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Here's the diary I kept of the Tevis and my thoughts about my ride this 
year.  If you don't want to read it, or get bored, just push the delete 
button; it won't hurt my feelings.



Friday, July 15 On the road to Tevis.  Left home about 8 a.m. Had a REALLY 
busy week cleaning up from the endurance ride we put on in Maybell just last 
weekend, then repacking everything to leave for Auburn.  I'm happy to be on 
the road. Arrived in Wells, Nevada, about 4:30 p.m. Spent the night at a 
small campground.  The managers were very nice and very happy to have us and 
the horses.  It really blew their minds when we told them we were going to 
attempt to ride our horses 100 miles over the Sierra Nevadas in one day.

Saturday, July 16  We carefully cleaned up manure and hay so we would be
welcomed back on the return trip and left Wells about 8 a.m., arriving Gold
Country Fairgrounds at 3:30.  Diesel prices have not been as high on the
trip as we had expected, ranging between 2.43 and 2.61 a gallon.  It's HOT
though, 108 degrees in Auburn. That evening we went to the same Fish & 
Chips  restaurant in Oldtown Auburn that we ate at last year and the catfish 
was  still wonderful!  Walked the horses a bit and went to bed.  Still 102
degrees at 9:30 p.m.  Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Sunday, July 17  Grilled bacon and pancakes, showered, and walked the
horses.  Turned them out in the arena to play; the shower was a waste; by
9:00 it was 92 degrees.  High today was 106; we are starting to worry about
the horses and I always have problems with the heat.  Craving Mexican food
and found a place that evening called Chevys to eat dinner.  Kind of
"franchisey" but food was good.  Tomorrow and Tuesday nights we will grill
chops and steaks.  Three rigs from Arizona pulled in today, very nice 
folks,
4 riders and 4 crew.  Today was our Chihuahua's first birthday.  Little
Chloe (spoiled rotten) had a dog food birthday cake with a candle and one 
of
the riders brought her a little Chi-sized dog biscuit. Rode out over No 
Hands Bridge and to the Highway crossing about 9 p.m. to  try out my 
red-filtered light.  It worked great and I confidently trotted
Summer most of the nine miles roundtrip.

Monday, July 18  I dropped Ken and Sir off at Foresthill about 8 a.m. to
ride the California Loop and I drove on to Driver's Flat and rode Summer 
out  to the Poverty Bar river crossing.  This section of the trail gave us a 
hard
time last year.  Ken did not ride it in 2003 since Summer was pulled at
Foresthill and last year there were also no glow sticks left on the trail.
We went over two miles without seeing anything, not knowing if we were even
on the correct trail, until Ken spotted a WSTF sign.  So I had gotten 
really
disoriented and was pretty much done by a mile or so before Lower Quarry. 
I  was determined not to repeat that mistake.  I didn't cross the river 
today,
but I studied every foot of that trail to the river.  Met Ken back at the
trailer about 12:30.  He and Sir had had a close encounter with a
rattlesnake, but Sir was a good boy and ran away when Ken asked him to.
It's still incredibly hot, about 106 again today.  Both Sir and Summer are
panting.  It's really making Ken nervous about getting Sir (aka "Fat Boy")
through the ride.  None of the rides we've done this spring and early 
summer
have been really hot rides and we've had an exceptionally cool and wet
spring and summer in Craig.

Tuesday, July 19   Grilled bacon and egs and exercised the horses.  Ken 
took
me to the library to check my e-mail and the Weather Channel weekend
forecast (NOT good).  Rested up in the heat of the day.  Tonight I rode out
again toward No Hands Bridge (more confidence building). I love my soft red
light, the tree-canopied black holes don't scare me anymore.  Had I ridden
with a light like this last year I just might have been able to finish on
time even with the painful saddle. (BTW, THANK YOU David Kaden of
Specialized Saddles, Inc. for making the saddle for me and fitting Summer
and for making a saddle for Ken and helping him get it fit to the 
previously
impossible-to-fit Sir. The saddle enabled me to ride comfortably and
balanced the entire ride.)

Wednesday, July 20  Ken left mid-morning to pick up his mom at the
Sacramento airport (guess we didn't kill her off crewing last year, she's
back again...what a glutton for punishment).  Took her to lunch at Fish &
Chips. (I just can't get enough of those catfish.)  We decided we had 
better
clip the horses before heading up to Robie Park tomorrow.  The heat is NOT
letting up.  Bought groceries for the weekend.

