Trail Log: 12-29-2024

• Trail: N. Eagle Eye - Indian Petroglyphs
• Miles: 6.21
• Riders: Self - Cindy - Fred - Texans
• Horses: Jack - Shooter - Cowboy - Mules
• Dogs: Groot - Texan dog

Waiting at the bottom for me

Notes: Friends of Fred and Cindy's were up from Texas. Cindy wanted to take them to the petroglyphs. Jack has been barefoot for a week and half and is moving around fine so I decided to give it a go. The terrain is super sandy in the flats and SUPER rocky once you get toward the mountain. I discovered Drifters original Easy Boot's fronts fit Jack's back feet. I packed those and thought I  had both of Jack's Cavallo's for his fronts. I discovered I only had one. That sucked. I put it on his "weakest" front and went for it. He picked his way through the rocks. I got off and walked some of it. The others had made it to the top of the bluff where the carvings were. I tied Jack at the bottom and hiked up. His foot was holding up well so I thought it best to stop while we were ahead. 

One of the mules got into the cholla and wouldn't let his rider anywhere near to remove any of it. Fred tried dallying up and rubbing it off in the greasewood but that didn't work. He eventually let him off the steep bluff and the gal rode him out. I removed Jack's boots once at the bottom and back to the trailer I rode. Jack's one bootless hoof made it out without so much as a nick. He moves so much better without shoes...almost too good as he was a bit on the muscle coming across that sand which made me happy! I left one of my split reins up where I tied Jack and didn't want to go through the rocks for it. I'll go back and get it another time. I'm sure it will still be here. Not too many people would ride up through there. 

This concludes the last ride of 2024. Here's to another year in the saddle! 

Trail Log: 12-27-2024

•  Trail: N. Eagle Eye
• Miles: 4.89
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Drifter - Dirt
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Celia is back in the saddle after a month of quarantine. Some of the horses on her place had a cough so she kept them away from others to be on the safe side. We took an easy ride north on Eagle Eye where the footing is good. Even though we could really use the rain here - the weather has been great for being out. 

I didn't take any pictures (weird) but here's one of Drifter today after our CSJ. We were one of 11 clean shooters. This is Drifters 3rd shoot and 2nd win. Proud of my pony. 

Trail Log: 12-5-2024

Hidden "hole in the wall" 

• Trail: N. Eagle Eye - State Land
• Miles: 8.93
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Veered off to the East and rode to the base of the sleeping giant. Found a really cool huge rock formation. 

Trail Log: 12-1-2024

 

Hey - we have the same shoes

• Trail: N. Eagle Eye - Harcuvar Mnts. 
• Miles: 11
• Riders: Self - Cindy G
• Horses: Jack - Sassy
• Dogs: No dogs

Notes: What better way to ring in the month of December than horseback in the Harcuvar Wilderness Mountain Range. I drove to Cindy's place which lies at the base of the "sleeping giant." We rode out from her place and headed North toward the mountain range. It gets really...really rocky at the base. The horses picked their way through sharp rock and the ever present cholla forest. We rode up to a mine tailings and looped back toward a rock outcropping with a large cave/overhang. We tied up here and explored a little before heading back. Instead of going back the way we came - we looped around to the west and made our cross country in the general direction of home until we hit the road leading to Cindy's. Mostly sunny and a high of 74° is just one of the reasons I now call this country home. 

Hmm...saddle could use a dusting

Trail Log: 11-25-2024

 

My kind of folk

• Trail: State Land - Williams Rd
• Miles: 4.92
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: I firmly believe you should know how to get to your good neighbors "the back way." You never know when the occasion calls for such a surreptitious route:  Communist attack - Government takeover - Alien invasion....or the inevitable Zombie apocalypse. 

