Re: Trail Riding Valle Vidal in Vermejo Park/Carson.

On Jul 16, 8:01 pm, Brian Whatcott <betw...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:44:52 -0700, betsey <twoxo...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

..

how many hours a day are you guys going to spend in the saddle?
theres a whole theory of how to handle all day....as in, at the end of
the day, you don't strip the saddle off right away, you loosen the
girth and let the horse cool out, then remove the saddle when the hair
is dry...
(old cowboy stuff....don't know if it works. )

betsey

Haynes mentioned woefully that once at Valle Vidal they
missed a turn and it took eight hours to get back to camp.

This is a serious concern. I've gotten fairly lost, although not that
lost, twice in national forests because the maps were so bad. However,
both times we had a compass, and got out o.k. But, that's why I said
to go ahead and take in more provisions than you'd do elsewhere,
because it is *really* easy to get lost. They purposely don't mark
anything and you may not see anyone out there. On the last trip we had
a very small xeroxed copy of a topigraphical map. It was impossible to
tell what was a fenceline and what was a road. However, the north /
south directionals are accurate. On another trip we were able to buy a
large topigraphical map for about $20 and it made a ton of difference.
It was much easier to tell where you were and you could see all kinds
of minute details.

For what it's worth, the worst trail maps I've gotten were in Sam
Houston National Forest and Lake Somerville State Park (both in
Texas). Lake Somerville's map didn't have north marked on it and we
get extremely lost because of that-- ended up coming after dark after
meeting some people who knew where we were. SHNF had roads on it, but
most didn't have names.

So I guess that would be longer than usual for them. But I also I
heard that they took bed rolls etc and did several days out from
camp. Not this time though. On the earlier warmup ride this month,
it was two, two-hour trips a day.
I remind myself these are not spring chickens, so I should
not be absolutely stressed out. I hope!

We usually ride 4 - 5 hours a day on trips like this and take a break
for lunch. I've ridden longer, but that's a nice ride and gives you
enough time to get back to camp and cook or go for an evening hike.
Your friends will probably be fine, but do carry additional meds with
you if someone has a chronic condition. If they've got an something
like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., make sure everyone going
knows this and what to do about it. You can also buy glucose paste in
a tube. It's very fast for diabetics and it's also good for
hypothermia. (My dad's a diabetic and we've had some close calls
camping and hiking because of it.)

That delayed off idea might be worth considering to avoid flash
chilling the saddle area when its wet with sweat, as it will be.
Interesting.

I'd never heard that one, either.

Uma's right if you stay in the valley, it won't be real hard on their
feet, although the roads are generally two-track dirt / caliche old
logging roads with some gravel on them.

Glad you aren't bringing the old truck. The new one should be perfect.
So, I guess you're bringing a tent, since no trailer?

I'm sure you also know this one, but don't leave home without your
duct tape, too! I ended up having to duct tape Aspen's feet on the
last trip because of a rub from the bottom of the new Old Macs. I
didn't get them in time for her to break them in and it got tender by
the end, but the duct tape worked and I was able to ride.
cg

Carol


Brian W


.

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