Trail Log: 10-29-2020

Modern day "wagon ruts" 

 

• Trail: Hwy 201 Freeway Exit
• Miles: 8.38
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack - J'Lo
• Dogs: Hank

Notes:  It's late afternoon and I know I'm headed east towards Boise...yet the sun is shining smack on my face. There is something about this area that's kitty-wampus in the directional sense - especially for the directionally challenged such as myself. This has happened before. Several years ago, my friend, Sharon T, and I - got turned around in the same area. Thirty miles later we find ourselves huddled around a fire under the freeway waiting for my neighbor and Ralph to rescue us. That little ordeal saw us pulling into home after midnight. I wrote a little piece on the adventure: Click on  Horses and Hobos. 

I couldn't afford to get turned around this trip. My neighbor wasn't around to rescue me and it would be dark in a few hours. I would ride out for no more than 1.5 hours and if I didn't know exactly where I was, I'd turn back the way I came. The map on my GPS indicated the trail I was on would run into  "Love's Reservoir Rd" - which loops around and hooks back up with the trail leading back to where I park. I went through one wire gate and checked my GPS - still on the correct path. Once on Loves Res. Road - I rode another half a mile to see if anything looked familiar. It didn't. Everything in me knows it was the right way back to the trailers but I didn't know how far or how many gates/obstacles might be between. I was 10 minutes past my allotted time to make a definitive decisions.  I turned back. Even if I hadn't forgotten my pistol - it felt like the right thing to do. A couple of the contacts on my In-Reach satellite location device monitor it faithfully. If I didn't hit the Check in O.K button before dark, Janine would be out looking for me! 

I rode back to the wire gate and swapped horses. Those two horses could not be more different. Both would have gotten me home, but in an entirely different manner! They both know the way home. Jack follows the "Man from Snowy River" approach. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." Even if that line means diving straight off a ridge littered with badger holes and bottomless tumbleweed covered pits. I appreciate that he is willing to go just about anywhere I point him but sometimes a little finesse is prudent. That's where J'Lo comes in. She can be more warry and pick her way through however she feels is safest. It takes her longer to get there and the ride is seldom as adventurous. 

We made it back to the trailer the same time as a crew working on the gas pipeline was calling it a day. The first service truck through opened the gate for us and the others waved us on and shut it behind us. They seemed to be has happy to be out on the old Oregon Trail working as I was riding. I always enjoy riding this part of the country. I can picture the caravans of covered wagons rumbling through the sage covered rolling hills..it must have seemed like an endless sea of sand and sage as they searched for sparse springs hidden here and there.  In many ways, I think folks were a lot tougher back then. 

I often find cool stuff when I'm out and about. Anybody lose an 11mm?

Trail Log: 10-19-2020

•  Trail: WRT - Presley - Zebra
• Miles: 7
• Max mph: 14.4
• Riders: Self
• Horses: J'Lo
• Dogs: Hank

Notes: Supposed to be the last day in the 70°'s for the year. I put in at Presley and rode toward town...which I don't do very often. There aren't as many gopher/badger holes going that direction, so that's something. 

Fall has definitely arrived. Pretty day. 

Trail Log: 10-18-2020

 

• Trail: Succor Creek Canyon
• Miles: 8.05
• Riders: Self - Cindy - Patty
• Horses: Jack - Jimmy - Larkey 
• Dogs: Hank

Notes: Couldn't have asked for a nicer fall day. I met Patty and Cindy at the head of Hermit Gulch. We rode the SC canyon - crossing Succor Creek numerous times. Cindy's new little cutting horse wasn't too sure about crossing the creek at first but by the end of the ride, "Little Jimmy" was taking the lead and crossing like a champ. My seahorse Jack just wanted to find a hole deep enough to swim but I managed to keep all but one foot dry this time. 

Trail Log: 10-13-2020

 

• Trail: Eaton Rd. Pvt. Property
• Miles: 4.32
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack and J'Lo
• Dogs: Hank and Shade (Shade short hike)

Notes: A quick ride just behind my place. We got permission to ride back here a few years ago but I hesitate to ride on private property. The road might not be private, though. A pickup with an older couple passed us...they just waved and smiled so either they were the landowners or fellow trespassers. Either way, they didn't throw us out. We rode to the pond and back - a few sprinkles but nothing to write home about. 

Trail Log: 10-7-2020

 

• Trail: WRT - Galloway to Concrete
• Miles: 9.41
• Max MPH: 24.9
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack 
• Dogs: Hank

Notes: I practiced off J'Lo in the morning and hauled Jack to the WRT after a quick stop at Bi-Mart for dog food and primers. I see primers are hard to come by again. Go figure. :( 

October is my favorite month. So far it has not disappointed. Beautiful weather and the trail was teeming with water foul, game birds and coyote. I also ran into the guy who takes care of 85 miles of the trail. He was spraying for leafy spurge. I asked him about the trestle bridge that was washed out  past Council. He said they are going to have it replaced, but had to raise 160K dollars. It's a big project that has to be engineered. Between donations, fund raisers and grants...it sounds like they have the money. 

It was nice not having to pony. I let Jack run on the stretches where the ground isn't too gravely or littered with badger holes. He clocked out at a nice 24.9 MPH...which apparently is just under the maximum speed required to catch a pheasant in your teeth. We're buzzing along, minding our own business, when a flock of pheasant blow up in front of us. One of them dang near whacked me in the face. 1/10th mph faster and I'd have been picking feathers out of my grill! As it was, all I felt was a few tail feathers brush my cheek. It's a good thing, too...I don't have my bird stamp yet! Jack never broke stride. 

Trail Log: 10-4-2020

Smokey Moonrise

 

• Trail: Lone Pine - Lauman Ranch
• Miles: 6
• Riders: Self - Karen K. 
• Horses: J'Lo and Annie
• Dogs: Hank

Notes: I've been trying to get Jack back to Kitty's for a refresher since August. One thing after the other kept getting in the way. Finally, I picked a weekend that worked for Kitty and cancelled all other plans. Karen bagged getting firewood for the weekend and joined me on my way west. 

We each took both our horses. Kitty worked with Karen's horse, Jane, earlier in the year. We focused on Jack and Jane in the shooting arena and took our usual shooting horses trail riding on our down time. I rode J'Lo - Karen rode Annie. 

I mostly wanted to work on controlled speed. Jack did great! My favorite part was the roll back's along the fence. You start out at a trot - then pick up a nice lope and gradually increase speed as the rollbacks smooth out. Toward the end, I'm grabbing the horn and doing my best to stay centered. After a dozen or so of those at mock-1 ...I'm sucking air and feeling a bit disoriented. You would think I was doing the running carrying Jack on my back instead of the other way around. "Inside leg...inside rein...release inside leg...now outside leg...outside rein...put your left foot in, put your left out and shake it all about...that's what's its all about" 

Sunday morning we rode J'Lo and Annie on BLM behind Lauman's ranch. We visited the Lone Pine and went in search of the pond...which I could not find for some reason. I think we made a big loop all the way around it. Pond or not, it was a nice little ride before the afternoon boot camp. 

Karen and Annie  (The Lone Pine)