I pointed Jack in the general direction of said neighbors place. Folks I'm confident would have the resources and fortitude to cover my back in the event of any one, or combination of, the affairs above. Upon finding a gate into the back of their property, I sent a text notifying them with my intent of riding through their place with their permission. Permission granted - Jack and I rode through one of the coolest places I've seen in this area. We made a loop off state land, through their property and back to El Rancho Gitana del Desierto in enough time to stock up on Twinkies and Beanee Weenees. 

Trail Log: 11-20-2024

 

Celia and the horses are down there on the flat...somewhere

• Trail: North Eagle Eye to BLM
• Miles: 5.56
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: None - learned my lesson and left Groot home

Notes: This was a cool ride. We hauled to the end of Eagle Eye and put in at BLM and rode toward the Harcuvar Mnts. We found some cool "yard art" and marked it on my GPS to gather later. We passed a large tank that still has water in it. I was shocked. I didn't think any of the tanks would still have water in them. We continued on north toward the mountains. I spotted something about half the way up the mountain that looked sort of like a shelter/cave hut. It was super rocky and lot's of cholla so Celia stayed with the horses while I hiked up to it. I remember saying "Oh, it's not that far...I'll hurry." It wasn't that far as the crow flies but the desert terrain is deceiving. I crawled into and out of steep ravines strewn with massive boulders. A lot of water comes down those things. I disappeared long enough that Celia called to make sure I had not met my demise.  I made it close enough to the "structure" to see that it wasn't anything but a big rock. A big rock I shall call "the rock of disappointment. What goes up...must come down. I'd rather hike UP than down but I made it. 

We tracked back to the yard art and carried it close to a road we hoped I could get my truck/trailer down without getting stuck. I'm happy to report we made it home with yard art intact. 

I downloaded my tracks and discovered that I'd ridden close to this area last year. If Celia and I would have headed west through a big saddle, we would have ended up at Nellie-Meda Mine and dropped into Robson Ranch. This is the same route in reverse that Phil and I took a couple years ago. 

gnarly cacti

Trail Log: 11-18-2024

Pretty sure the alley to hell is lined with Cholla

 

• Trail: Tiger Wash - Due North
• Miles: 5.53
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Drifter - Dirt 
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: We headed due north and ended up in cholla hell. Poor Groot had them everywhere. He just sits there and lets me pull them out of his paws - face - mouth and tongue. I won't take him again unless I know the area. On a good note - Celia found a shed! 

Celia's shed

Trail Log: 11-14-2024

Jack and Woody the Druid fertility god

• Trail: Eagle Eye - Second Windmill 
• Miles: 5
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Shasta
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Celia wanted to ride her 3 year old outside the arena for the first time so I took Jack. He's a good one to take when riding new colts. We found a cool area somebody had turned into a mess of rock cairns. It looked like hippies or druids! 

Jack threw a shoe about a half mile from the trailers. So frustrating...Dave tacked it back on. Thank you Dave. 

Celia got the cairn bug and a few days later we went rock collection so she can make a rock cairn garden. 

Trail Log: 11-13-2024

 

Nice buck and doe

• Trail: State Land - Burro Canyon
• Miles: 7.19
• Riders: Celia - Self
• Horses: Dirt - Drifter
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Pre-shooting practice ride. We looped behind burro canyon and came across through the saddle to avoid the super steep power line road. It's a very pretty - my favorite spot in this area. It is the first area I ponied Drifter too when I first got him at 8 mos. old. He's a fun little horse to ride. We rode back down a section of a wide wash...rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a big buck. Him and Drifter had a Mexican standoff...which held him their long enough to get a picture. A doe, equally as big - lay under some brush and didn't make a move. Pretty cool to see...

Celia and Dirt

Trail Log: 11-12-2024

 

• Trail: State Land - Aguila    
• Miles: 3.93
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Just a quick ride out my back gate. I should probably combine these short rides into one log...

