Trails, Trikes, Horses and Dogs

I loaded up yesterday and met a friend at the State land for a day of riding. The weather was good enough, it wasn't a downpour and it was above 40 degrees. We dosed up on mosquito repellent and the same for the horses and headed out. This was the first time I had been out on the trail since getting my Specialized saddle so I was interested in seeing how it felt for myself and Maggie in terrain other than my arena. Steph brough along her little Springer Spanial , Molly who is pretty well behaved on the trail, exept for the occasional chasing of a squirrel or deer. Normally I prefer not to have a dog along in this area because there are lots of other people with dogs and it's just one less thing to have to deal with in my opinion , but Molly seemed well behaved enough. They have recently logged this area so the "old" trails that I once knew very well are all but a memory now, so we put on our adventurous hats and just rode out onto various trails to see where we ended up. The thing about this area is that most trails eventually get you somewhere you are eventually going to recognized. As we came off one such trail, we realized we had been riding for 3 hours already and it was about an hour back to the trailer so we headed back down a trail that would take us back to the trail head. Along the the entire ride we had run into several mountain bikers and for the most part, they are generally willing to be courteous when they see a horse but they often aren't familiar with horses or comfortable around them. Mountain bikes coming down the trail at a high rate of speed toward your horse will tell you quickly how well trained your horse is. Unlike horseback riders who are always looking around checking the scenery, mountain bikers are so busy watching the terrain right in front of their wheel , they often don't realize they are coming up on a horse until it's almost too late. Horses often can't figure out what a person on a bike is. Even more terrifying to a horse, is a child on the back of it's parents bike! The other problem is that this area is heavily wooded. You can't always see the bikers coming but your horses is usually a good indicator that something is coming at you. Having to deal with bikers is just a reality where I live. Have to share the trails. The key to keeping the situation safe for everyone is to get the bikers talking. As soon as they say something, then the horse can recognize that it's just a person with really weird legs..However, if the bikers happen. Steph and I had run into about 4 sets of these mountain bikers and all were very friendly. If they happen to be coming up behind you that's almost a bit more difficult. yesterday we were only a short distance from the end of th trail head and there is a steep rocky decline to get down. Maggie seemed to be a bit tired so I jumped off of her to walk her down the steep hill. We were just about to the bottom when Maggie's head popped up , laid her ears back and wheeled around. 3 bikers popped over the top of the hill and were coming at us very fast, along with a vary large Chesapeake dog. I pulled maggie out of the way to the side of the trail because they still hadn't seen us, again trying not to crash on on a bike while going down a steep hill takes alot of concentration! With bikers, they are supposed to yeild to horseback riders, and most times they do but I always opt to get out of their way and let them go by, for obvious reasons. Most will yeild and stop and cautiously go by. This group hit the brakes as soon as the biker in the front saw me, which by that time he was only 10 feet from me but his dog was a different story. His dog came at Maggie and I , barking and growling. I guess it was just a reaction but had my lead rope in my hand and the dog caught the business end of it right in the nose, right about the time he was about to get way to close for comfort. I am not sure if he would have just sniffed me or Maggie but he was showing way more aggression than I thought was necessary so I just reacted I guess. It startled him but he got pissed and came back , more towards Maggie's nose. The owner, who was telling him "No" wasn't being effective in the least. At this point, the dog barked and growled and was trying to figure out how to get around the crazy lady with the rope when the owner finally had enough sense to ride off so the dog would follow him, meekly apologizing.

I climbed back in the saddle once we got to the bottom of the hill and kept heading for the parking lot. We got to the end only to find that these bikers were still there, in the biker/hiker parking lot (which is separate from the trailer parking) and so was the dog. I had to get past them one more time, cross the road and go another 1/4 mile to get to the trailer. As I passed through, the dog ofcoruse, came towards us again. They were able to grab him in time before he followed me across the road.

So, another adventurous day on the trail . Maggie is pretty tolerant of things like this, for which I am grateful. She wasn't rattled afterwards,, but it did scare her a bit. I couldn't help but wishI had been riding JB at that moment the dog came at us. JB gets down right "stallion" like and would have tap danced all over that dog had he come at us like that.

I don't mind sharing the trail with bikers, hikers, dogs, and other non-motorized recreators, but it seems that maybe there is some opportunity there to educate one another since we both have to share the trails.

Anyone else run into these situations? How do you deal with them?


On a the flip side, the saddle worked out great. I was very happy with how it fit Maggie and I was comfortable as well.

JB Conquers Lupine Lake ; A Mega Climb

For the last several rides, I have slowly been asking JB for a little more , a little more distance or a little more speed, or tested him in challenging terrain. Each time, he is meeting that challenge and surprising me with his abilities. For whatever reason, he is really coming into his own and all the doubts I was having even just a few months ago, are slowly fading with each ride.

This past week I didn't get to ride but once (a six mile speed run) due to hours at the office . This weekend I joined a friend for a hill day workout. We would be heading west of town to Ashley Mountain and Lupine Lake trail. This was new territory for me but it offered some great technical training trails along with some serious hill climbs, water crossings , great scenery , and the opportunity to run into Moose or possibly even a wolf or two. (hopefully not!)

