Owyhee Halloweens Past
Images by lots of folks
Owyhee Halloweens Past
Images by lots of folks
Owyhee Halloweens Past
Images by lots of folks
Home || Official Website
STORIES:
Utter Disaster || Hallowed Weenies Day 1: Fairies on the Prairie || Hallowed Weenies Day 2: Utter Disaster
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Hallowed Weenies Day 2: Utter Disaster
I have a confession: even though I love doing endurance rides - I am seriously obsessed with them - I just HATE getting out of bed early in the morning before a ride. I think it probably goes back to my racetrack grooming days, when I got up at 4 AM, 7 days a week, for 8 months of the year.
I especially hate getting out of bed early with a night of zero sleep, and a dreadful headache so bad that I'm fighting nausea. Ugh. But no way I wasn't going to ride Jose. Plus I was riding with Steph and Rhett, and Annerose Carlile and GAC Ginger. Ginger is 10. Annerose is 72. She's got nearly 10,000 AERC endurance miles, and about as many entertaining stories to tell. (Like the time she won the Swiss Championship - I think she was in her 50's - after her horse did a somersault on the trail and landed on her and they got back up and kept going; there's a story about getting bees in her bonnet/helmet - but I didn't ask her about that one.)
And it wasn't just another 50-mile endurance ride, and it wasn't just another 50 mile endurance ride on Jose: it was the first ride since breaking my rib 5 1/2 weeks ago. I was definitely not going to miss this one. I downed many Ibus and hoped for the best.
And besides, Jose and Rhett are best buddies, and no way was Jose going to hang out in the corral today while Rhett went off and left him again.
It was chilly and breezy in the dark morning, but skies would be mostly clear for the day. Jose didn't want the bridle. He thinks he goes best in a hackamore. I know better. Bridle first loop, and maybe hackamore the second or third loop. Maybe not.
Hallowed Weenies Day 1: Fairies on the Prairie
Just give endurance riders the slightest excuse to get together, and they'll do it. Add in a near full moon, and a chance to play dress-up, and you end up with the 2-day Hallowed Weenies endurance ride at the end of the season in the Owyhee Desert.
And with it being Halloween, there were some scary things to worry about on the 50 and 25 mile trails: Day 1 you rode by "Dead Cow Farm" - an abandoned and rather creepy dairy; by the Idaho Ecology site - the P.C. name for the toxic waste dump near the Snake River; on a sloped trail right by a barbed wire fence; over an old bombing range; and during hunting season. Day 2 you rode over the site of the Utter Disaster Massacre, and, since not quite all of the last bit of trail had completely gotten marked, some of us got lost out there, and it's still hunting season. Yeah.
But the creatures still came out in Halloween droves. There were Fairies on the prairie, many Come to Save the World - a Musketeer, a Crusader, Zorro, an Oreana Cowboy (wait - that was a REAL Oreana Cowboy - Shane pulled Mary's stuck truck out of the sand while she was off riding in the LD), a Star Wars Jawa ("I can't abide those Jawas. Disgusting creatures!" said C3PO - who can quote that entire movie with me?), a skeleton (the horse), a soccer ball (the horse) and referee, Gumby & Pokey, Michael Jackson (who worked as our in and out timer), Where's Waldo, a college graduate, two pink flamingos, Pocahontas, a clown, an angel, of course a devil (someone stole the devil's cape and became impromptu Little Red Riding Hood), monsters, a drunken man on a mule, and Argentinean vaqueros. Steph commented later, "These were ADULTS! - this is GREAT!"
Utter Disaster
If you ride up onto the flats above Pickett Creek and look to the southeast, three drainages over is Castle Creek, coming down from the Owyhee Mountains. Look northeast and you'll see where Castle Creek meets the Snake River, and part of the Oregon Trail and Castle Butte just this side of the river.
If you were here 149 years ago, following the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon by Castle Butte, you might have been riding into big trouble. On September 9th, 1860, (an alternate date recorded is August 1860) the wagon train led by Elijah P Utter (sometimes spelled Otter) was attacked by around 100 Indians, probably Bannock and Boise Shoshone.
There were 44 emigrants total in the group - 4 families (12 in the Utter family, led by father Elijah) and 2 Reith brothers. They had gathered together from southern Minnesota and Iowa and started on the Oregon Trail westward.
One of the biggest dangers faced by the emigrants crossing the country - besides injuries, illness, bad weather, wild animals, treacherous terrain, getting lost, and anything else under the sun - was attacks by Indians.
The Utter wagon train was attacked.