Thursday, July 21 Talked to Jeff and Kathy Brown to let them know we were 
at  Robie Park.  They are on their way and will be in tomorrow morning. 
Bless  their hearts, they committed to crewing for us and, with very little 
time
off from work, will drive straight through to Robie Park.  Horses are 
eating
and drinking well, hardly lifting their heads from their hay and beet pulp
mashes. (I think that Summer has told Sir what he is in for because he is
really packing it in.)
Two rigs pulled in next to us and one of the guys spends all his time
blowing elk calls...he was still blowing them at 9:30 when we were trying 
to
go to bed, and Ken said if he kept it up past 10:00 he was going to shove 
it
down his throat.  I took a Tylenol PM and went blissfully to sleep.  It is
quite a bit cooler here than at Auburn; the horses love it.

Friday, July 22  Tevis Eve.  Kathy and Jeff arrived about 9:30 am.  Ken and
I had gone to the vendor booths to buy souvenir Tevis t-shirts and caps for
our crew.  Kathy and Jeff looked incredibly bright-eyed after driving so
many hours.  I bought a pair of Iridion tights and a Cool Medic vest that
would later prove a lifesaver in the hot canyons.  We picked up our rider
packets and headed back to the trailer to get the horses and tack for
vet-in.
11:30  Both horses vetted in and their numbers applied (Summer 225 and Sir
226).  Summer did not want to stand still to have the chalk applied to her
butt.  Kathy did a really nice job of trotting her out for the vet.
3:00  Sue Flagg came by to visit.  Christy and Judy Cumberworth are in camp
and we have invited them to share burgers with us.  Kathy lent me a
beautiful silver angel locket to wear on the ride for luck and Ken's mom 
and
Judy are going to write notes to put inside.
5:00  Last preparations done. Jeff and Kathy left for Robinson Flat to try 
to get us a good crewing spot.  I had mentioned that the area up near the
bathrooms would be ideal, partly shady for Sr and partly sunny for Summer
who got a little chilled there last year.  They called early evening and
said that all the people up there were having a party!
7:00  Briefing.  Greg Fellers, who judged the 2004 Island in the Sky ride, 
is the head vet this year.  He announced that, due to the extreme heat, some
of the pulse criteria were being changed.  Red Star Ridge at 28 miles was
changed from 64 to 60 but we expected that since they have changed it for
the last several years.  But we expected that he might raise the criteria
for later in the ride.  When he announced that Deadwood (56 miles) was 
being
changed from 68 to 64 and that Foresthill (69 miles) was being dropped from
64 to 60, the crowd was very silent, but the riders knew that he was making
the changes in the best interest of the horses with the incredible heat. 
It
brought a lump to my throat when they closed the briefing with "See You In
Auburn."  I sure hope so.
Got back to the trailer at 8:00 and took a shower and two Tylenol PM (NO 
WAY  is the elk caller keeping me awake tonight).

Ride Day, Saturday, July 23  I never even woke up when Rita got up at 2 
a.m.  to feed the horses their beet pulp mash and renew their hay and water. 
When  our alarm sounded at 3:30, I woke refreshed with about seven hours' 
sleep  behind me. Yeah!  Ate Frosted Flakes and drank a mug of Swiss Mocha 
and OJ,  dressed, and was ready to saddle up and hit the trail. That's when 
Rita told  us that a bear had visited our elk calling neighbors' camp and 
stolen all  their food.  You would think that such "mighty big game hunters" 
would have  known not to leave food outside in the deep woods.  I was just 
glad that the  bear got enough to eat so he let our horses alone.
4:45 Departed for the starting line.  We elected this year to be in the 2nd
group.  Arrived at the line at 5am and the horses stood quietly.  At nearly
5:20 we heard horses moving off and soon we were moving along with them at 
a  steady trot.  Our long day into night had begun.

