Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

We rode along on the yellow loop and chatted a bit, but I went on ahead
after the two competitive boys wanted to compete with each other.  We
trotted down a mountain road for only a few minutes when we came across
a bunch of horses, all in a line, waiting to go somewhere.  Uh-oh.  It
seems there was this uphill that Robert had described as "Don't stop,
and you better have a breast collar."  He was right!  It was a very
narrow, single track trail that went straight up for a hundred yards or
so.  It was really steep, but had pretty good footing due to the moist
soil.   There was absolutely nowhere to go but up, and of course that's
what happened to a horse ahead- a third of the way up the rider lost his
balance and the horse bolted off the trail, right into the forest of
manzanita and pine.  Ouch!  It took him a while to get going again, so
we all just waited in a traffic jam at the bottom.  Once it was my turn,
Warpaint quickly dispatched with the hill like it was an elevated speed
bump.  A neat single track trail at the top led us to a water stop,
where I ran into Judy and Wabi.  We rode off together down the road with
Wabi following his spotted barn mate.  This first loop was mostly roads
with a little single track thrown in.  I wanted more single track!   We
wound around the forests and back to the lunch check at base camp for an
hour hold.  It was getting pretty warm, and it was only 10:45am.   The
horses both looked very good; we had our lunch and started out on the
pink loop that headed up higher into the mountains.  This loop is so
cool- the first few miles are all just wonderful single track trail.
Not too steep, just right for trotting along.  Warpaint led the way,
he's so willing, always going forward; I just love that.  Wabi and Judy
tagged along behind.  We hit the water stop and took a break for a
while, since it was pretty hot, then took off for the road loop that
would bring us back to the water.  We were warned to watch out for the
rattlesnakes. (GASP)   What we found was snow- big banks of it crossing
the road.   Of course Warpaint is an old hand with snow- he's been in it
up to his ears a few times, so he just motored through the snow drifts
without blinking an eye.  Wabi, however, had never in his life seen this
white stuff.  He was a little apprehensive the first time he tried to
cross the snow, but he walked across it with his nose pressed to the
surface.  For some strange reason, known only to Wabi, he avoided the
section where the other horses had walked across it.  He went for the
deep, untracked stuff, where he deftly sunk in up to his knees, just
like in a Warren Miller flick.  What a goof!   Judy piloted him from the
deep back to the trail- he crossed the rest of the snow without
incident, but unlike Warpaint, Wabi didn't really like to trot through
it. 
           A short walk on a slightly rocky road led to the short
downhill that Robert calls the "Snowy River Downhill."   It's a very
steep, but soft, short decent that you could canter down like the guy in
the movie, I guess, with your feet out in front and your head touching
the horses butt, with one hand clinging onto the saddle horn, but me?
I'll lead the old guy down it, thanks.  The bottom of the hill provides
a great view of the valley; but after the hill it is just a few miles on
roads back to the water.  From the water we headed down a nice, long
soft road that used to be some kind of wilderness route, but now it is
just the road to the vet check.  In we go, out we go.  That simple.  We
scooted the last 4 miles or so to the finish, where we ended up in 24th
and 25th, I think, at about 3:30.   The finish line had a bonus- they
handed me an ice cold bottle of beer!  Oh yeah, that's a finish line
worth remembering!   Back in camp for the post ride vet check, both
horses looked very good.   And the best thing yet- I get to ride again
tomorrow!   The ride had a pot-luck dinner, but we made our own in the
camper (big mistake!), cleaned up and got ready for Saturday.  Judy
wasn't going to ride, but I was!   We got hats for completion awards.

<<winmail.dat>>