You'll ride this Hart Creek Rim Trail at least once on the Owyhee Canyonlands 5-day Pioneer ride. Jose and I had a blast cruising along it, making this video!
We crammed in the 200 miles of trail marking for the new 4-day City of Rocks Pioneer Endurance ride near Almo, Idaho, into 5 days - on horseback, on foot, and by ATV. At least one of those days, Steph spent looking for new trails!
But we got it done. Here's a video taking you along for the rides/hikes.
We didn't see Owyhee Super Luna for 2 weeks while we were at City of Rocks, and while she grew bigger, she didn't forget us. She whinnied a greeting when I got back.
Besides mom Perry, 1 or 2 aunts or uncles hang out with her in her big home pen. On her 10-week-old birthday, we let her out for the first time with the whole herd.
I just may have outdone myself with this video! Jose take you on a ride, looking at the great trails that go up one side of Circle Creek in City of Rocks, up into the Albion Mountains, and back down the other side of Circle Creek. One of the prettiest trails in the National Reserve!
'Twas another weekend at City of Rocks National Reserve, gathering info and finalizing details for the inaugural City of Rocks Pioneer Trails Endurance Ride on July 11-14 in southern Idaho (just 3 1/2 weeks away!).
Friday we made a 20-mile loop from base camp outside the park, on the Hensley/Salt Lake Cutoff through Emigrant Canyon, into the park by the Twin Sisters, down the north side of the Circle Creek valley, and back to base camp.
On August 22, 1850, Calvin Taylor commented on the trail: "In a short time after leaving camp this morning, we reached the bench of a mountain up which our road led. The way was rough and steep. n about 5 miles we reached the junction of the old Fort Hall and Salt Lake Road. This is quite a picturesque place."
The road is not so rough nor steep now, but then we have smooth and easy-going endurance horses to ride, and it's just as gawk-inspiring now as it was then. Calvin must have seen the same views of the Twin Sisters that we did, and he probably stopped at the old stage stop in Emigrant Canyon, remnants of which you can still wander around (if somebody holds your horse outside the fence).
The Salt Lake Cutoff Trail joined the California Trail, and we turned onto it into the Park. Little spider figures climbed the walls of the Twin Sisters as we rode past.
We rode around Register Rock, where emigrants wrote their names in axle grease between 1843 and 1869. Of course there are many archaeological findings from Native Americans from much earlier, before 250,000 emigrants passed through this area.
Despite the proliferation of granite spires and outcrops (making this one of the premier climbing areas in the world), most of the trails underfoot in the park are rock-free, making for smooth sailing.
Here's a video of our Salt Lake Cutoff/Emigrant Canyon/Circle Creek loop, part of the trails we'll ride in next month's endurance ride!
Despite the poor weather (in not everybody's opinion!) on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Owyhee Fandango, Day 3 turned out just about perfect for the 30, 60, 80, and 100 mile rides for 37 riders, about 58 degrees and a breeze with intermittent showers.
Steph wore the helmet cam on Batman and rode the 80 (with plans to possibly elevate to the 100) with Connie and Carol on the 100.
There were some technical difficulties with the helmet cam (and with iMovie later!) - Steph tried the camera harness which appeared to be a fine invention, but on viewing the raw videos there was too much movement. I didn't want to make everybody seasick, so I used more still shots from the video than videos themselves! In the case of seasickness, take a dramamine and come back to watch the video again in 30 minutes. : )
13 of 17 riders finished the 100. Sue Summers and Suzy Hayes tied for first in a ride time of 9:54. If you'd been at the out vet check at the Sierra del Rio Ranch, you'd have seen Sue nailing a front shoe on Suzy's horse, after the shoe was lost in the boulder field. It took a team to get the shoe on - shoes and nails from the ranch manager dug out of boxes in several barns, nippers from Robert the vet, and a hammer from somewhere else. Sue and Suzy rode the entire ride together, and Sue's horse Mags Motivator got Best Condition.
Connie and Carol finished the 100 (Connie's first, and hers and Carol's horses' first 100s), and Steph opted to not do another 20 miles. It was also Nanette Young's first 100; Karen Chaton was her tour guide on the trail. Kathleen Edman, riding her Rocky Mountain horse Pierce the Veil elevated from the 80 to the 100 and finished.
