Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - Another Fabulous Ride in Otter Creek

After doing some chores in the morning, Hubby and I hit the trail about 1:00, heading north this time. Out Blue Jog, north on Confusion Flats, then Chase Creek Trail to the south entrance to High Banks Trail, which we took. Stopped at the scenic area by the river for lunch, horses had their oats and we had ours (dry Cheerios as a snack!) before heading out again. Came across a dead pine across the trail with no really easy way around it, so we dismounted and managed to push it off the trail. It was right next to a cliff so we were able to get gravity to work in our favor, and since the tree had broken in several places it was pretty easy to clear. Didn’t even need to get my camp saw out! Trail was unbelievably dry considering the storms the other day. Really beautiful, up and down, lots of woods, occasional fields, and two bridges along the way. Came back along the "Ponds Trails", Evie’s Pond Trail, Gumdrop Pond Trail, Hinching Pond Trail, finally picking up Cow Trail, then Homebound Trail, till we circled back to Confusion Flats and Blue Jog. Five full hours, getting back at 6:00. Footing was better than Monday, so no boots were necessary (thank goodness), though we did carry them with us just in case. Hubby wore a back brace today, he’s been having some pain in his lower back, but the brace seemed to help tremendously. I think his muscles just got a little weak with lack of use during our three week hiatus, as did mine and the horses’! He just doesn’t want to become dependent of having to take painkillers just to take a ride. Took a much needed shower, relaxed with the TV, then headed to a freshly-linened bed for a great night sleep!

Tuesday, August, 30, 2011 - Errand and Blog Catchup Day

Hubby ran errands while I got caught up on my blog and other office duties today. Looking forward to our ride tomorrow!

Monday, August, 29, 2011 - Short Ride Day

Took a short ride after breakfast, exploring the Shady and Independence River Trails. We were delighted and surprised to discover that there is an RV dump behind the bathhouse on the road leaving the campground! What a relief that is, knowing I don’t have to start searching for a place to stop on what promises to be an already long day of driving next week. The trail turned out to be much rockier than we expected, and unfortunately we had gotten so spoiled with the great footing around here that we didn’t have the horse boots with us, so we just had to plow through it all. Very interesting trail, though, narrower and bit more challenging than any we’ve been on thus far. Nowhere near as muddy as one would expect considering the all-day rain yesterday. Not surprisingly, the Independence River was running fast and furious after the rain, but since we’d never been there before we couldn’t really compare it to what would be "usual." Only out about two hours or so, just enough the get the horses stretched out. They seemed more reluctant than on previous rides here, I don’t know if that was because of the rocks or because they haven’t been ridden four times in a week in a long, LONG time. Glad it was only a short ride, tomorrow they’ll have off again, perhaps by Wednesday they’ll be ready for another long ride. Great day, though! "No hour is ever wasted on the back of a horse," Ronald Reagan, borrowed from Winston Churchill.

Sunday, August 28, 2011 - "Hurricane" Day

After much ado about the hurricane coming in (Ranger, "It’s the size of Europe!"), it started to drizzle around 6:15 this morning. No noticeable wind, just a light drizzle that kept up all day and evening. A few trees swayed in the middle of the afternoon, but less than if it had been a decent thunderstorm. No limbs down, I think I saw a couple of leaves go by with one gust. Other than that, just a nice rainy Sunday. Sorry for all the folks who lost their electricity and had damage, but by the time it got here it was gentle as a lamb, and glad for it. Horses had a nice day off, and so did we, watching movies most of the day, after I got some paperwork and logistical stuff done in preparation for the upcoming busy month of September. Needed a rainy day like this anyway!

