Trail Log: 5-10-2026

 

This is not Shiloh res. - Shiloh was dry as a bone

• Trail: Lost Canyon - UTE Ranch- Shiloh Reservoir - Colorado 
• Miles: 6.43
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Liberty
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: Rode through the Ute res land (snuck through rather as apparently it is not legal to do so) and rode to a small pond full of water to a larger reservoir that was dry as a bone. We did see a large osprey next in a snag. Jack was a little gimpy again. I should have booted him up but the ground is pretty soft where we rode. I worked on his feet a little when I got back and I think they just need some dead sole removed that is putting pressure on his sensitive live sole. I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing half the time but I keep going back to the fact that he is 100% more sound than when he was being shod by those that supposedly DO know what they are doing. 

This will be my last trail log until I land at the next place to camp for a while. I think that might be Montana in a week or so? 

Osprey coming in for a landing

Trail Log: 5-9-2026

• Trail: Lost Canyon NF - Mancus Colorado
• Miles: 12.54
• Riders: Self - Celia - Cole
• Horses: Drifter - Liberty - Shaunta
• Dogs: Groot - Harley - Mira - Gunner

Notes: I made it to Colorado late Thursday. We spent Friday settling in at Boyd's cabins (Canyon Hideout). I extended the round corral for my horses using my hot fence. They are happy to be on green grass. Boyd's property runs down a canyon and borders NF. Celia and Cole took me on an awesome ride up the canyon to several Anasazi ruins. We deduced the ruins were set up for hunting camps perhaps. I would assume they are too far from water and too steep to be dwellings but I have no idea. The Anasazi were cliff dwellers so maybe they did live in these structures built into the cliffs. They were awesome. 

Cole and Celia climbing back out of Pig Rock

Drifter was full of himself. Cooler temps and green grass seem to have brought him alive. Plus - he is turning 6 years old this year. It has been my experience that some horses lose their minds around 6. He definitely has the stamina now to go all day over steep terrain and not break a sweat. His hard barefoot hooves just float over rugged terrain. He is a lot of fun to ride even when he is feeling frisky. 

We got caught in a little rainstorm but it wasn't too bad. We will ride again tomorrow weather permitting. Cole set up his portable Starlink - so I am taking advantage of that while I can. Updates will be limited from here on out. 

Ancient Anasazi backup lunch for when the hunt goes bad

Trail Log: 5-6-2026

• Trail: Aguila - back Gate - State Land
• Miles: 7
• Riders: Self - Celia - Nina
• Horses: Jack - Liberty - Barbosa
• Dogs: Groot - Harley - Pilot

Notes: Last ride for the season before Celia and I head north. We went to the Coyote for lunch after and said good-bye (for now) to Nina. 

Trail Log: 5-5-2025

 

Eagle Eye

• Trail: Aguilahood - Back Gate State Land
• Miles: 6.25
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Drifter - Liberty
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: Typing on this laptop sucks - stuff just randomly disappears. We are getting ready to head to cooler ground so I've been buttoning down things here and packing. I shut my main PC down and transferred all data to my laptop - which I do not like typing on. I don't know what keys I hit that deletes everything I've typed but it is maddening. 

Both Liberty and Drifter where freaks for whatever reason. Liberty was extra watchy but that can be expected since she is young and hasn't been ridden for a couple of weeks. Drifter didn't really have an excuse. I tossed on the saddle and he frogged around like he'd never been saddled before. Whatever it was...he got over it. I met Celia off Naked Pete Rd, we rode back to my house - dinked around in the arena for awhile until we felt neither of us were going to get bucked off... and then rode out in the desert behind my place. Both horses finally dropped their heads and all was good. 

Trail Log: 5-3-2026

• Trail: Aguila Hood
• Miles: 7
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: No

Notes: Rode around the hood. Apparently I didn't take any pictures so one I took of Jackson. 

Trail Log: 4-29-2026

• Trail: Aguila - Back Gate - Powerline
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: Rode to the powerline and looped back. Nothing exciting. Didn't get snake bit or eaten by a shark. My favorite thing about Arizona: Zero chance of being eaten by a shark. 

Trail Log: 4-26-2026

• Trail: Alamo Lake
• Miles: 5
• Riders: Self - Nina - James
• Horses: Drifter - Seattle - Ed
• Dogs: Groot - Harley -  Pilot

Notes: Well, that was a fun day. I've been wanting to haul to Alamo Lake and ride and we finally did it. Nina, her boyfriend James and I met in Wenden. I threw in with them and we drove to the north end of the lake and unloaded. The N end is more primitive and you don't have to pay the park fee. There were still a few campers and side-by-sides but not as many as the other side of the lake. Drifter has never seen that much water in one spot. He is not a fan, but I coaxed him to get fairly close and walk along the shore. Fingers of roads leading to individual coves led to the water surrounding the lake. We picked one without campers and rode cross county. It is rock and all of our horses are barefoot. I packed Drifters boots but they were not needed. Thankfully, he has feet with iron. I've been doing my own trimming for about a year now. I follow David Landreville: On the Vertical. I might not be great at it - but neither horse has walked off lame after my trimming and Jack is 100 times more sound than he was after being shod for 16 years. I keep learning and feel like I'm getting better with each trim. The trick for me is to do it often (weekly trims) so I don't have to do as much filing or knife word. It helps if their feet have been wet but that doesn't happen  much in these parts. 

James - Nina - Ed - Seattle and Pilot the dog

The dogs loved the water. Pilot is a lab so naturally he is a water dog. Harley apparently identifies with a lab because that scruffy little dog spent the entire time paddling around and diving for whatever she imagined was worth diving after. Groot got his feet wet...he is definitely not a lab. 

We rode up a nice sandy wash to let the horses run. We spotted a wild burro around a bend and decided it was best to turn back for the lake. Wild burros can get aggressive. Not taking that chance even if I'm fairly certain we could out-run one. 

We decided to cross country back toward the trailers using the shortest route. The trail dove off a ledge and crossed a small cove that hadn't had water in some time. I planned to ease Drifter slowly across and sort of test the ground for stability.  One second we were above ground - the next we were sunk past Drifters hocks. The harder he tried to lunge out - the deeper his back-end sunk! He floundered around, somehow managed to get turned around and drag himself on to solid ground. He never panicked. He didn't hit solid ground and go to bucking...he just calmly got ashore and we went on our way. Later, I discovered we sunk a lot farther than I realized. He had mud caked all the way from his hooves to the top of his hips on both back legs. I am so thankful he didn't pull a muscle or get impaled with something stuck beneath the mud. I worried he might be sore the next day but he is not. The little Black Hellion earned his trail points that day for sure! 

We stopped at The Wayside for lunch and called it a day. 

The mutts living their best life