Saguaro with "crested" arm

Possible Desert Tortious house

Trail Log: 11-9-2024

 

Random picture of my place that has nothing to do with this post

• Trail: State Land - Aguila
• Miles: 5.64
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Threw on the endurance saddle and went for a short jaunt to see if I could find a saguaro skeleton Celia and I had marked earlier in the week. I over-shot it at first but managed to find it! 

    

Trail Log: 11-5-2024

Celia and Copper

 

• Trail: Tiger Wash - North toward Browns Canyon
• Miles: 5.19
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Copper
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Celia picked up a mare to either keep as a grandkid horse or resell. We took her out on Tiger Wash to see what she knows. I thought she did good for not being ridden in who-knows how long and in totally unfamiliar surroundings. She's a cute little mare and has a fabulous trot. Jack just got new shoes yesterday. Its the first time in a LONG time he's been able to walk out of a fresh shoe without having to be laid off for three days. I could tell he just felt better...happy feet. 

Trail Log: 10-26-2024

 

• Trail: State Land - Cattle Lease - mile post 78
• Miles: 9
• Riders: Self - Cindy - Fred - Mike - Jenny
• Horses: Jack - Shooter - Cowboy - Sorrel - Black

Notes: More of a cattle gathering than a trail ride. I didn't grow up on a ranch or around cattle other than when it came time to butcher 'em, cut'em up, wrap'em and put 'em in the freezer. With that said - Jack and I stepped out of our comfort zone a little and helped gather/process cattle. Knowing very well what I don't know - I mostly just stayed out of the way. I did get to do the vaccination part. Aside from screwing up a couple injections before getting the hang of it - I rather enjoyed getting to stick them in the neck with a dull needle. Call it retribution for all the cows that have tried to stomp me to death over the years.

Jack - there was a time when he would not turn his back on a cow

10-17-2024

Dry but pretty

• Trail: State Land - Burrow Canyon
• Miles: 7.56
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Made a loop toward the power line and behind the backside of the mountain dropping into Burrow Canyon. A good thing about this unusually hot/dry year is there isn't that much vegetation for the snakes to hide in. I'm still surprised we didn't cross paths with them taking this cross country route. A bad thing about the dryness is the ground gives way underneath your horses hooves where the critters have been burrowing. There's no warning...your just trotting along and bam...your horse sinks in a hole up to his knee. Jack fell on his nose twice and he never goes down that far. 

Every home should have a hitching post in the driveway

Trail Log: 10-16-2024

Waiting to hit the trail

•  Trail: Aguila - State Land
• Miles: 6.0
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Drifter
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Cooled off enough you don't have to ride at 3:30 in the morning! Getting the horses legged up. Took Drifter out on his own. He does really well. There was about 15 minutes where he wanted to haze off toward home but he lined out fairly quick when he realized that was too much work. 

view from my outdoor dining area

Trail log: 9-26-2024

 

Me and Drifter

• Trail: WYE Campground - Tamarack - WRT SE
• Miles: 4.5
• Riders: Self - Lou Ann
• Horses: Drifter - Rainy
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Our last morning to ride. We intended to ride Drifter and Lou's young horse River. River was feeling pretty spunky with all the commotion going on. It was a stacked decked from the get-go: 1. He'd been in the pen for two days. 2: It was a cold morning 3. The wind was blowing 4: He wasn't at all impressed with the 2 spotted mules running free in the field next to the trail 5: Leaving his buddy back at camp. 

Lou could have gotten through it, but it was clear it wasn't going to be a calm or enjoyable ride. We decided to head back and get our more solid horses out. Lou saddled Rainy and I pulled Jack out of the pen to find him gimping on his left hind. He probably stepped on a rock while running down the RR bed of rock that is the WRT. Maybe he pulled something - but there wasn't any swelling so most likely a bruised heel. Regardless, he wasn't going anywhere. I left him with River and kept Drifter saddled. Driff was good as gold and was actually less spooky of the commotion than Jack. The Tamarack Mill is a BUSY operation. It's across 95 from the WRT but it's still super noise with giant sprinklers - fork lifts - logging trucks - you name it. Jack couldn't get passed it fast enough. Drifter could not have cared less. He barely acknowledged it - dropped his head and off we went. 

