Put this one at or near the top of the list! An absolutely fantastic, almost indescribably wonderful ride today! We started out on the Platte Ridge Trail, the one we started on Wednesday. We again enjoyed the open valley as we gradually inclined toward the top. At the end of the field, we came into the woods. While the woods aren't terrible attractive because of the damage done by the pine beetles, the trail we delightful nevertheless. We ran into some boggy areas, but nothing too terrible. Some areas we almost lost the trail, but the local saddle club had been up the previous weekend clearing the trails (part of the Adopt-a-Trail program), so there were enough horse signs to follow to keep us on track. Then we came to an intersection with a skull on a post and a sign that said Platte Ridge Trail, continuing in the direction we were going, and another unmarked trail that went off to the right, which we figured was the connector trail we wanted, so we went right. Theoretically, if we were where we thought we were, we should have reached the Douglas Creek Trail in about a mile. The trail gradually got more and more wild, looking less and less traveled, and though it started out with horse signs, that eventually diminished. We had more and more obstacles in the way, so the club certainly didn't get that far (though on the day they went out they had serious thunderstorms in afternoon, so we reasoned that maybe they came back the way they came when it started raining). Soon we were starting to think we had made a wrong turn, and began debating whether we should turn back (something we hate to do unless absolutely necessary.) I looked at the map and reasoned that if we kept going the way we were going, eventually we had to run into either the Platte River or Douglas Creek, and once there we should be able to find the Douglas Creek Trail, which would take us back home. After some spirited persuasion, Hubby agreed. Then we came up on this fabulous sage-covered hill on a side trail, and we went up and saw an incredible view. We could see snow covered mountains in Colorado to the southwest, the Platte River down below to the northwest, and fantastic terrain in between. Absolutely gorgeous! After taking a few pix, we headed back in the same direction, keeping our fingers crossed we were on a trail that led somewhere, especially since it had started to go downhill in a hurry. I reasoned that we needed to go down to get to the river anyway, so we kept going. There was a lot of trees down on that particular section, but eventually the trail started to open. Suddenly, out of nowhere, and intersection with a sign! It seems we were on the right trail all the time, that if we had gone straight at the first intersection it would have just looped around to the trail we were on anyway! The signs indicated Douglas Creek Trail to our right, Platte River Trail to our left, and a broken sign that indicated Platte Ridge Trail back up the way we had come. Phew! That was a relief! Knowing now exactly where we were (after four hours of riding), we stopped for lunch. The horses got a nice portion of feed and we munched on nuts, carrots and cold hot dogs. After a rest, we proceeded right down Douglas Creek Trail. Now THIS was a fantastic trail. While the first trail had been a nice forest trail, DCT had an incredible variety of terrain. THIS IS NOT A TRAIL FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED RIDER OR THE SKITTISH HORSE! This trail had grassy fields, sage brush clearings, narrow rocky trails that barely clung to the side of the hills, with very long drops right on the edge of the trail, fast water crossings, boggy areas, moments when you felt like you were in a rain forest, the next like you're in a desert, this trail had it all! Quite challenging, but don't try this with an animal you don't trust or it could be a disaster in the making. Beautiful rock outcroppings above in many places, making us feel like we should be looking for Indians above us, several lovely spots for a picnic, and so on. It was almost an indescribably fantastic experience, and one that will definitely place in the top five or better of all the trails we've been on. SO glad we decided to stay here the extra week! Got home in good shape at around 5:00, just as I thought we would, fourteen plus fabulous miles under our belts, and the horses hadn't even broken out in a sweat (The weather was perfect, too! Though there was a brief threat of a thunderstorm in the distance at one point, we only felt a drop or two of rain before it headed off into the distance). Bedded everyone down, got everyone fed, and relaxed for the evening. Motto of the day, "This is more fun than two people should be allowed to have!"
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010 - FABULOUS Ride Day
Put this one at or near the top of the list! An absolutely fantastic, almost indescribably wonderful ride today! We started out on the Platte Ridge Trail, the one we started on Wednesday. We again enjoyed the open valley as we gradually inclined toward the top. At the end of the field, we came into the woods. While the woods aren't terrible attractive because of the damage done by the pine beetles, the trail we delightful nevertheless. We ran into some boggy areas, but nothing too terrible. Some areas we almost lost the trail, but the local saddle club had been up the previous weekend clearing the trails (part of the Adopt-a-Trail program), so there were enough horse signs to follow to keep us on track. Then we came to an intersection with a skull on a post and a sign that said Platte Ridge Trail, continuing in the direction we were going, and another unmarked trail that went off to the right, which we figured was the connector trail we wanted, so we went right. Theoretically, if we were where we thought we were, we should have reached the Douglas Creek Trail in about a mile. The trail gradually got more and more wild, looking less and less traveled, and though it started out with horse signs, that eventually diminished. We had more and more obstacles in the way, so the club certainly didn't get that far (though on the day they went out they had serious thunderstorms in afternoon, so we reasoned that maybe they came back the way they came when it started raining). Soon we were starting to think we had made a wrong turn, and began debating whether we should turn back (something we hate to do unless absolutely necessary.) I looked at the map and reasoned that if we kept going the way we were going, eventually we had to run into either the Platte River or Douglas Creek, and once there we should be able to find the Douglas Creek Trail, which would take us back home. After some spirited persuasion, Hubby agreed. Then we came up on this fabulous sage-covered hill on a side trail, and we went up and saw an incredible view. We could see snow covered mountains in Colorado to the southwest, the Platte River down below to the northwest, and fantastic terrain in between. Absolutely gorgeous! After taking a few pix, we headed back in the same direction, keeping our fingers crossed we were on a trail that led somewhere, especially since it had started to go downhill in a hurry. I reasoned that we needed to go down to get to the river anyway, so we kept going. There was a lot of trees down on that particular section, but eventually the trail started to open. Suddenly, out of nowhere, and intersection with a sign! It seems we were on the right trail all the time, that if we had gone straight at the first intersection it would have just looped around to the trail we were on anyway! The signs indicated Douglas Creek Trail to our right, Platte River Trail to our left, and a broken sign that indicated Platte Ridge Trail back up the way we had come. Phew! That was a relief! Knowing now exactly where we were (after four hours of riding), we stopped for lunch. The horses got a nice portion of feed and we munched on nuts, carrots and cold hot dogs. After a rest, we proceeded right down Douglas Creek Trail. Now THIS was a fantastic trail. While the first trail had been a nice forest trail, DCT had an incredible variety of terrain. THIS IS NOT A TRAIL FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED RIDER OR THE SKITTISH HORSE! This trail had grassy fields, sage brush clearings, narrow rocky trails that barely clung to the side of the hills, with very long drops right on the edge of the trail, fast water crossings, boggy areas, moments when you felt like you were in a rain forest, the next like you're in a desert, this trail had it all! Quite challenging, but don't try this with an animal you don't trust or it could be a disaster in the making. Beautiful rock outcroppings above in many places, making us feel like we should be looking for Indians above us, several lovely spots for a picnic, and so on. It was almost an indescribably fantastic experience, and one that will definitely place in the top five or better of all the trails we've been on. SO glad we decided to stay here the extra week! Got home in good shape at around 5:00, just as I thought we would, fourteen plus fabulous miles under our belts, and the horses hadn't even broken out in a sweat (The weather was perfect, too! Though there was a brief threat of a thunderstorm in the distance at one point, we only felt a drop or two of rain before it headed off into the distance). Bedded everyone down, got everyone fed, and relaxed for the evening. Motto of the day, "This is more fun than two people should be allowed to have!"
