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We had sweeping views of the trails, so when the first rider was 
spotted (and the others soon after) there was still a good 15 minutes 
before they arrived.  Kim Fuess took the lead in the beginning and 
never let go.  She got into vet 2 a little after 1 PM.  Within the next 
hour and fifteen minutes all the riders were in and had met criteria.  
The last horse to make it to criteria had one minute to spare in order 
to be out of vet 2 by cut off time.

You would not believe the language coming out of those women!  It was 
enough to make a sailor blush.  Everyone was exclaiming how hard the 
trail was, and everyone had huge smiles on their faces.  The push for 
the ride name change was in full swing by this time.  Stephanie Fine 
came crewless and as soon as Steve Grice (the shoer) heard this he and 
his wife took her under their care.  One less thing I had to do.  Her 
stallion is really nice and was still looking good at this point.  Dede 
Wolf's National Show Horse was being a real pill.  Apparently he 
doesn't like motorcycles and bicycles and was jumping around whenever 
he heard one (there were lots of them up there).  Her crew was having a 
hard time getting him to settle down and eat, but he looked good and 
was given the OK to continue.  Dede's hand was the only thing that was 
worrisome.  She was anxious that she wouldn't be able to control him 
with only one working hand, but she opted to continue.  Renee Norris's 
crew didn't make it up in time, so that left her and buddy Sharon Helms 
without food.  See, this is why I always come prepared for unforeseen 
problems.  I got them settled under some shade and eating, and then 
took care of their horses.  Both seasoned endurance horses there really 
was nothing to do.  They did it all themselves.  They ate.  Finally 
Melissa and Cabo came in.  Nicest little Paso I've ever dealt with.  
All my Paso dealings have been the show ones with all that brio.  Cabo 
was so calm, cool and collected I thought he was dead.  He was great.  
It was the heat of the day now, and coming from Colorado it was pretty 
hot for him.  It took him awhile to meet criteria, but he got there.  
Passed the vet check too.  Everyone would be continuing on from vet 2.

Strange thing in vet 2.  All of a sudden there were bees everywhere.  
Landing all over the horses.  Horses never minded.  They didn't bother 
any of the people.  Nobody got stung.  There were just bees everywhere. 
 The only thing I could think of was they were going after the water 
that had been poured on the horses.  These were honey bees and quite 
docile.  I was using my hand to gently brush the bees off Diva and 
Skylar and never got so much as a buzz.  When it was evident that the 
horses weren't bothered by them I quit brushing them away.  When the 
horses left vet 2 a few of the bees stayed on the wet areas by the 
water tubs, but they left shortly and were never seen again.

Later I was to take Kat down to the leg 4 checkpoint, but I finally 
asked her who was going to drive her truck and trailer down the hill.  
That brought a look of surprise.  Something she didn't think of.  I 
recruited my husband.  There was one cell phone that worked up there, 
so I borrowed it and called home.  Unless we could find someone else, 
my husband would meet me at a grocery store parking lot at 11 PM to 
come up and drive Kat's truck down the hill.  I called him back up 5 
minutes later and told him to never mind.  Susan Garlinghouse's 
husband, David, agreed to stay with us until the last rider left vet 4 
and drive my truck down the hill.  Greg ? would drive Kat's truck and 
trailer and I would drive Greg's truck and haul the porta potty down.  
Problem solved.

So we waited some more.  A few of us were wagering on when the first 
rider would come back from leg 3.  This trip was all along the Main 
Divide.  No significant hills to climb just no level ground.  Hard, 
rocky whoop-de-doos for 23 miles, all in the heat of the day.  I chose 
6:17 PM.  Steve Grice chose 6:08 PM.  Another chose 6:30.  Kim Fuess 
crossed the line at 6:08 PM.

Now the riders spread out.  Julie Herrera came next with Charisse Glenn 
close behind.  Cheryl Searer and Stephanie Fine came in, but weren't 
looking too good.  Cheryl's horse was off in the rear, and Stephanie's 
stallion was having a hard time coming down.  Dede Wolf arrived with an 
entirely different horse under her.  Total attitude change.  Got to 
business and ate and drank like there was no tomorrow.  He looked good. 
 Renee, Sharon and Melissa brought up the rear.  Skylar looked pooped 
and Cabo was a little zoned out.  Cheryl and Stephanie were pulled, but 
neither horse was in such bad condition that they had to be trailered 
out from vet 3.  They were given lots of rest and were allowed to 
slowly walk downhill to the checkpoint at the mid point of leg 4 where 
a trailer was waiting to take them back to base camp.  Dede Wolf, after 
a valiant effort to continue the ride with a possible broken hand, RO'd 
at the mid point checkpoint of leg 4, and was trailered back to base 
camp with Cheryl and Stephanie.

Renee, Sharon and Melissa were the last to leave vet 3.  It was dark, 
the weather was cool/cold and for the next 9 1/2 miles they would be 
going downhill.  It was now time for me to drive Kat down Silverado 
Canyon around to the checkpoint.  Suzie Kelly was providing a horse for 
Kat and another volunteer to ride drag for the remainder of the ride.  
I hadn't driven Silverado Canyon yet, and it was dark, so I didn't put 
the pedal to the metal.  This was suppose to be the easy route.  BS!  
While there was less than 4 miles of dirt road there was 10 miles of 
the worst paved road I have ever been on in my life.  I've been on Jeep 
trails that were better than that.  You could really get going for a 
short distance, but then have to come to a screeching halt because of a 
pot hole.  Excuse me, pot hole isn't quite the right word.  Bottomless 
pit, black hole, Grand Canyon, Hell and Perdition, those are more 
appropriate words.  I got Kat to the checkpoint about 10:30.  Renee, 
Sharon and Melissa had just arrived.  The concern that Susan G had over 
Skylar and Cabo were laid to rest.  They were refreshed and doing 
really well.  Perky even.  All the riders were still in good spirits 
enjoying the pampering that the checkpoint volunteers were giving them.

I said good-bye to Kat and headed back up Silverado Canyon.  I ran into 
Susan G as she was headed back to base camp.  David had her convinced 
that Bedford Canyon was too steep for their car (he drove it earlier in 
the day and was horrified), so she was going the long way around.  I 
got back up to the vet area to find that Kim Fuess had come and gone, 
Charisse was there but leaving soon.  Julie came in and went to sleep 
on a chair next to Shereen while Shereen just ate and ate and ate.  She 
looked like a homeless person with a very large dog.  Eventually Renee, 
Sharon and Melissa came in and woke Julie up.  Kat and the other drag 
rider were close behind.  Everyone was fed and watered (Julie got a 
nice nap) and they left vet 4 just before 2 AM.

Tori


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