Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Greetings:

One Hundred Miles is the signature distance of endurance riding and to me
there is magic in the 100 mile distance that is different from any other
ride.

Frank (my horse) and I are relative newcomers to endurance riding.  Frank is
an unregistered Arabian horse from Basin Wyoming.  There are rumors about
Frank's heritage, but Frank's past remains unknown.  Kathy and Bud Arnold
acquired him from friends and sold him to me when I needed a solid and
honest horse to teach me about riding and endurance.  I have trained Frank
based on the knowledge of others and the experience that I gained from
endurance running.  Frank and I have trained on the same trails.  Frank has
taught me about horses and riding and I certainly doubt that I'll ever be
able to give Frank enough in return.

Frank and I live in SW Idaho and earlier in the year I was honored when
asked to join a local PNER endurance team called the "Outlaws."  Frank is an
outlaw horse.  Butch Cassidy reportedly placed caches of especially strong
horses with sympathizers and personal friends throughout the mountain west
to be used for his escapes.  Today we ride the decedents of those outlaw
horses.

Riding the Big Horn 100 is an adventure in addition to being a 100-mile
endurance ride.  The Big Horn 100 travels true wilderness trails.  The ride
starts and finishes at the Trapper Creek Ranch outside of Shell Wyoming at
4500 feet.  The ride climbs to a high point of nearly 10,000 feet and much
of the ride is above 8000 feet.  Very little of the course can be considered
level and there are many climbs in and out of canyons.  There are some
gravel roads, many single-track and double-track trails, as well as some
sections where there is no trail at all.  The footing is rocky and the
primary water sources along the trail are the natural creeks and steams.

This year the ride went clockwise around the loop and there were four vet
checks at approximately 25, 38, 50 and 75 miles.  Even though there are only
four vet checks, I understand that in the whole history of the Big Horn 100,
only one horse has been treated - and that was a long time ago.  However,
riders must be aware of the challenging trails, the difficult access, the
long distances between the vet checks, and ride their horses responsibly.
The Big Horn 100 is a very significant undertaking and I did not want to
underestimate the terrain or the ride.  People will debate the relative
difficulty of various rides, but when the discussion turns to the most
difficult 100s, the Big Horn 100 is always on the list.  A crew is
recommended for the Big Horn 100 and my brother Willi and his wife Alice
drove up from Greeley Colorado and along with my wife Leslie, the three of
them were a very capable crew.

Just like the words in the cowboy song, "I'm up in the morning before
daylight, and before I sleep the moon shines bright."  I got up early to
saddle my horse and ride to the start.  At 4:00 in the morning Tom Van
Gelder spoke those unforgettable few words "The trail is open for
competition."  Cindy Collins led us on a nice controlled start.  I was
riding with the other 100-mile riders looking around at the stars, the
badlands, and the cliffs thinking to myself, "This is really cool, I am so
lucky."  I was privileged to be riding with some rough riders and tough
horses on some of the best trails in the mountain west.  Soon Cindy released
us and we were off and running through the shale badlands.  Early on I
linked up with Terry Dye and we rode together for the entire ride.

On our way to the first vet check, we passed farms, ranches, and camps as we
began our climb out of the badlands from a low point of around 4000 feet on
Shell Creek.  We came into the first vet check about 20 minutes ahead of the
next riders and pulsed down for our 45-minute hold.

Between the first and second vet checks the trail leaves the badlands to
climb to the Big Horn plateau at over 9,000 feet.  In portions, the trail is
nonexistent and you just work your way up to a ridge or saddle through the
forest underbrush.  Later I heard that Regina, Linda and some of the other
riders saw a bull moose on this section of trail.  The section between the
first vet check at Hudson Falls and the second vet check at Horse Creek is
where some of the other riders met difficulties.  Terry and I were alone for
the entire ride and we were unaware of the troubles facing some of the
others except for the short reports that we heard at the vet checks.  The
trail climbs and descends steeply in and out of several canyons on the way
to the Horse Creek vet check.  The Horse Creek vet check is on top of the
Big Horn plateau and the snowfields and wildflowers were spectacular -
especially the tiny blue alpine forget-me-nots.

After 45 minutes at Horse Creek, Terry and I were off to the Antelope Butte
vet check at 50 miles.  Again, this section is up and down.  I don't know
the total elevation gain of the ride but I am sure it is significant.
During one section the trail was unmarked with only a sign reading "Big Horn
100 Riders - Head for the Peaks" and those peaks looked very far away.
Little did I know that much later in the day we would actually be riding by
those peaks.  We descended off of the Big Horn plateau to the base of the
Antelope Butte Ski Area for the 50-mile check and a one-hour hold.

After Antelope Butte it is a long 25 miles to the Jack Creek vet check.  We
were now in the hottest part of the day and we slowed our horses
accordingly.  Again the trail climbs to the Big Horn plateau, descends to
the Shell Creek Ranger Station, and then climbs the Adelaide Trail to the
plateau again.  The Adelaide trail is very rocky and part of the trail is in
the Big Horn wilderness.  At one point in the wilderness a low overhanging
log has fallen across the trail.  Frank is a small horse at under 15 hands
and we were barely able to squeeze under the log.  Terry leaned sideways in
the saddle as his horse Glory passed under the log.  I heard later that
Regina Rose had to unsaddle her Percheron-Arab horse Gypsy to get under the
log.  At Adelaide Lake we picked up two ranch horses that followed us along
the trail.  Our "herd" of four passed through the meadows and creeks until
we cut off the two ranch horses at a fence gate.  There are fences on the
Big Horn 100 and Terry and I opened and closed many gates over the 100 miles
of trail.  Before our descent to Jack Creek we reached the high point of the
route at nearly 10,000 feet.  We were in the Big Horn Mountains and we could
see other mountains and basins of Wyoming and Montana to the west and
northwest.

Jack Creek at 75 miles was the last vet check.  I loped Frank along the road
and then got off and walked into the vet check for the final 45-minute hold.
At Jack Creek I ate two excellent hamburgers while talking with the others
about various 100s.  I mentioned that in the 100-mile runs I was never able
to get to 75 miles while there was still daylight so this was a first, but
there were still mountain trails and slickrock ledges to cross before we
reached the finish.

Terry and his horse Glory, Frank and myself left Jack Creek for the final 25
miles of trail.  Our horses had worked together all day with each one of us
helping the others during the low times.  Terry and I had the talk that any
two riders would have when they've ridden and shared the trails for 80 miles
of a 100-mile ride and we made our agreement.

This last stretch of the trail was magical.  The sun set in the west as a
golden rider's moon rose in the east.  Coyotes called to each other in the
twilight as we rode along.  Later that night the moon was so bright that in
many sections I could see the silhouette of two riders on two horses making
their way down the trail.  The image was the same as it has been for
hundreds of years on countless trails.  At times we cantered through the
darkness listening to the three-beat rhythm of the feet, always trusting our
horses to carry us steadily and safely as they had faithfully done for
nearly 100 miles.  Around midnight we reached the finish line where Tom Van
Gelder had spoken those unforgettable few words so many hours earlier.   We
finished together just as we had ridden together for the last 100 miles.


Best Regards,

Tom Noll
SW Idaho




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=