2010 High Desert Classic I
Images by Merri Melde
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2010 High Desert Classic 25, 50
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High Desert I: The Spice of Life
Saturday April 17 2010
Basecamp for the endurance ride, and part of the ride itself, was in the shadow of the Stillwater Mountains, and on the edge of the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.
When Gretchen and I arrived at basecamp early Friday afternoon, we were one of only three rigs there. But by evening camp had filled up, and a few rigs were still pulling in after dark.
Gretchen brought me her horse Definetly Spice to ride. Spicey is a character. One might say, a dork. (I wrote a story on her 3 years ago, Spice is a Dork. My next story on her might be, "Spice is a Dork and She Likes It That Way.") One day she might be crabby (especially when a vet pokes her on the rump), and the next she might be a little angel.
She still sometimes walks like a drunken sailor down a trail, and she still putts along with her neck and head sticking out a little to the left. And she has one speed. Steady. One might say slow. But no matter what your opinion is about it, that's her speed.
She's also got 2655 miles doing it her way. Spice and I had done 310 miles together over the years.
Ride managers Zip and Nancy Upham advised us at the ride meeting that day 1 wouldn't be too difficult, but it was a true 50 mile ride.
And indeed it was. It kicked my butt!
The 50 mile start at 7 AM for 36 riders was calm and casual, as the sun rose over the Stillwater Mountains. One horse we passed at the beginning was Tulip, the all-time high mileage horse with over 21,000 miles... but the rider was not Les Carr! Middle of March Les had a fall from a new mule, and broke 6 ribs, a collarbone, punctured a lung, and had bleeding on his brain. When I asked him how he felt, he said "I just don't think about it. I feel like I could jump on and do a hundred miles!" but fortunately, Dave Rabe wasn't about to hand him his horse.
The trail took us up into the Stillwaters - 15 miles of gradual uphill, all the way to the first vet check. We trotted through a sandy wash and cross-country, then we hit a rocky road, then a very rocky wash. The rocks went on for miles, but those who have done Nevada rides take the rocks in stride, as just part of the scenery. We trotted when we could, walked when we had to. That formula will get you through just about any ride, including Tevis : ) .
We had such a treat arriving at the vet check by some old corrals - our friend Carly had come to crew for her friends Tinker and Kay, and she crewed for us too. What luxury, to come into a vet check and have the horses' food mixed and waiting, and our snacks and drinks waiting for us too!
Rob and Bubba the horse followed us out on the next 20-mile loop, which took us on a climb up and up some more, to a high point where we could see a couple of Nevada mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevadas 120 miles to the west. Spectacular!
We got off to lead our horses down the steeper part of the descent, then got back on for the nice long downhill sandy wash, and caught up with Jerry Zebrack and Helen Mooney still running on foot, leading their horses down. I thought I had done good when I ran a hundred yards down the steeper part!
The ride managers didn't warn us about the next part of a trail - a turn up a narrow wash lined gauntlet-style by pinyon pines. Some that you had to throw and flatten yourself over your horse as she tried to scrape you off beneath. I think this was Spice's favorite part of the trail. : )
It was in the upper 70's - we stayed cool when we had a nice breeze in our faces, then got a bit warm when the breeze was at our back going the same speed we were. Our horses had winter coats (which Gretchen had shaved just a few weeks ago), so they had a sweat going. The 20 mile loop went on and on - gentle climbs and descents through the Stillwater hills, and good footing. There was plenty of water on the trails, either from springs, or water the Uphams put in empty troughs. There wasn't a horse that turned their noses up at the welcomed water.
The 15-mile trail back to camp followed a different scenic route, all gradually downhill, down more winding sandy washes, across a few flats in valleys between the hills, and eventually, with 5 miles left, onto the hard packed road.
And it was here that Kav started favoring his left front. Dang it! We both got off to walk and lead our horses, and soon we could see ridecamp down in the valley as we worked our way out of the mountains. I'd been warned about this though: "You'll see it forever and you'll never get there!" And so it was. Our trail turned off into a wash (Gretchen stayed on foot leading Kav, I was already beat and I got back on Spice) and kept heading toward basecamp, which never got any closer.
Helen Mooney and Georgie Porgie were behind us. "It's cruel and unusual punishment, seeing basecamp for so long and never getting there!" We walked, and walked, and walked, for an hour or so, and eventually, we got back to camp and the finish. Gretchen, number 517, finished at 5:17 PM. Wasn't there some kind of prize for that?
But we celebrated anyway - I had a Dr Pepper and Gretchen had my favorite beer, Pyramid Apricot Ale, and Spice and Kav ate. We also had a memorable dinner cooked by Quinn (this is the second time I didn't get his last name, and the second time he cooked a spectacular ride dinner). We celebrated my 4000 miles, a fun ride, a great trail, great company, awesome views, another chance to spend the day doing what we love doing - riding endurance.
Thanks Gretchen and Spice - here's to another 4000 miles!
(We opted not to do day 2 - I wasn't going to ride Gretchen's only horse and make her crew for me, though truth be told, I was WHOOPED! We headed our homeward ways the next morning after the ride started. I highly recommend this High Desert Classic ride - not too difficult and the scenery is quite awesome.)
4 Grand!
Saturday April 17 2010
After 13 years, a few trials, many beautiful trails, a lot of knowledge (but never enough), and many, many wonderful friends, I hit the Big 4-0!
4000 AERC endurance miles. (And when i think of all those training miles that got me there...) Pretty good for never owning my own endurance horse.
On Day 1 of the High Desert Classic outside of Fallon, Nevada on Saturday, where I reached my 4000 miles riding Spice, Jerry Zebrack, riding beside me said, "You must be a good rider, riding everybody else's horses."
My reply was, "The more I know, the more I know I don't know."
Horses never stop teaching you, if you listen. Very often, some of them know more than you do.
I've got a ways to go to catch Hall of Famer Dave Rabe and his 47,000+ miles. I figure at my pace I'll get there when I'm 190 years old. It's my new goal!
And now for my Oscar speech: I couldn't have done this without, well, just about everybody. Thanks to: Spice, Raffiq, the great Zayante, my pal Jose, Rhett, Mac, Quickie, Razzie, Odyssey, Quinn, Kon, Fadrika, Riptide, Jazzbo, Charlie, Cloud, Quigley, Oak Hill Kindred Spirit, Redman, Rocket Man, Maggie, and my first finishers long ago, Masrita and Rocky. Thanks to humans Gretchen (owner of Spice!), Steph and John, Jackie, Robert and Melissa, Sue, Nance (owner of Quinn, my Tevis partner!), Ann K, Quenby, Sally, and Shelley. Those are just the immediate thank yous... many more are in the second and third tier... but my time has run out.
(Top photo by Ren Baylor of Baylor & Gore Photography!) And yes, that's the Raven with me! He's actually 150 miles behind me, so with 3 more completions, he'll get his 4000 miles!