July 23 --- Ride Day thoughts ---

   In 2004 I attempted the Tevis for the first time with high hopes.  I had
inherited Summer to ride at the last minute and I was grateful that Ken had
given her to me for the ride when Quickly was injured.  Summer valiantly
carried me the entire 100 miles but I failed to earn the completion because
I arrived overtime at the finish.  Dehydration, pain from the saddle that
fit Summer but not me, and fear of the dark overcame me, and I sent Ken
ahead with six miles to go.
   I felt that I had let Ken down and let Summer down until I read what
Julie Suhr had said of her own ride (I passed her at Robie Point where she
had pulled herself 1-1/2 miles from the fnish).  Julie said, "I failed to
finish but I did not fail to try."
   Those words became my lifeline when we entered the 2005 Tevis.  We were 
fortunate once more to have three wonderful people volunteer to crew for us, 
Ken's mom, Rita Gamble, who had also crewed for us in '04 and who flew out 
once again to be with us, and Jeff and Kathy Brown, who, with little time 
off from their jobs, rented a car and drove straight through to the ride. My 
only regret at the Awards Ceremony Sunday afternoon was that Jeff and
Kathy weren't there to share my joy as I received the coveted buckle.  They
had to leave Sunday morning after being up practically all day and night
and drive straight home in order to be at work Monday morning.
  Quite a few people have asked me how I felt when I finished.  Maybe they
expected to hear "terrific, excited, I beat the mountains this year, and so
on." But all I can say is, "I feel so humble."  Last year I was just trying
to put all the miles behind me.  This year every step my horse and I took
together was a miracle.
   This year I was awed by every point on the trail --- Granite Chief
Wilderness, which reminded me of the beauty and ruggedness of our own Mt.
Zirkel Wilderness near where we live --- Cougar Rock, where the volunteer
at the top cheered me on and said, "That's how it's supposed to be done."
Elephant's Trunk, where Summer's surefootedness gave me even more 
confidence.
   Robinson Flat, where a wonderful guy from Phoenix tried to cheer his
girlfriend on by yelling, "Good job, honey, you're a third of the way!"  He
and all the crews and the volunteers making the dust and pain of the first
36 miles disappear as they clapped and yelled, "Good luck, Keep going!" And 
where our crew had secured the primo spot near the bathrooms thanks to Jeff
Brown winning the sprint contest for crew sites.
   Even the canyons were not something just  to overcome.  They were places
to  marvel at our horses' strength, as they steadily carried us down to
Dusty
Corners and Last Chance and up and up through all the seemingly endless
switchbacks, past Devil's Thumb and into Deadwood. More wonderful
volunteers  there who held our horses, gave us water and food, fed Summer
and Sir hay dunked in the water tanks, carrots, sponged them...these stops
were an  oasis.
   Before I knew it, we were through Michigan Bluff and in to Foresthill
where the townspeople once again cheered us on and where our crew once 
again  took excellent care of us and our horses.  I  changed my clothes and 
allowed  Rita to force food down my throat and with my  red-filtered light 
attached  to my helmet, I bravely set out to face the  hours of night 
riding. The
townspeople cheered us on.  This year I also had along an angel locket
tucked into my shirt, which contained two notes from Ken's mom and Judy
Cumberworth:  "You Can Do It" and "You have wind beneath  your wings."
   Ken led Sir through the downhill switchbacks, slowing down his 5-6 mph
pace whenever I told him I needed a break.  There are two points in this
ride that I truly believe most riders feel that they are never going to
reach --- Francisco's (17 miles downhill from Foresthill) is one of them,
and the five miles from the River Crossing to Lower Quarry is the other,
that road just goes on and on and on.
   About a mile before Lower Quarry is where I had "hit the wall" last
year, unable to continue the pace needed to finish on time.  But not this
year.  When we cleared the vet check, Summer picked up the trot and this
time I was able to stay with her.
   Up to the Highway Crossing I confidently led the way,  up and trotting
over No Hands Bridge, trotting to Robie Point where we caught up with five
or six  riders walking in. I wanted to pass them but Ken held me back,
saying, "Just relax, no reason to take a chance on the horses stumbling and
hurting themselves this close to the end."
   It seemed that we walked forever, but we finally reached the Staging
Area, the timed finish.  I had been singing, praying, talking to myself, 
and
crying tears of joy for the past mile, knowing I was going to make it but
trying to fight off the motion sickness I was feeling from walking so much
behind the other riders, and, as Kathy and Ken's mom patted my leg and
congratulated me, I leaned over Summer's mane and barfed my guts out. If I
hadn't been so sick, I would have been mortified, but I'm sure I'm not the
only rider in 51 years of the Tevis who threw up at the end.
   Ken had said he would never forgive me if I didn't ride the Victory Lap
with him after the horses trotted out sound, so I did.  Summer was spooking
(where did she find the energy) and I was too tired and grumpy and dizzy to
hold Ken's hand --- I hope he forgives me for that.  He was my rock and
support during the ride, giving me confidence when I needed it,  making me
feel that I could do it.
   And then, a few hours later, the proof that the miracle had really
happened, the privilege of crossing the stage and receiving that buckle.
   At home now, I am still counting the miracles, my husband, family, and 
friends, our  incredible horses, and those hundreds of people who have 
dedicated themselves to keeping the Tevis ride going year after year.   This 
humble rider thanks you.
Betty Wolgram



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