Today Frank (my horse) and I went for a ride in the
Owyhee Mountains of Southwest Idaho. It was a special day to be out.
I got an early start and headed out on the trail.
When we got to the Wilson Creek water tanks we saw
that they were dry but I decided to do the trip anyway. On my way up Red
Canyon I couldn't believe how many unshod horse prints I saw in the trail.
On my way up to a drainage divide I saw seven bands
of wild horses. I had never seen so many bands on one trip. Some
were old favorites that I had seen on other trips on other days. Others
were new horses that I had never seen up close before. At one part, two
bands had joined together with over 20 horses and two stallions keeping
watch. Otherwise, most of the groups were between six and twelve horses
with one band stallion. There were a lot of chestnuts.
At one point a band stallion gave us the look and
Frank and I diverted off cross country. The wild horse band was
right in the trail and I did not want to get into a wild horse gallop cross
country through the sage brush. We saw a few young horses and no
bachelor stallions. I have never seen any other people on this trail and
it was a great day to be out.
Between the wild horses, the deer, the chuckars,
and the solitude, I thought I was living a dream. I am so
lucky.
Best Regards,
Tom Noll
SW Idaho
PS: The pesky four-wheelers keep pushing
further back into the backcountry and widening trails and leaving debris and
litter. I know that others may disagree, but the tracks and
litter reinforces my opinion that we need more non-motorized
areas and more wilderness. Enough of the world has been yielded to the
internal combustion engine.
