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| Riding The Crest 2009 Your plan calls for about 18 miles per day … how many hours
do you spend “moving” per day? I am averaging close to three miles per hour, sometimes more and
sometimes less, very dependent upon the terrain. So that means about 6 hours of
riding but add another two because I stop to let the horse graze alongside the
trail when there is good grass, stop to let him drink when we reach water, and
stop to eat lunch for at least 15 to 30 minutes. My longest day was 12 hours and
45 minutes of moving. Are you finding that you are
making better or worse time than you planned? Better time overall
though I am “behind” schedule, but poorer time during the day. I did not
realize before I started doing this how much I would need to let the horses eat
and rest ON the trail. On days I am packing (camping) it doesn’t bother me,
but when I am meeting Ralph it puts a little more pressure on the schedule. Are you
always alone on the trail? Are you bored? lonely? How
are you managing to cope with being on the trail for so many months? Similar questions so I will try to answer – let me know if I did not. I
don’t think I’ve been alone on the trail for an entire day. Sometime during
each day I pass or am passed by a hiker. I have not experienced being lonely –
yet. Maybe I will but keep in mind I am with another creature all the time. I
must admit I sometimes talk to my horses. I have been bored once so far. It was
on a trail that seemed to be like one I had already ridden and there was not
much to see (views). I later mentioned to a hiker and he admitted to being bored
on it as well. No other time have I been bored. There is A LOT to think about on
the trail: the tread (where you or your horse is stepping), where you want to go
to get water (if none on the trail), where you want to camp, and the whole
course of the next day as well. Being on the trail a long time is the hardest
part – and this goes for a hiker as well as an equestrian. The hikers cope by
forming groups and hiking with others or going down into a town. I do the same
except my “town” is camp with Ralph and William at the trailer. We all have
to go to town for supplies though some few hikers try for no “zero” days. I
am a people person so I enjoy interacting with the hikers and the people who are
hosting us along the way. I have yet to experience several days totally alone. Are you finding it more or less enjoyable than you expected and
what is making it so? I am finding
the trail MUCH more enjoyable than I expected. One, there is a community
(fellowship and family) on the trail. We seem to all pull for one another. I
have encountered no negativity about the horse sharing their trail but a lot of
curiosity. Many hikers have asked me how I managed a certain area that they
found difficult on foot. Two, the trail has captured me. I find I want to see
what is on the next section of trail. I have found none of it without beauty.
The desert was wonderful (but I was blessed with exceptionally cool days to ride
it). Are you having fun or is it just
hard? I am having fun. You know I like to ride and even when I get sore,
stiff, or tired I want to ride some more. I enjoy the camping and the setting up
does not seem too bad to me. I am leaving enough time to do it in the daylight
and am praying I do not have to do it in the rain. When I return to base camp,
Ralph and William are there to help and it is pure luxury it seems. How are you feeling? Great! No problems. I did have one fall . . . at the trailer. I stepped backwards out of the tack room and stepped onto the edge of a bucket and tumbled to the ground on my left arm. It hurt for 24 hours but had no lasting problem. I had one bout of food poisoning. Are you sore? Occasionally. Especially if my clothes are not right. I am finding that even some jeans I wear for a few hours in Georgia do not ride well day after day here. I am also doing A LOT of walking and have stretched the muscles in my calves. Walking four miles up hill in 2 ½ hours will make most of us sore. Walking downhill does another set of muscles and those are the ones I am using the most. This is a “crest” trail and so there is a lot of up and down. On the down hill I usually get off the horse and walk to alleviate concussion to the horse’s joints. Seen any wildlife? Four rattlesnakes and several other kinds of snakes, blue jays and ravens as well as numerous other birds (even a hawk), jack rabbits, ground squirrels and chipmunks, elk and a deer or two. One bear with her cubs on a side road (not on the trail) and one dead one. What’s with the hiker names? It
is a tradition to use a trail name/nickname rather than your own on the trail.
If you do not choose one yourself it might be given to you. I choose
“Pepperoni,” my nickname from high school. Jur has the trail name of Chow
Hound, very apropos. Harmony is using his real name. Cane is "Cane is
Able." So many trails - So little time! This website is intended to
share our adventure with
you. We 'd like to hear from you. Please sign our guest book and/or e-mail us. Janice will be your commentator.
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