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YeeHa! I just got back home and am still glowing from our ride at the 
Big Horn 100, followed by resting and riding in Yellowstone and the 
Tetons. When Tevis was canceled I looked around for another 100 and had 
been warned that the Big Horn had previously been poorly marked, was 
VERY rocky, climbed very high in elevation, had very few vet checks, had 
a ton of mosquitoes and flies, was no frills,... but was beautiful.  
Excellent! Sounds like endurance to me! Sign me up....Gulp... If all of 
this was true, then I knew I would have some splainin to do to Cabo, my 
Paso Fino mount who has bravely completed every 100 we've entered. Well 
I wasn't the only one anxious to take up the challenge as there were a 
lot of Tevis competitors there with a contingent of folks from Dubai, 
Australia, Switzerland and all over the United States. (Deb trailered 
all the way from Florida to Auburn before she found out Tevis was 
canceled but just climbed back in the truck and headed up to Wyoming. 
Sure don't want to see THAT gas bill!) Jeanette did an amazing job 
putting on this ride. After the pre-ride dinner extravaganza, I thought 
that I might have to change my weight status for the ride. The trails 
were well marked with flashers and flags and there was only one spot 
where a bunch of us got a little turned around for a few miles. The 
weather was perfect, the scenery was incredible with endless fields of 
wildflowers and wilderness. I didn't have any mosquitoes annoy us at 
all, and only had one "endurance fly" that stayed at Cabos head for 
about five miles, dive bombing his head while we were traveling at 
speed. I rode almost the whole time with Marirose and her mule Noodle. 
Marirose won the BH last year on Noodles sister Nellie, and had ridden 
this ride 4 times before, so I knew we were with a woman who had her 
internal GPS coordinates down and knew this trail well. She is a funny 
gal and I really enjoyed her company. Cabo, on the other hand, had never 
met a mule before and it took them a few miles before they became fast 
friends. Half way through, a rider named Tennessee joined us and Cabo 
began pinning his ears and trying to keep Tennessee's horse from 
creeping up to close to "His mule Noodle". We are now official "Bad ASS 
lovers". We rode together the rest of the way and Mariroses wonderful, 
VERY happy crew met us around midnight with food for the ponies and 
libations for us. Discovered how wonderful strawberries followed by a 
Mudslide are. I was doing this 100 without a crew, just like at the main 
divide 100, but my crew-bag found it's way to a couple of important 
check points on it's own.  Then off we went to cross the finish line, 
all three of us holding hands and whooping in the full moon light. A 
mule, a Paso Fino and an Arab Top Tenning with big ol grins on our faces 
and all of us girls walking like John Wayne, & looking for the nearest 
butt-butter. Christoff Shork, Cabos ferrier and mentor of choice, had 
come bouncing across the finish line in first place on his amazing Arab, 
"Express", tying with his Swiss rider client, Esty. They apparently 
looked exactly the same and with as much fire as when they left the 
starting line. After a rest the following day, I had decided that seeing 
as how we were only 100 miles away from Yellowstone, It would be silly 
if I didn't go see the park from horseback. Yellowstone is very "horse 
friendly" and horses are allowed on almost all of the trails.We camped 
and rode with tons of elk, moose & bison. (I couldn't help but keep 
thinking about my white buffalo, Big Medicine, back at home fattening up 
and studying topo maps as next years first Tevis buffalo competitor) 
Cabo rested and ate tons of nice mountain grass, swam in Yellowstone 
Lake, sucked up water from some of the mineral laden creeks. ( some he 
seemed to heartily seek out and drank from deeply. I assume he knew they 
contained minerals he had depleted from the ride) If any of you are 
considering doing the Big Horn 100, give it a try. It IS a tough ride 
and one heck of an achievement. But if you do, try and also make the 
time to ride in Yellowstone and Teton National Park as well. It is a 
ride I will definitely be returning to and hope to see many of you there.

"*/If you're not livin on the edge, you're takin up too much space!"/*
Melissa Margetts
margetts@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Telluride Colorado

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