do happen upon miners, do your best to represent trail users positively; most miners do not realize the trails are used by recreationalists and assume they are simply burro trails. The more positive the image you present, the more likely they will be to avoid damaging them.