getting out

I love the rain. We need the rain. (my current mantra, repeat as needed)

But I needed to get out! And so did Major! The rain had stopped for a couple days. The sandy trails should be drained. But I'm also tired of the close trails, as that is all I've been riding. I thought a ride up to Auburn would be a fun diversion, in nice weather, with good footing and be more scenic.

I was wrong on all counts except the scenic portion.

The day was sunny when I left home, but gray skies hung over the stables. SO took my trailer up to Auburn to await our arrival. It took us a bit longer than usual to get ready (to clean off most of the mud), but we were heading out at 9:30am. C and Friday were joining us, the horses were happy to be out. The trails were mostly drained, a few mud puddles here and there, but nice.

nicely drained portion of the trails

the water is rising, yeah!

The water was pouring from the power station, and the Bridge of Death (Mormon Ravine) was as always, scary when halfway across. So Major did his tap dancing act, and all was well. Then the trails got slippier and worse. Red mud was bad, but the wet leaves on trail were worse. That's ok, we can walk. Then a big tree branch, That's ok, we can go UP the steep, soft hillside (good trail horses). And other branch down. That's ok, we can go around this one.

rushing creek

Mormon Ravine (Bridge of Death thinks Major)

Until we got to the tree that blocked the trail. In a steep-sided ravine. Next to the river cliffs. Even if I had remembered my branch saw (note, keep in saddlebag during winter) this was too big of an oak to tackle. And though I diligently looked, there was no way around (I didn't take photos, I was too annoyed, and holding my dancing, pulling horse). It was only three or four miles to Auburn. But eight miles back home. Damn.

old portion of the canal, getting green

some very early naturalized daffodils

Fine, now we'll turn for home. Already pent-up ponies turned it up to full-blown naughty. Trying to walk nicely on slippery trails turned into an argument. Slow trotting on straight, dry places escalated into trying to bolt for home. All the way back. For eight miles.

Plus, I really wanted my sandwich (that was in the trailer. In Auburn.)! By now I was hungry and ready to be done. Got a hold of SO and asked if he could bring the trailer back (he did, and washed it at the car wash, how awesome is that! Not an entirely wasted trip!)

Rattlesnake Bar heading home: now the sun comes out

very fun playing puddle

The horses did stop pulling long enough to play in a puddle at the Rattlesnake Bar staging area. Which was fun until it became a water/mud-splashing contest, so we headed for home again. The horses were not tired in the least, and the trail was a little better in this section, but since horse behavior had not improved, it was still pretty slow going.

happy ferns and moss

determined Major heading home

Back home in one piece I was more tired from 16 miles of walking (farther than I'd planned, we're not training right now!) than a 20 mile trotting ride. But I had my sandwich! Best PB&J ever. And a happy horse, clean and turned back out into the pasture, who promptly dropped for a muddy roll.

I reported the downed tree (though it's far from an easy access, and few foresters are allowed to trim in the state park). I think I'll be staying on my very local but well-drained trails for now. Except it is raining again. I love the rain. We need the rain…

another cool adventure

Under impossibly blue skies on a glorious three-day weekend, we took a January trip to Auburn for a fun ride to Cool. It should be cold and damp, with average temperatures of 55. Instead it is dry as a bone and 70 degrees. Officially in a drought with no end in sight, we desperately need rain. But might as well make lemonade out of the lemon weather and ride while we can!

Major hopped right in the trailer, and not just because his hay bag had a flake of crack alfalfa hay. In Auburn he surveyed the scene and then found his hay net to be the most interesting. I love a horse that is happy to eat wherever I tie him! When his buddy Friday arrived a few minutes later, Major nickered to his long lost love, momentarily distracted, but dove right back into the net.

one last bite of the good ground stuff (even if the reins are falling on my head)

The boys (and us girls too!) we happy to hit the trail. And we headed out, encountering very few riders, but quite a few runners in the morning. Major behaved impeccably, just having a good time and we were so happy going along I didn't even stop for many photos (you've seen it all before: the view, river, trail, etc.).

obligatory view, a hiker took our photo coming across, we're famous!

the shortcut trail, by the trail sign actually .2 longer than the standard trail (?)

The way down to the river takes a bit of time, we walk down the steep parts, trot the flats, then down again. The Cool side is different, one long gradual uphill, Major loves it. We can trot almost the whole thing. At the top we considered just stopping and turning around, but the horses were sweaty. We rode to the staging area, thinking maybe they'd like a drink from the nice trough.

