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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 31 2011 : 10:07:57 AM
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This past week my sister-in-law and I were the camp hosts at Kelsay Valley Horse Camp near Lemolo Lake. It was SOOOO much better than our week last month. There were so few mosquitos that we didn't use bug dope and the last few days we didn't even spray the horses. Plus it didn't rain. Well, okay--it hailed the size of marbles one afternoon.
Anyway--I rode my horse, Captain, over 100 miles that week. We had two double-digit days. Both times because we lost the trail. The sad part is that Janet and I had been on said trails NUMEROUS times previously. Oh, yeah--we are both blonde, middle-aged and female.
So Thursday, after losing the trail the day before, Captain and I took flagging tape and flagged the you-know-what out of the trail. This trail is very old and hasn't been maintained in 40 years. You have to follow old blazes and cut logs. Where trees have fallen it is difficult to find the blazes. So the next day we rode it AGAIN with a friend who hadn't been on it and put her in front and we followed the trail!!! Wednesday was our first double-digit day--10 hours in the saddle. And, yes, we knew where we were the whole time, we just couldn't find the trail.
Then on Saturday we decided to ride to Suzanne Lake and go swimming. We made several critical errors: started late (11:00 am); let the horses lollygag (after all, they had done 100 miles by this time); took the time to swim and then lost the trail. Now keep in mind, we had to take a compass bearing and head straight west cross-country. We rode straight into the sun. It should have taken 20 minutes as the distance to the PCT was only a mile. It took us TWO HOURS because we kept running into the same rock wall that we couldn't get over. Janet was so anxious she was sick. At one point we lost two of the dogs (they found us). The sun was going down. We knew where the PCT was but kept missing it, even going straight west. I started praying. Should have done that a long time ago. I was thinking about what we would do if we had to spend the night out. Because after dark we would have no way to maneuver through the forest. We finally bfound the PCT (Thank you, Lord) and Janet said that she finally just said, "Jesus, take the reins." And He did.
Now we are on the PCT headed south. Sun going down. Eleven plus miles back to camp. We had one bad cornice-type snowdrift to cross that was pretty hairy because Janet's horse leaped over it and into the rocks but miraculously did not get stuck. Another "Thank you, Jesus."
It got so dark that I couldn't see Captain's ears. He's black. So I just held on the saddle horn and left the reins loose. Never missed a step even through the rocky spots. Janet doesn't like riding in the dark. I think it's cool. So she put her headlamp around her neck and turned it on. The light was diffuse enough to not bother the horses.
At some point during the ride, my dog passed us and took up the lead. He hadn't been in the lead all day. Now Captain had something to follow on the trail. We decided that God had put Tucker there. He stayed in front for a long time. Made it a lot easier.
So--bottom line? We were out 13 hours and 15 minutes!! What an AWESOME ride.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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Horse Camping in Oregon--long