We planned to keep the ride short. We took off up a steep trail heading east until it sort of faded out at the top. We side-hilled cross country until we met up with another old logging road that took us back down the to WRT and back to camp. 

It was great seeing Lou again. We hope to plan more adventures next summer when I'm back in the country. 

Lou and Rainy

PS: I fed Jack a little butte and as of this morning he seems sound and happy. 

Trail Log: 9-25-24

The mill at Tamarack - busy operation

•  Trail: WYE Campground - WRT - Tamarack/New Meadows
• Miles: 8.80
• Riders: Self - Lou Ann
• Horses: Jack - Rainy
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: We planned to ride Jack and Rainy in the morning and River and Drifter in the afternoon. That plan went out the window when we got back and decided we were hungry and pooped. Besides, it was trying to storm. We decided to ride the colts in the morning before going home. 

After perusing various maps - we decided to ride south on the WRT to some roads/trials that take off from the WRT heading east. We missed the intended road and ended up on another farther south. This section of the trail is surrounded in private property and boy do they take their signage seriously. You were pretty limited as to where you can ride. I believe the land was bought up by an outfit out of Texas. It pretty much shut down some of the prime access on the WRT but...it's a free country and if you own it - you have the right to do with it as you please...unless the government says otherwise (don't get me started.) 

The public access road did get us away from busy 95 and meandered through the timber. Beaver Creek (I believe) flowed along the bottom of the steep ravine below us. According to our maps - the road we were on was parallel with the road we wanted, but on the other side of the steep ravine and Beaver Creek. We would have chanced "trespassing" and cutting over to the other side and looping back - but the terrain was pretty much impenetrable. We doubled back the way we came. 

Lou feeding my horse potato chips

Trail Log: 9-24-2024

 

• Trail: WYE Campground - Tamarack/New Meadows - WRT North
• Miles: 6.80
• Riders: Self - Lou Ann
• Horses: Jack - Rainy 
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Met Lou Ann at the WYE campground outside of Tamarack for the last northern trail ride before heading south. It was a good mini-trip to iron out any issues with my truck and/or trailer. Truck ran good (crossing fingers and toes.) The water heater on my LQ isn't working so I'll fix that before I head home. 

We both brought two horses so we could leave two in camp and not have to pony. The WYE campground is pretty awesome. It is officially closed for the season, so they told us to stay for free. They have four nice horse pens and free Wi-Fi! Can't really beat that. I've ridden many sections of the WRT  but this is as far north as I've gone. We put in and rode north until the WRT trail ends. I can't say it's my favorite section as it runs next to busy 95. Still, it was a pretty ride and the nice campground made it worth going. 

Trail Log: 9-13-2024

I can see my moms place. You can barely see my place in the far left

 

• Trail: Cornucopia HWY - Dixie Creek
• Miles: 6.12
• Riders: Self 
• Horses: Drifter
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: Friday the 13th. Didn't realize the date until writing this trail log. Good thing I'm not superstitious. 

I'm over ponying. Neither one need the practice anymore and it's a pain in the butt. Both pony well enough but it's still a pain in the butt. It limits what you can do and frankly, makes what should be an enjoyable ride a lot of work. So - I'm taking them one at a time. Today was Drifter's turn. 

This was Drifters real first solo ride beyond adventuring out a mile or two outside the back gate. I unloaded at the end of the highway. In keeping with my "I need the exercise philosophy, I walked and led Drifter the mile to the cattle guard and rode from there. 

