I was back on Skyline. I was finishing up a 2 hour ride near dark on a narrow road that had a coating of ice on all of it except the outside 18 inches. I spotted a young moose about 150 yards ahead and below us. None of my four-legged friends had noticed it. I held up for a few seconds. The calf charged into some brush so I moved on ahead.
To my surprise, a half minute later and 20 yards closer, there stood the calf but now he was beside his big momma. That was when the horses got a good scent of moose. The horses froze. Then, when the moose pair turned to head down hill, the horses caught their movement. It didn't take much to turn them around to head back. It was all I could do to keep their exit somewhat controlled.
In a few weeks we'll be headed up the Selway River trail where the rangers have already spotted signs of grizzlies. I have to wonder what would happen if we run into one of those.
For the next 15 minutes the horses thought they were seeing moose every few minutes.
On the Selway we will be carrying pepper spray, and a rifle, but if it ever came down to using one of them, the horses would be well into their own little rodeo.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Another Day on Skyline
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Some More Trail Workout
Taking a break at the highest point.
The weather was clear and on the chilly side. The only thing unusual that happened was a quick riding lesson I gave.
I had gotten the horses unloaded and I was just tightening up their cinches, when a car, that I could hear coming from some distance away, stopped 15 ft. away from us. It turned out to be two middle-age ladies in the front seat and a teenage girl in the back seat. They rolled down their windows and said they just wanted to look at the horses.
Just trying to make light conversation, I said, "Anyone want to take him for a ride?" A few seconds later, to my surprise, out climbed the girl. I shortened the stirrups, and boosted her up into the saddle. I asked her a few questions in an attempt to assess her experience level, then away we went up and down the road for a few minutes. The session ended when Junior thought we were going to leave him. He pulled back until he broke the snap on his lead rope. I caught him and tied him back up. By this time she was ready to quit riding.
The car drove away with a wave. I waved back, and rode off in the opposite direction.
For me it was a sad encounter. She was Native American, rather attractive, but overweight and had bad teeth with lip piercings. She was very soft spoken with a sweet gentle smile.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Looked Just Like Spring
On our way back, this is looking down towards the house, and the city of Farmington.
This picture should be by the one at the bottom. One is looking up, while the other one is looking down. That is Steptoe Butte in the distance
A little picket practice.
A small clomp of grass at the very top.
Took a break on the way up.
This picture should be by the one at the bottom. One is looking up, while the other one is looking down. That is Steptoe Butte in the distance
A little picket practice.
A small clomp of grass at the very top.
Took a break on the way up.
This is a look from in front of our house towards where we are headed.
Once we got back to the house I picketed them on some grass across the road from our house so they can get reacquainted with the routine. Spud is the least experienced. He got his feet tangled in his picket rope a couple of time, and I had to help him get untangled.
We went back up to Skyline Rd. again today. The weather was beautiful, so we saw people where before today there has been none . This was meant to be another horse conditioning ride. It was in the low 50's, so they got a little sweat up. I get a wood cutting permit for this area every year. These rides give me a chance to look for winter blow downs. I can't actually cut wood until after the first of April.
Once we got back to the house I picketed them on some grass across the road from our house so they can get reacquainted with the routine. Spud is the least experienced. He got his feet tangled in his picket rope a couple of time, and I had to help him get untangled.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Horse Conditioning on Skyline
This is looking southwest toward our little village of Farmington. You can see where I've marked our place. You can just see our trees, and the barn roof.
A little break for all of us before we headed back down the hill.
I'm on Spud, the red dun on the left, leading Junior, the dark bay, on the right. Lily and Juneau are out ahead. Juneau, with all her energy, is usually off in the brush. Lily only leaves the road when it looks like Juneau has found something interesting. They did make a nice double point on a covey of partridge today.
I'm on Spud, the red dun on the left, leading Junior, the dark bay, on the right. Lily and Juneau are out ahead. Juneau, with all her energy, is usually off in the brush. Lily only leaves the road when it looks like Juneau has found something interesting. They did make a nice double point on a covey of partridge today.
I'm back from spending all my time getting nets ready for this summer to playing again. In a couple more days I will be done with nets for this year, so I feel like I can get back to the more interesting activities.
This is going to be a horse story for awhile. I'm focusing on getting ready for a pack trip near the first of next month. Part of that will be ongoing conditioning and training. We all need to get use to traveling in a safe, orderly manner, as well as getting our muscles ready for long days on the trail.
My technique is simple. Spend as much time as possible out riding in trail situations. Today we were out for three hours. We need to work up to some 8 to 10 hour trips.
For now I'm taking the dogs along, but I'm still undecided about whether they should go on the real trip.
When we look out of our windows east we see the end of the rolling hills of the palouse and the low tree covered foothills of the northern Rockies. The tree line is about three miles away. Just below the crest of this first row of hills winds Skyline Road, which is a gravel road. It runs between two north/south state highways, one which is in Washington while the other is in Idaho. This road is about 18 miles long running southeast northwest. Seventeen miles of it is an elongated state park.
For the last two days I've been starting at the end closest to our house, and riding out and back. This is also what I did for the Jan. 19th entry.
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