Carol, your message is priceless! Love your last
sentence. :-))
I wouldn't want a freeway, either, but I think a 3-4
foot wide trail without a guardrail would be safer than a 2-foot
wide eroding trail that drops off 1,000 feet. (Notice, I never
mentioned a guardrail any time in my messages.) I don't ride for the
adrenaline rush, but for the beauty and experience of seeing new scenery and for
the bonding with my horse. I still think Tevis is enough of a challenge
without dangerous trails. And I'm not criticizing you; I just have a
different opinion. Someday, someone is going to be killed on that trail
and the WSTF may have more trouble on its hands than it wants. It had
enough trouble years ago when a couple of riders took the wrong way out of the
start and ended up being yanked off their horses by a ski lift cable at their
necks.
This has probably already been said, I jumped into this late, but I
know that Greg had a contractor go in and fix the part of the trail by Ford's
Bar that was corroded. The rest of the Tevis trail I'm sure Roger, like
the rest us, has been over many times. Why don't they widen the trail, well a
lot of it is solid rock on the sides... I think it comes down to this...
you don't do Tevis unless you have a horse that you trust on these trails. And
even then a horse can take a bad step when it's tired. Heck they can take
a bad step when they're not tired, just acting goofy like Arabs do. Don't
be afraid to do Tevis if you're afraid of narrow trails and heights. I am
afraid of narrow trails and heights, but have disciplined myself
not to look down. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are
afraid, don't let that stop you from doing Tevis. I have not finished
Tevis in the legitimate "official" ride, but have rode the whole trail by
myself several times. Remember, there is nothing to fear but fear itself. If
you get scared you simply get off and walk. No big deal. Who knows if they'll
ever "fix" the whole trail, chances are, probably not, simply because of cost.
But it is safer today than it was 20 years ago. Would you really want a 4 ft.
wide trail the whole way with, say a guardrail? It would be nice , but it
wouldn't be Tevis then, it wouldn't be a challenge. Personally, I think I
like the adrenalin rush when you look down and say "Holy @#0!, that's a
long ways down!" Isn't that why we do Endurance, for the adrenaline rush? And
that doesn't mean I don't feel for Roger, I know Roger, and I can't speak
for him, but personally I don't want the trail made into a dang freeway, I
like the technicalities, no matter how difficult, because that what
makes it "Tevis". And I'm sure I'll get critized for this but frankly my
dear, I don't give a damn.
Carol
"Ain't no horse that can't be rode.
Ain't no rider that can't be throwed." Cowboy
wisdom