I picked a road I don't think I've ridden. It follows Dixie creek and eventually meets up with Holbrook Creek (according to Avenza)

This being Drifters solo debut - I planned to keep the miles short. I was about to turn around when something caught Groot and Drifter's attention. I heard something coming off the hill just above the hairpin curve about 100 yards above us. I didn't see its head but it was unmistakably canine: smoky blue/grey and black and 200 lbs. If it had been a coyote, Groot would have chased it. He wasn't having anything to do with it. 98% sure it was a wolf. It loped (huge strides) down the V of the canyon parallel to us. I waited for Drifter to calm down a little before riding on another 30 feet. Another one came off the same trail and disappeared after the first. Wolves don't worry me too much but I know they will attack your dog so thought it best to turn around while it was still daylight. Groot and Drifter both kept a concerned eye on the canyon below as we rode back. I wish I'd been able to get a picture of them but just like Bigfoot - it ain't happening. This is the second time I've ran into wolves in this general area. It's funny, people look at you like you are full of shit- they assume you saw a coyote...a fox or the farmers dog. Like I've never seen a coyote, a fox or the farmers dog. 

I dismounted to pick up a couple pieces of tube-iron I'd found laying on the side of the road. I can use that in a welding project. I walked for another mile or so before climbing back aboard at the cattle guard and riding to the trailer. Drifter did great. It helps that he's not buddy sour and has a lot of confidence. 

I made it home safe to discover the underside of my bumper pull is jacked up and could have fallen off the axel at any moment. I can't decide if I'm the luckiest person on the planet or God just looks after fools and little children. I do know which of those I am. 

Drifter is more tolerant of Groot when solo

Trail Log: 9-9-2024

 

• Trail: Snow Park - Meadow Creek Ridge
• Miles: 5.5
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack - Drifter
• Dogs: Groot

Notes: I call these outings "Hike and Ride's." I'm not getting much exercise these days. The horrible smoke - excessive heat - lack of wood to chop and fences to build have found me binge watching WAY too much Games of Thrones and ALONE. I don't recommend anyone watch GOT. My sister and I call it Games of Porn. With that said...we watched every episode of every season. Mostly with our eyes closed. ALONE, however, is awesome. It's a survival reality show. The contestants are set in an area of wilderness with a few items and camera equipment. They document their own story...no camera crew. The last one to tap out wins 500K. It's the one survival reality show I know I could do. I wouldn't last 3 days on shows like SURVIVOR which are predominantly popularity contests. ALONE....I could do that. Isolation is not a problem for me and I'd eat a couple of slugs for 500K any day of the week. Anyhow -  if I'm going to lose the GOT-15, as I call it...I need to get out and do some hiking. To kill several birds with one stone (yet another useful skill for my stint on ALONE) - I ride one horse for a while - walk for a while and lead both - switch horses - ride the other and repeat. 

I like to explore areas I've not been. I parked across from the snow park and rode up an unmarked road. The road started out pretty well developed. Firewood cutting evident. As you climb - the road turns into more of a four-wheeler road and soon becomes quite over-grown. Near the top of the faded road turned game trail, you are confronted with a sheer rock out-cropping. The trail "sort of" fades off around this rock face and seemingly disappears into the oblivion. I hobbled the horses here and crawled around to see what I could see. Meadow Creek to the west flowed at the bottom of the huge canyon and Schneider Meadows to the NW.

I had hoped the "road" would have looped around and taken me back to the trailers via Schneider Meadows. The Avenza map showed the path I took in - a big gap of nothingness around that rock face and the road lower down the canyon  I hoped to get to that connected back to the Snow Park. 

I sent the map of my tracks to an armature cartographer who has spent his life exploring this area. Near as he could determine - it must be an old logging concern as mineral exploration as far as he knew was not in this particular area. Why it just ends and then picks up again is anybody's guess.  I'd like to walk in sometime and walk around the rock face and see if I can pick up the road shown on the map. It would be sketchy to do it on horseback even with Jack the mountain goat. It's one of those things you do only if your life depends on it. Not today...

Map does not show topology. InReach map shows the elevation of the rock face to be at 4750 feet