Quote

Ain't nuthin like ridin' a fine horse in a new country - Augustus McCrae – Lonesome Dove

Monday, December 1, 2014

Frigid!


Snow on Salal
Never this season had I gone an entire week without logging miles - but I've sure come close!  So - to keep that record going, I Had to ride today!  It was 23 degrees when I was saddling Farah up at the barn.  I wanted to be at the trail head by shortly after 11 & managed that.  The mounting rock was covered with ice, the road we left on was absolutely rock hard.  I was glad for Farah's new shoes.
Heading up ~
I envy my friends to the south - who ride together in these cold temps & at least have someone to talk to while freezing their buns!  There wasn't the snow that we have at home, but plenty of ice - ice even over the rock of the logging roads.  Farah wanted water & seems to like breaking the ice with her feet!  She soon discovered that even once she broke it - there was No water!  :-)  We did find plenty of water though - flowing along the edges of some of the roads.
Whitehorse & Three Fingers, with a cloud drifting over~
There wasn't much we could do besides Farah's swinging walk - a touch of trotting here & there - but just not worth the risk of a slip.  It was Great to get out again - I start getting withdrawals anyway if more than a few days go by between rides.  On the short trail to the Monument, the tree branches were loaded with snow & drooping over the trail - so of course we were both covered with it within a few feet!  BURRR!

Snow at the top
Farah was trying to find grass, I was trying to keep my feet warm while consuming my lunch when we heard a very weird sound & both jumped!  A piece of ice had fallen from the top of the Monument & hit the side as it fell!  I decided it was time to leave :-)
Pilchuck, on our way down~
Wanting to get in at least over ten-miles, I went ahead & took the way down to the bottom of the hill.  From there - we took a turn that I hadn't checked out before, but sadly it dead-ended.
Plenty of snow & frost in the shade~
Disappointed & really cold by now, we headed back.  Besides a couple men with dogs, there were no trailers & no riders on the mountain this day.  Gee - wonder why?  :-)  With this ride, I went over my year-end mileage for last year by a couple miles!   Yippee!
P.S.  I'd forgotten my phone - so was careful all day.  :-)

3 comments:

  1. Yeah, I did a solo ride yesterday at Bracken...not a soul on the property all day!

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    1. I hope you didn't ride under any low hanging snow covered tree branches! :-)

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  2. What beautiful pictures! Most of my riding is solo (but not the past year....no riding the past year) so I am used to it. Oh what I would do to be able to get out and ride a while....just me, my wonderful horse and nature. I thought this next weekend would work out but the conservation area is closed for hunting the rest of the year. I get my cast off my wrist January 2nd, so I am hoping to be back out and at it! I have been living vicariously through your blog - I love it!!!! Thank you! :-)

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