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

Trail Log: 4-22-2026

• Trail: S. Eagle Eye - 2nd Windmill
• Miles: 8
• Riders: Self - Celia - Nina
• Horses: Jack - Liberty - Seattle
• Dogs: No

Notes: We skipped  the balloon killing and hauled to the 2nd windmill to ride. We stuck mostly to the wash were the snake's are more visible. We saw one crawling into a hole but that was it. It was great weather. It's cooled off again. The desert willows are blooming and we saw one saguaro bloom. So pretty

Desert willow in bloom

Trail Log: 4-15-2026

Celia/Liberty - Me/Drifter

• Trail: Hassayampa River - Box Canyon
• Miles: 8.6
• Riders: Self - Celia - Nina
• Horses: Drifter - Liberty - Seattle
• Dogs: No

They went that-a-way! 

Notes: Nina had not been to the Box Canyon and we all needed a bit of a break. We unloaded off Rincon Rd and rode to and beyond the box canyon to where the fence crosses the Hassayampa. We encountered just 3 side-by-sides. It was fairly clean for this area. During the busy season, it can get littered up pretty good. The trickle of water is farther up from the Box than I've seen it but at least it is there. We left the river and rode up several off-shoot canyons and discovered some rock ruins. We stopped back at the Box and had lunch before heading back home. 

Celia and Nina

Trail Log: 4-14-2026

Shade - Hank

• Trail: Aguila - Tiger Wash
• Miles: 4.72
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: An eventful little ride. You know the snakes are out there and we kept watching for them. Made it almost back to the trailer before we ran into this one. I kept telling Celia what amazing snake radar Jack has...she believes me now! We were just crossing the wash to climb up the other side when Jack scooted backwards faster than he was going forward. Then I hear it. Somewhere on the bank a very agitated rattler let us know we were intruding. We skirted around it back to the trailers. Went back to dispatch the snake but it had disappeared. The horned toads are really out! My favorite lizard. They look like mini triceratops. 

Today was/is Shades birthday. I didn't know Hanks birthday so we celebrated them both on Shades. They are both gone now. Life isn't always an adventure. Sometimes it's a punch in the gut. 

Trail Log: 9-12-2026

 

• Trail: Aguila - Hood
• Miles: 5.5
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Drifter - Liberty
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: A ride around the hood. The first ride taking Harley out on the road. She did really good and stuck close like she usually does. There isn't very many people out here now so it was a good time to give it a try. 

Harley sticking close

Trail Log: 4-9-2026

• Trail: Aguila Hood
• Miles: 4
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Liberty

Notes: Ride around the hood. I walked and led Jack thinking I could use the exercise. It's hard to do any walking when you are leading a perfectly good horse. 

Trail Log: 4-4-2026

• Trail: Aguila-Hood
• Miles: 5.80
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: No

Notes: Saddled up and met Celia on the road between her place and mine. We rode around the hood. It's getting pretty quiet around as all the snowbirds are abandoning ship. Kind of nice really...

The snakes are out. Been seeing a few - mostly the Mohave...I've read they are more aggressive but I haven't seen much difference between them and the more common western diamondback. You can tell this is a Mohave by the mostly white band around the tail - it's very green (greener in person than this picture shows), the striping on the jaw and the scales between it's eyes. Mohave's have two large scales - diamondback's have a bunch of little ones. I'm not getting close enough to count and tell you how many. 

Trail Log: 4-1-2026

• Trail: Aguila - Back Gate
• Miles: 5
• Riders: Self - Celia - Nina
• Horses: Drifter - Liberty - Barbosa
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: A quick ride after shooting practice. 

Trail Log: 3-31-2026

• Trail: Aguila - Back Gate - State Land
• Miles: 4.32
• Riders: Self
• Horses: Jack
• Dogs: Groot and Harley

Notes: Finally cooled off a little bit. Took the dogs and Jack out for a hike and ride. Spit rain most of the day but just enough to irritate you. Could really use a downpour. 

Trail log: 3-26-2026

• Trail: N. Eagle Eye
• Miles: 4.63
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Drifter - Dirt
• Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: We decided to go back and remove a cache we set up earlier this winter and relocate it another time. We encountered a small rattler in the middle of the sandy 2 track. This one was a side-winder. They can move pretty fast! I've heard of them, but never seen one move. It wasn't aggressive so we left it be and moved on. 

Trail Log: 3-21-2026

• Trail: Aguila-Hood
• Miles: 5.10
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: no

Notes: A quick early morning ride around the hood to beat the heat.  