Saturday, August 27, 2011 - Lunch and Hurricane Irene Prep Day

Got up a bit earlier today to go for that longer ride we were planning. Discovered that a bunch of people were packing up to leave because of the impending "hurricane" that was headed our way. As a veteran of several hurricanes and many frenzied-forecaster false alarms, I was much more inclined to downplay it. Even the local forecasters here were calling for winds around 25 mph with gusts of maybe upper 30’s, along with the usual rain. Having easily survived 60-70 mph winds in Colorado, we’re not worried. The ranger came around though, with all kinds of dire warnings. Apparently all the state parks in the Catskills and Adirondacks were being evacuated, but since this isn’t a state park they can’t make us move. He warned that if electricity went out there would be no water and no telling when it would be turned back on. He said we probably wouldn’t be able to get to Providence, even after Labor Day, because of all the roads and bridges that were going to be washed out by the hurricane, or blocked by trees falling down. He told stories of what happened when a microburst of winds came through back in 1999 and all the devastation it caused. Even our friends decided to leave early, worried that it might get bad, and the trails would be too muddy to ride on anyway (even though we had been earlier regaled at how well the trails dry up here after a rain!). I made it clear that we weren’t worried, we could handle ourselves, though we appreciated his need to warn others for their safety. He ended up telling me where the nearest access to the river was, in case we needed to bucket water in. Anyway, after all that, we saddled up and headed out for our much anticipated Saturday ride, enjoying the fabulous weather, mostly sunny around 70 degrees (calm before the storm?) We headed out the much used Blue Jog Trail, turned south on Confusion Flats, the east of Florence Pond until we picked up Florence Trail heading southeast. From there we took Crooked Creek Trail, where we were delighted to find not just one but TWO water crossings, which was so funny because earlier in the ride I had commented to Hubby how we hadn’t done a water crossing in a LONG time. They were good ones, too, belly-high and about 6-8 lengths wide. I had to draw my feet up to keep my new sheepskin saddle cover (which reaches all the way down to the stirrups) dry.

Friday, August 26, 2011 - Another Fabulous Ride Day

Finally had a good night sleep, slept until 9:30, thank goodness! Even had a few hours of really deep sleep, which I desperately needed. I feel more rested than I have in weeks. After a leisurely breakfast and a few chores, we saddled up and headed out about 1:30. There are so many trails here, the combinations are practically endless. We headed south on Twin Ponds, then Glendale, then Hiawatha, then Florence Pond, then I can’t remember where, but everywhere we went was wonderful! The only part that got a bit too muddy was along Icicle Trail, but while I was riding my brother called to wish me a belated birthday, so I hardly noticed it, Apollo just kept trudging along like the trooper he is! Along Aspen Trail we found a gorgeous pond with a hitching rail where we stopped for a short break. We’ve been doing a lot of trotting and cantering, as the trails really allow us to, and the horses seemed quite willing after their long hiatus. Another ten miles or so today, getting us back around 4:45. Finally had a relaxing evening, watching a PVR movie before calling it a night. Plans are to get up early and ride to a trailside restaurant south of the wilderness area. We’ve been told it will take about four hours of riding total, plus the break for lunch, so we want to get an early start.

Thursday, August 25, 2011 - Rainy Work Day

Spent the day really trying to get caught up, though the morning was wasted trying to help Hubby get a satellite signal, which he did even as it rained outside. He keeps getting a reading about the switch not working, but he finally gave up around noon, then headed out to do some running around, including getting our own adapter for the silly water spigot. While he was gone I got LOTS of work done (amazing how that happens : -)! which made me feel better after I was able to know out a couple of major projects done that had been bugging me. Finally managed to feel a bit more relaxed. Even though the campground is very crowded, it’s still quiet enough for me to start feeling more relaxed, though I’m still not sleeping as well as I usually do. Hoping to do better tonight, now that I have a few less things on my mind! Though it rained in the morning, it cleared up late in the day, and the weather forecast is for a couple of beautiful days ahead. There’s a hurricane (Irene) sliding up the east coast, but we’re so far inland, and on the far side of the mountains, that I don’t see it being much of an event here. Maybe a bit of rain on Sunday, but that’s about it. That’s good, because the horses will need a day off by then!