The first 1/2 mile of the trail decended us down, down , down into a creek bottom. Going downhill is hard enough on a horse, but add in large rocks, stumps , a sharp corner with a shear drop off,and it makes it all the more a challenge. There were areaa on this part of the trail that made me thankful I had JB responding to leg , hand and seat aids effectively. JB hasn't figured out that going downhill is easier if he gets on his haunches but he took his time which is the first step. There were spots where he had to drop off a ledge of rocks. He would stop to look at the footing before he stepped down. Exactly what he needed to do.

After the initial steep decent, the trail leveled off for a while before it started a gradual climb up to the lake. In various spots, it opened up enough to do a little trotting. We reached Lupine lake, about 3 miles into the ride. JB was already pretty sweaty.

We took about a fifteen minute break here at Lupine and there was one fisherman in the background. I shared my sunbutter and apple lunch with JB, who ended up getting most of it... Oh well, I was happy to share! He also got a few carrots as well, which he knows I pack along with on every ride!! I offered him a drink but he wasn't interested.

We headed out and JB took the lead. For the next 3 miles or so, the real climb began. He wanted to rush a bit on the uphills but since it would be a long climb I had to check him back and make him take his time. At about a 1.5 miles of steady , slow but steep climbing, I jumped off and led JB for a while to give him a break. As good as he has been going, I did want to over do it with him.

We finally arrived at the top, and JB was definitely tired. I am not sure what the elevation was exactly but high comes to mind. We popped out onto an old logging road. I loosened JB's girth , let him graze, and offered him a drink out of my water bottle. He wasn't too interested but was definitely hungry. While taking our rest, some hikers came along with a blind dog. We visited with them about the area and even got some information about some other trails in the area. After about 15 minutes the horses seemed to be recovered and we headed back down. We both led our horses down the steepest parts.

The decent we made in the first 1/2 mile of the trail was now a steep climb out as the last hurrah before our day was over. I wasn't certain JB would have enough gas in the tank to climb out of there but to my surprise, he scampered up that hill like a champ. He had definitely figured out how to push himself off his hind end in climbing.

It seems JB is really coming along and proving himself not only as good endurance prospect but a tough little mountain horse as well! It's been a long road for us and I couldn't be prouder of this little horse. He just keeps getting better each time we go out on a ride. I only wish it was the beginning of the season instead of the end!

****By the way, we never did see any moose or wolf, thankfully.

Crane Mountain Lookout Ride

Today, I ventured out on the trail with a friend who is a Tevis and all around endurance veteran. In fact, she finished the Tevis in 8th place on one of the two times she has ridden and competed in the race.
I met her at her ranch in Bigfork and then we trailered to the trail head that would take us out to the Crane Mountain Overlook. Crane Mountain looms high above Flathead lake. It's steep, rugged beautiful country. We parked the trailers at the parking area , saddled up and headed up the road for the first 3 miles, an uphill climb along a gravel road until we hit the trail head that would wind us up , up and up to the overlook. It was only about 3.5 miles to the overlook once we started on the trail head but it was alot of up and down with alot of sticks, stumps , rocks and roots along the way. W e also had two narrow wooden bridge crossings over rushing mountain creeks. One month ago, the area was on fire but today , you wouldn't have known it. The forest and all it's greenery was heavy with dew, dripping and soggy from all the rain . Everything smelled so clean and renewed. There is nothing like the smell of a fresh mountain forest after a rain.
JB crossed both bridges like a champ , which I expected he might since I have done alot of bridge work on our obstacle course. The approach to the second bridge was a long steep down hill ride and the trail was rather narrow with a steep drop off to the right. Normally I would have preferred to get off and walk portions of trail like this but by the time I realized it , it was too late and there was no room to get off without putting us both in danger of coming off the trail. The recent rain caused the footing to be very muddy and slick and it had caused much of the edge of the trail to be very soft. JB nearly gave me a heart attack once when his back right foot got a little close to the edge and the trail fell away underneath us. Luckily he caught himself and we were fine but my heart was in my throat for a second!v I was rather happy to get to the bottom of the ravine, get over that bridge and scramble up the steep climb out of there.

We made it to the overlook and let the horses rest a bit before turning back. It was beautiful and if you looked straight down you could see the trees just below that had burned from the fire. As we made our way back the same way , I could sense JB was growing a bit weary from all the tough climbing. If he is tired and has to travel down hill, he gets a bit stumbly so several times I would get off and walk him to give him a break. We had a lot more down hill to ride yet and I wanted to spare him where I could.

We finally popped back out on the gravel road, and JB perked up right away. It was like he had a second wind and we walked along at a pretty good clip until we arrived back at the trailer. We rode for about 4 hours total and went approximately 10 miles, most of it uphill or downhill.

I was very pleased with JB today. He handled himself very well, even during the times when the youngster getting ponied got away from Sherrie and turned around on the trail , heading right at us! This was one of the most difficult terrain I have ever taken JB on. I can see that he definitely needs some work on being patient when he is behind another horse because he gets rushy and doesn't pay attention to the trail. He likes to lead the pack and set the pace. I was also able to see that he needs alot more time on more difficult terrain to help him strengthen and leg up.

We were both glad to see the trailer but today was definitely a good day, even if I am exhausted. Better yet, I got time to bend the ear of an endurance veteran.