Of course not. Major enjoyed a snorkeling adventure, and Friday took one gratuitous sip. Horses. We humans did take a break for peanut butter sandwiches at the convenient picnic table. Remember the tales of Egyptians keeping their prized horses in their tents? Do you know how annoying that would be? Both horses tried to prove it to us, and of course their annoying antics were rewarded with bites of sandwich. Bad owners.

hidden on the right, C is valiantly defending her sandwich from the sweaty horde

Heading back the horses kicked it up a gear, but not once did I have to pull or fight Major, (only at home and endurance rides do I seem to need to do that, arghh.) We also worked on being a horse ambassador. We walked by children with shining eyes, seeing the pretty horses, and Major is so good at stopping and being pet. I was that kid, I would have been overjoyed if someone had let me pet their horse. We even stopped for a photo with a birthday girl. I know all that takes time, but really, why not? As C noted, better to bring happiness to someone rather than them cursing the poop we leave behind!

river and bridge from above

We cantered the final stretch to the staging area, where after 16 miles the finicky horses finally drank from the trough. Major was more interested in eating the little bit of grass, but did manage to find a nice spot to roll after he was all nice and clean.

now all is right with the world: coated in dirt

Clean then dirty horses, happy and dirty people, a picture with a horse making some little girl happy: now that's a cool ride.

naughty

an almost-a-buck naughtiness (directed at me, though I'm up the hill and behind a fence!)

Last week I was dealing with a bit of attitude. Cool weather, not many trail miles, all adding up to one amped pony.

let me in, let me in my pasture!

I let him into the arena. But he wanted to be in his pasture. So he lunged himself around for awhile, getting himself all hot and blowy, throwing in a few pitiful bucks and leaps (seriously, he's like Elaine from Seinfeld dancing, it's so sad but I laugh).

So my plan for that excess energy was a good ride to Auburn. It isn't that far, 14 miles, but has some super tough footing and good elevation gain (2,300 feet). C and Friday joined in our adventure, as long as I promised not to kill her. Hey, I haven't yet!

Rattlesnake Bar with a receding lake

should be lake, now just the river

Avery pond still looks nice, with turtles on the log

We actually had very well behaved horses as we trotted towards Rattlesnake Bar. There is no water to access, we just continued on, throwing in some super nice canters (and one ridiculous unasked-for gallop). Before Avery Pond you can look down at the lake, except it isn't there! All you now see is the river and lots of exposed rock. But the trees are lovely, and at the pond the turtles were sun bathing.

The creek and lake are often as high as the base of the tree on the right

Mormon Ravine creek, normally a full rushing bridge-of-death, was totally calm, and the rest of the trail was dry, dry, dry. But lovely and rocky and Major was completely behaving himself. Here is always my training dilemma: I know my horse is hot and raring to go, but even on a ride where I'd let him go, he just ambles along (unless we turn for home, then the afterburners kick in).

lots of exposed rock down the cliff, no big boats will coming this way!

Major thought we should go home across the bridge

We crossed a small creek, where Major thought we should then turn around and go home back across the bridge. He did the same when we stopped to view the very minimal Oregon Bar rapids. I can't quite explain to him that it is now farther to go home then just continue to our destination!

Oregon Bar, Major's ears saying let's go home, to the right!

top of the first bypass trail

huge pile (taller than a house) of either leftover mining or dam-building rocks

We decided to take the Cardiac Bypass trail, no need for the complete torture of the main Cardiac Hill trail, the bypass is tough enough. At the top you are still a few miles from Auburn, Major was pretty sure we were never going home and tried trudging along. Friday tried to bolt over the top of us after he thought a monster was behind him, Major barely even noticed, but we took a small breather after that!

trough, perfect for scratching

I don't even want to touch this dirtiness

Almost to the staging area Major remembered where we were, and picked it up a bit. We cantered the last small hill to the lovely trough, where he drank then mostly proceeded to rub his face all over the very useful rocks. I had the usual boot dilemma: wash the horse then take the muddy boot off, or deal with it first? I removed the boot, then washed the sweaty horse, who got a mash and a ride home in the waiting trailer (thanks to my great SO who took it up there that morning!)

Back home both horses trotted around the arena like nothing, and Major galloped up the hill to get more of "his" better water. A super fun ride, though I think the naughty beast is still lurking within…

Cronan Ranch: good and very bad

I headed out with Major and C and her horse Friday for a fun new adventure at Cronan Ranch. It was three-quarters awesome adventure, and one-quarter absolutely terrible. The question is: how DO you desensitize your horse to parasailers on the trail?

icy parking

It was cold and icy when we arrived. We parked at the nice new Magnolia staging area. C had brought along some crack hay (alfalfa mix) for Major, so he never even looked up or moved as I saddled up.

delicious crack hay and ready to go

"connecter" trail, spelled wrong on every sign. But good signage otherwise!

