I’ve been
logging my trail miles since 2016. I thought it might be fun and interesting to
see how many miles my butt sits in a saddle per year. I only log miles out on
the trail. Arena/pasture or around the farm riding is not included.
In 2016 I
logged 286.52 miles. In 2017, I logged 405.73 miles. Considering snowmagedan
2016/2017 – I was happy with those numbers.
I wasn’t
sure I could top the 2016/2017 totals in 2018. With mounted shooting taking
away from a lot of trail time – I was shocked to have logged 566.15 miles in
2018. Not bad for working full time, weekends spent traveling to different
shoots across the west and general life on the farm.
I enter
those miles in a log book as well as post to a blog. I like to write – but don’t
often find the time. Blogging seemed like a good outlet. I can track my miles
and keep my blog active by posting each trail log.
The 566.15
miles are spread across 61 rides, averaging 9.28 miles per ride. I made a
mental note several years ago not to ride under 8 miles – preferably 10-12 average.
Nothing irks me more than to haul 60 miles somewhere and ride 6. Sometimes it
cannot be helped, however, so I am satisfied with the 9.28 mile average. The
shortest ride being 3 miles and the longest, 22.13. I remember that 22.13
miles. We were on an 11 mile IMO loop – rode off the map and ended up doubling
the distance. I thought it was fun.
On each log
entry in my notebook I have a section for notes. As I go through the book
tallying up each ride for the grand-total – I peruse the notes: “Hotter than
hell.” “Scary ass trail.” “Chased by flock of pigs.” “Too hot for dogs – stayed
close to water.” “Rode to Country Cabin for cinnamon roll and fries.”
I got the biggest chuckle out of an entry
logged: 2-16-2018- Twin Springs. My son and I hauled the 60+ miles into the Owyhee’s
– saddled up and hit the trail. 3.0 miles in blistering cold wind was enough.
My notes read: Too windy. Cold has hell. Built fire/ate cake.
I think some
famous lady once said something about letting them eat cake instead of riding
in the cold ass wind. That might not have been her exact words – but it sure
would have had she been on horseback in the Owyhee’s in the blistering cold ass
wind.
566.15 miles of exploring beautiful country with
my horses, dogs, family and friends. 566.15 miles of cowboy boots and campfires
and of course –the ever present can of Beanee Weenee’s.
Notes: Did a little scouting for our IMO. The area has potential. We couldn't check out as much as we liked due to the wet conditions from melting snow. Another week and it should be about right. Lot's of water everywhere. I drove home following Jones and Dusty through Midvale for lunch. A ranch house off Farm to Market Rd. was surrounded by water right up to the front yard. Surrounding trees sticking up out of a lake that used to be farmland.