Five started and finished the 80 miler, with Debbie Euker and Dennis Summers tying for first. Dennis' horse WMA Radiance got Best Condition.
Bev Gray and Jolly Sickle won the 60 (and got Best Condition) among the 14 that started and finished. Karen Steenhof and Rusty were the only LD riders who hauled out to the Sierra Del Rio Ranch for their start, their loop around the petroglyphs, and their finish.
The trails were near perfect after 2 days' rain, and the scenery and wildlife (and petroglyphs) fabulous along the Snake River. The Owyhee Fandango is an 'easy' 100 - if one dares call any 100 easy - it's too bad the attendance was so low this year.
But all had fun despite the weather and empty seats at dinner and awards. More wine to go around for those there, anyway!
Day 2 arrived with heavy gray skies and a light rain, that lasted all day, but Amanda and I saddled up Breve and Jose anyway. I think I can safely say, among the total 37 starters in both distances for the day, I was the only one grinning from ear to ear all day long, not just from riding a Fabulous horse, but riding him on a Fabulous wet and cool day in the desert.
Jose and Breve went great together. Amanda was thrilled with Breve's first 50.
I did love the rain, but the mud was something else. On the north side of the highway for loop 1, the sand footing was good. On the south side of the highway for loop 2, it got slick and sticky. I have christened the Brown's Creek hill as SlickSnot Hill. Amanda thought she'd do her horse a favor and get off and walk up it. Bad idea. She had to stop and rest halfway up as she'd carried half the hill up on the bottom of her shoes. The clay mud cakes on like glue. She couldn't even lift up her leg for a photo.
That's when Jose started having boot trouble. He lost one glove, and after I put it back on, it stayed on another 5 strides before coming off again. It weighed an extra 5 pounds, and I couldn't scrape the clay off. We weren't far from a water stop, and there I rinsed and scraped 2 1/2 pounds of clay off to where I got the boot back on. It stayed in place for another 2 miles or so, but it was so deep and goopy that Amanda, riding behind me, never saw it come off. Maybe Steph will find it when she unmarks trail after the ride, or we might find it sprouting flowers out of the inside next spring.
Jose lost a second glove after climbing the Hart Creek knife ridge. Amanda didn't see that one come off either. We were only 5 miles or so from camp, so we just travelled carefully over rocky sections. Tami Rougeau, following a half hour behind us, found one clay glove and carried the 5 pounder back to base camp. The horses handled the going well, adjusting their strides to the different depths and slickness and consistencies of the mud/clay/puddles.
There wasn't a single pull all day, and by the end of the day, I think everybody was finally smiling. It was another great day to ride in the desert, another 50 miles for Jose and The Raven!
While it was somewhat of a dismal turnout for the 3-day Owyhee Fandango ride, those that did show up had a desert-ful of fun, despite having the most rain over the weekend that we've had in a whole year combined.
On Day 1 it didn't stop 27 50-mile riders from saddling up in the heavy rain and hitting the trail at 7:30 in the morning, nor the 12 Limited Distance riders from heading out (into a little less rain) at 9:30 AM. The rain became showers, which became alternating showers and sunshine for the rest of the day.
Garrett Ford from Durango, riding his monster horse The Fury, and Gene Limlaw from Vermont, riding Garrett's other horse Cyclone, tied for first in the 50 miler. The Fury got Best Condition. Deo Peppersack finished first in the LD and got Best Condition with Cinnamon.
24 riders finished the 50, and 11 finished the LD. I didn't hear any reports of the Horny Jackass biting anybody in the butt on the 50 miler.
It's too early to tell, but, this baby by a Shagya mare and a Thoroughbred stallion (a son of Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus) has the same top qualities that every super endurance horse started out with: long legs and super fuzzy cuddlyness!
Carol, Steph and I hiked and flagged the 'boulder field' along the Snake River, part of the 80 and 100 mile rides on the May 25-27 Owyhee Fandango.
I made a fun video that gives you a hint of some of the scenery and wildlife you'll see, and part of the trail you'll be going over. You'll see that it's not hard; it's just technical for maybe a 1/2 mile stretch. The weather was perfect - not too hot nor too cool nor too windy, and this day, at least, there were no gnats! (Bring your human bug hats or bug spray, and spray for your horses too, just in case.)
I have put in an order for perfect weather on ride day!