Trail Log: 3-19-2026

Celia and Liberty

Trail: Back Gate - State Land - Aguila

Miles: 3.80

Riders: Self - Celia

Horses: Drifter - Liberty

Dogs: Groot - Harley

Notes: Celia got her new filly back from Yucca where she was in riding for a month or two. She hauled to my place and we rode out my back gate. This was Celia's first ride on Liberty.  Steve and Celia know how to pick them...Liberty is going to be great! I rode Drifter - who usually grouches at other horses but for some reason, he seems to like Liberty. I guess horses are like humans...some you tolerate...others not so much. 

Drifter - the little black hellion

Harley and her new puppy-pool

Trail Log: 3-15-2026

Dirt - Jack - Shaunta

• Trail: Flagstaff Hunting Unit
• Miles: 12.97
• Riders: Self - Celia - Cole
• Horses: Jack - Dirt - Shaunta

Cole and Celia

Notes: With the extreme heat, we headed to the mountains! Celia picked me up and we hauled to her son Cole's house in New River. Cole hauled us the rest of the way above Flagstaff to scope out a potential elk hunt area and look for sheds. We didn't find any sheds but we did see a lot of elk sign including scat and rubs. It was awesome to get into the timber. The temperatures are drastically different between Aguila and Flagstaff. We left home sweating to death in tank tops and made it to Flagstaff wishing I'd brought a heavier coat! It makes me wish I'd bought property in that area where the seasons are milder but dang...I love my place. 

In lieu of the Beanee Weenee pic. BW's are MIA

Trail Log: 3-10-2026

Nina and Barbosa - first CSJ competition

• Trail: Aguila-hood 
• Miles: 5
• Riders: Self - Nina
• Horses: Drifter - Barbosa
• Dogs: No

Notes: Went for a little ride after shooting practice. This picture is of Nina and Barbosa on her very first CSJ shoot and Ben Avery. She did such a good job. Couldn't be more  proud of her and her horse Barbosa. 

Trail Log: 3-7-2026

Jim and Whiskey

• Trail: S. Eagle Eye - Tiger Wash
• Miles: 6.17
• Riders: Self - Jim - Celia
• Horses: Drifter - Whiskey - Dirt
• Dogs: No

Celia and Dirt

Notes: We unloaded at the spot formerly known as the first windmill and loped up the wash before popping out and heading toward Browns Canyon. It was gusty at times and more so on top the ridges and hills. Celia and I carry apps that track our mileage. Jim does not - but if Celia and I rode 6 miles - Jim must have rode 12. He's like taking along your bird dog that lopes out a head of you and circles back now and then. A couple times I thought we lost him but we'd hear his whistling in the distance and he'd eventually pop back up. 

Loping down Tiger Wash

Trail Log: 3-6-2026

Trail: E. Hwy 71 - Mile Post 99 - South

• Miles: 5.12
• Riders: Self - Celia
• Horses: Jack - Dirt
• Dogs: No

Notes: Finally, we get some time to ride. Celia has been busy with her Canyon Cowgirl Leather business and I've been busy doing other stuff. We drove east on 71 until we found a State Land gate that looked promising. We picked a good one! Cool rock formations and lots of vegetation. It was windy outside of the canyon we rode up but as long as we stayed between the hills, it was nice. We explored the area and marked it for further exploration. Celia saw one little snake but didn't get a good look at it to tell what kind.  

Trail Log: 3-3-2026

Drifter waiting patiently for the videagraphy to end

• Trail: State Land - Back Gate - Tank
• Miles: 5.19
• Riders: Self - Jim H
• Horses: Drifter - Whiskey 
• Dogs: Groot - Harley 

Notes: I have been helping Jim shoot videos for his Webcast "Hansons Horse Sense." I took him behind my place to the tank. It is a nice spot with pretty views. Other than shooting at the wrong time of day (sun glare) they turned out pretty good. 

Jim and Whiskey 

Trail Log: 3-2-2026

The "bromance" continues LOL

• Trail: State Land - Back Gate - Aguila
• Miles: 6.10
• Riders: Self - Dan L. - Mike D
• Horses: Jack - Bullseye - Big Drifter
• Dogs: Groot - Harley - Boo

Notes: Mike came to visit so we took him on a ride out in the desert. He rode Big Drifter - who was originally his horse before Dan and Robyn bought him last year. Mike hasn't ridden much outside the arena  and is a fairly new rider at that. He started mounted shooting and riding at the same time. He is super competitive and has moved up quickly and just one his first overall-overall at the last ACMSA shoot...which is amazing.  

Harley follows along very well!