[RC] Fort Valley on the "Nice Day" (Friday) - Part 1 - Flora Hillman
How can I put this other than….Fort Valley is perhaps
the most favorite of all my most favorite endurance rides ?-- the gorgeous fall
foliage is always spectacular, and the trails are always breathtaking and
challenging. ?Everything about this ride is terrific, and one always comes home
with memories that one will never forget.
Living only 1 ½ hours away meant that I had the luxury to
leave home and ?arrive at base camp at a reasonable hour. This prior site of
vet checks for the OD rides had morphed into a perfectly groomed flat field
full of tiny flags denoting overly generous parking places.? It was quite orderly,
very inviting, and I ended up parked next to the nicest people – one of
whom would be in the 50 with me, the other taking her novice horse in the LD for
its second time at a distance ride.?
There were lots of familiar old faces, and some new ones –
which I find really makes up the essence of what endurance camping is all about.?
Check-in, vetting in, and settling in all went without a
hitch ….everything just great UNTIL the battery serving my main LQ power
supply -- decided to die!? I managed to get it recharged with the solar panels,
but it discharged again the instant the sun disappeared…right in the
middle of my next day preparation.? By very good fortune, or decision, or
whatever, ?I had decided to spend this year’s foxhunting subscription
money on a nice little Honda generator, and had brought along my new “toy”
to try out.? Thank goodness for that!? Although I’d forgotten the gas can
at home (hey, this is my first time bringing one of these things on a ride, you
know), at least the generator’s tank was topped off. In a second I had
both lights and power and electric heat ….at least until 9:59PM.? After that,
it was back to battery lights and Mr. Buddy.? But by then I was finished,
packed, and ready for Friday’s ride.? I crawled into a toasty warm bed,
and almost instantly fell asleep.
The first half of the night passed uneventfully, except for
the novice horse next door plaintively calling for his at-home buddy at 1AM.?
No matter, he soon gave up and the remainder of the night was spent in blissful
silence.
Dawn arrived like a bad hangover. We awoke to no sky at all,
just a glowering, sullen doom-and-gloom of unhappy steel gray clouds blanketing
horizon to horizon. The sun simply refused to make an appearance, only grudgingly
filtered down a skimpy bit of abysmally dim light for us to tack up and get
ready. ?As I zipped on an second jacket to help ward off the cold, I figured this
would be one OD ride where no one would have to worry about heat stroke,
humidity, or sunburn.? Hypothermia, on the other hand, was a distinct
possibility.? I zipped on a third jacket, just in case.
The ride start was delayed for about 15 minutes while the
advance motorcycle crew checked on and replaced a few missing ribbons. We all
milled around in the semi-dark for those extra minutes, and then ..the trail
was announced open!?
Since I only ride for the miles now (my pony is 18 going on
19 so we’re enjoying the trail now rather than burning it up), and I had
also planned to ride the 50 again tomorrow, I didn’t want to get caught up
in the excitement of the front running riders. I watched as the main body of
riders disappeared up the road behind the controlled start vehicle while I
joined the rest of the rear guard riders who were sharing the same intent upon
maintaining a relaxed start.?
The “back of the pack” was quite a jovial
company, everyone happy and chatty and relaxed ….as much as one can be on
an endurance start. The first leg up Milford Gap on the gravel road was just steep
enough to take a bit of the wind out of the sails of anyone too eager to rush
to the top. ?Once on the trail it was very dusty and dry, and with multiple
hooves pounding the dry ground, we sent up quite a cloud of fine powder worthy
of the Tevis itself.
The trail up to the top was non-eventful, ?then it was over
the crest of the Massanutten and all down, down, down to the valley floor with ?a
left hand turn (north) onto the gravel road that runs alongside the North Fork
of the Shenandoah.?
