Feb 08

The First Morning

This is the most beautiful place on earth.

There are many such places. Every man, every woman, carries in heart and mind the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home, known or unknown, actual or visionary. A houseboat in Kashmir, a view down Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, a gray gothic farmhouse two stories high at the end of a red dog road in the Allegheny Mountains, a cabin on the shore of a blue lake in spruce and fir country, a greasy alley near the Hoboken waterfront, or even, possibly, for those of a less demanding sensibility, the world to be seen from a comfortable apartment high in the tender, velvety smog of Manhattan, Chicago, Paris, Tokyo, Rio, or Rome-there’s no limit to the human capacity for the homing sentiment. Theologians, sky pilots, astronauts have even felt the appeal of home calling to them from up above, in the cold black outback of interstellar space.

For myself I’ll take Moab, Utah. I don’t mean the town itself, of course, but the country which surrounds it-the canyonlands. The slickrock desert. The red dust and the burnt cliffs and the lonely sky-all that which lies beyond the end of the roads.

-Excerpt from Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey-

Where will you be?

You Might Also Like...
There is nothing better than going for a swim in the ocean after a full
Food and Drink Pairings: Our Favorites from the Alps To celebrate spring, Ryder-Walker wants to
Think you know the iconic Tour du Mont Blanc route like the back of your
Ease into your next hiking trip with Ryder-Walker Picture yourself wandering through lavender fields in
Join Ryder-Walker for an unforgettable journey through Morocco’s Atlas Mountains from October 9-18, 2025, where
Discovering the best inn-to-inn hiking has been Ryder-Walker’s ambition for decades now. We, like you,
Mini-Treks: Big Adventures in Short Getaways At Ryder-Walker, we’ve handpicked a collection of mini-treks that
In the summer of 1975, Peter Walker’s journey into the Alps began with a sense
Our Favorite Lesser Known Hiking Trips That Avoid Crowds Are you looking for a unique,
Imagine stepping back in time, hiking through valleys where the culture feels as untouched as
Explore the charm of inn-to-inn trekking with our handpicked routes across Europe's most magnificent landscapes.
Fall Favorites: Savory Alpine Cuisine Autumn in the Alps offers a wonderful chance to highlight