RESULTS
Day 1 - 50 Miles - 28 starters, 24 finishers
1 Cindy Fleming HRA Magic 5:42:00 2 Lee Pearce Fire Mt Malabar 5:53:00 3 Naomi Preston Karlady 5:53:01 4 Lois Fox Iced Mocha 6:31:00 5 Pat Murray Bailey 6:31:01 6 Max Merlich Junior 6:44:00 7 Darlene Anderson SAR Tiki Eclipse 6:44:01 8 Ramona Thacker Nero's Asad 6:44:02 9 Danny Miller Zeus 6:44:03 10 sandra fretelliere Amara's Sonata 7:05:00 10 Stephanie Teeter Jaziret Bey Musc 7:05:00 12 Vicci Archer HF All Atonce 7:51:00 13 Jim Archer Electrifying Elegance 7:51:01 14 Annerose Carlile JAC Ginger 7:19:00 15 Lynn White Agnes 7:19:01 16 Tara Rothwell Legendary Impression 8:07:00 17 Lynne Fredrickson White Zin 7:32:01 18 Linda Ballard SX Arianna EX 8:23:00 19 Nance Worman Big Sky Quinn 8:23:01 20 John Teeter Rushcreek Mac 8:28:00 21 Roz Cusak DA Nejwah 9:01:00 22 Ann Kuck Lamplighter Hot Stuff 9:01:01 23 Pam Davenport Apache Roadrunner 9:01:02 24 Connie Holloway Phinneas 9:02:00 -- PJ Blonshine Tezero's Taconite -- Gary Pegg Gus's Mountain Mack -- Amanda Washington PF Fast Eddy -- Carrie Thorburn A Little Jazzy
Day 1 - 25 Miles - 13 starters, 12 finishers
1 Sally Tarbet Jassen's Legacy Stone 2:43:00 2 Linda Walberg Bey Khan 2:44:00 3 Katelynn Keller Sable 2:49:00 4 Richard White KryptoKnight 3:18:00 5 Kaisa White Mr. Baha 3:20:00 6 Janis Rochon Aspen 3:45:00 7 Roberta Miller Blondie 4:01:00 8 Ray Lynn Omohundro BDS Insolito 4:02:00 9 Annie Leady DWA Sabsons Tiger 4:18:00 10 Dot Wiggins JAC karisma 4:18:00 11 Michelle Hartman Joe 4:19:00 12 Mary Garner DA Rabikhtafa 4:49:01 RO Hayley White Midnight
Day 2 - 50 Miles - 14 starters, 14 finishers
1 Lois Fox Iced Mocha 2 Trish Frahm Halo 3 Carrie Johnson TM Bagheera 4 Stephanie Teeter Jaziret Bey Musc 5 Annerose Carlile JAC Ginger 6 merri melde jose viola 7 Naomi Preston Karlady 8 Lee Pearce Fire Mt Malabar 9 Max Merlich Junior 10 Amanda Washington SAR Tiki Eclipse 11 Ramona Thacker Nero's Asad 12 Darlene Anderson MC Isaac 13 Nance Worman Big Sky Quinn 14 Linda Ballard SX Arianna EX
Day 2 - 25 Miles - 9 starters, 6 finishers
1 Katelynn Keller Sable 3:40:00 2 Tim Floyd DWA Saruq 3:57:00 3 Buff Floyd Dakota 3:58:00 4 Dot Wiggins JAC karisma 4:02:00 5 Karen Steenhof Admiral Gil 4:02:01 6 Janis Rochon Aspen 4:42:00 RO Mary Garner DA Rabikhtafa RO Roberta Miller Blondie RO Ray Lynn Omohundro BDS Insolito
 Latest weather forecast
|
2 Day Halloween RideCostumesat Regina's Place in Oreana, Idaho Halloween, a full moon, and the last ride of the season! Join us for some fun and adventure. Dinners Friday and Saturday - free with ride entry. $10 at the door. Large indoor arena for meetings and dinners. Halloween costume contest on Saturday! |
Ride Managers: Regina Rose and Steph Teeter Regina's contact: 208 250 8862 || email Steph's contact: 208 834 2788 || email Ride Veterinarians: Olin Balch DVM and Robert Washington DVM Ride Entry: $90.00 for both distances. $35 for Trail ride. Dinner included with ride entry. Juniors half price. Base camp at new location off Hwy 78 and Wees Rd. Large indoor arena for meetings and dinners if the weather is challenging. Trails will have good footing, some sand wash, minimal rock except some rocky sections riding through Birch Creek Canyon on day 1 (but it will be worth it!). Day one: Birch Creek. All new trail up to Birch Creek. Ride around the wind caves, and down through the steep walled canyon (55's). Fairly easy trail, some sand wash, a few short climbs. Trail map to come soon- Day two: Utter Disaster. Follow the path of the historic battle from the pioneer days. From the flats at Castle Creek crossing, to the Snake River, below Castle Rock and Wildhorse Butte. Good footing low elevation ride. Some sand wash, minimal rock. |
Day 1 Trail
LD will start at Birch Creek Vet check, NOT FROM CAMP!
(drive 1.8 miles past Wees Rd on Hwy 78, turn right onto Castle Creek Rd, follow 4.3 miles then turn left-ish onto gravel road. Turns will be ribboned)
|
 |
Day 2 - Utter Distaster Download map - pdf file View large jpg image |
Directions:From I-84 East (Oregon) Take Nampa exit 35 and follow signs to Hwy 45 (to Murphy)which takes you south towards Murphy. Follow hwy 78 east (left) after crossing the Snake River. Continue past the Oreana turnoff, take the next left (north) onto Wees Rd, after mile marker 47, just past the Utter Massacre historical. Take the next left onto Regina's drive. From I-84 West (Utah): Take Hammett exit 112 onto Hwy 78. Go through Bruneau and Grandview towards Oreana. Turn right (north) onto Wees road just after mile marker 48, after crossing Castle Creek. Next left onto Regina's drive.