And we headed out. The trails were a mix of mud, nice footing and ice. Sometimes frozen mud ice. But the views were worth it, the horses able to handle the mud and they handily trotted through much of it. We were both booted in front, barefoot behind, and had pretty good grip. And Major was SO excited, but good, to be on new trails. Ears pricked, he looked around every corner, wondering where we were going. No wonder he gets bored at home!

Add caption"Why am I standing in the freezing water?"

We happily trotted along, the trail under trees and along the river, crosses a creek, up a steep muddy hill. Down by the river is a lovely spot, which is inaccessible to the horses in the summer, when hundreds of river rafters (this is the south fork of the American river) converge on the spot every day.

not very patiently waiting equines

I'm so tortured

gratuitous cute face picture

We stopped and ate lunch, the horses were not happy to be tied to nearby trees, when they normally get to be in our faces while we try to eat. I still saved Major some PB&J.

old movie set

After lunch we headed through the valley. There is an old homestead, which is actually an old Michael Landon movie set. Then we took a fabulous ridge trail, with sweeping views, great trotting, and some gallops up the hills. I did learn to stay farther back from a horse galloping in mud, after getting a clod of mud on my sunglasses!

valley panorama from the ridge trail

A break for some photos on the ridge, where we saw horseback riders, hikers, bikes and parasailers in the distant valley. We headed down the hill, which was still completely solid ice at 2pm in the afternoon.

Last photo of the day, parasailer a tiny white dot in the distance

At the bottom of the hill is the first staging area, and a spring for the horses. They of course were totally not interested, and we began to take the Down and Up trail home. There was a parasailer far up on a hill, and another on the ground a few hundred feet away.The horses were just walking, and I was JUST thinking about getting off and walking, when the sail caught the wind and lifted into the air.

The next few moments happened so quickly, yet in slow motion. Major turned and bolted, I steered him up the hill, hoping it would slow him. I had his head turned, trying to stop him, and he'd slow to my whoas, see the monster/parachute behind him and take off again. And we were heading for a barbed-wire fence, which I'm pretty sure he didn't see or even care about. So I decided to bail off, and hold on, which I did, landing on my feet, with Major hitting the ends of the reins as I dug my feet in. He madly circled around, completely terrified.

And I looked for C. And didn't see her. And Major continued frantically run around, the parachute still in the air, I saw Friday down the trail, looking at Major. Friday saw him and trotted closer. And I saw C down on the trail, gingerly sitting up. I couldn't get nearer to her, as both horses were almost oblivious to me. I let Friday go, his reins over his neck, knowing he had already come back to Major, he probably wouldn't leave again. The parachute continued to billow. C managed to croak out that she was OK. Well, alive and not unconscious!

She was able to get up and hobble over, already a black-eye was forming. Friday was still completely an idiot, Major calmed down as we left the area. C was NOT going to be able to walk this off, and we were at least five miles from the trailer. So we decided I'd leave her at the closer staging area and ride back to get the trailer myself.

Major had no problems leaving his friend behind, but I did! I was worried, but there were people around if C needed more help. So I headed back, though I walked past the parachute area. I couldn't take that trail, there were still other parasailers out there. So I had to go back the long way. But Major was a rock star, calmed right down, and we trotted home, making good tine where there wasn't slick mud.

Luckily C called and got a ride back with another nice equestrian. So she would be able to rest at the trailer till I got there. The woman who dropped her off said it would be a long while till I got there. She probably isn't familiar with determined fast riders and horses, as I showed up fairly quickly. Major was still barely sweaty, the day was so cold, but he got a mash and his cooler. C was not moving so good, and we packed up the horses, and I drove us home.

Good things to know how to do:

• be in good enough shape to run/walk quickly with your horse on trail, I could have hiked home the five miles no problem.
• be able to drive another person's rig
• have your cell phone ON your person (mine is always on my leg)
• desensitize your horse to a parasailer

OK, on the last one, a bit hard to train for! Major is pretty trusting of me, and goes through and over everything I point him at, is one of the bravest horses I know. But was completely freaked out. I'm sure there are horses there who have no problem with it. Take him out to the area on a lead and expose him? That's the only thing I can think of. Anyone have a similar scary experience? Or a horse that handles parasailers? How?!

I'm glad C is only bruised and banged up. I have a sore shoulder, the horses are fine. It could have been much worse. So, a great ride, except for a few minutes...that's all it takes to ruin the day!