Big Ridge Conquest

I was looking forward to a nice easy ride yesterday. We’d gone over 20 miles on Wednesday, and spent a long day in Salt Lake City on Thursday, so I figured we were deserving of a semi-rest day. So, when we left the house at 11:30 AM for Lower Stillwater Trailhead (along Rock Creek), I was sure our ride would be short.
Didn’t work out that way. 18 miles, 3900 feet elevation gain is no piece of cake.
Much of the 2-track/trail winds through aspens, then through a spruce forest higher up. Some parts are rocky, but many places are alluvial enough for trotting or cantering. A couple of troughs, a running creek, and Rock Lake provided ample water for Daisy and the horses. Daisy took a swim in a trough and had a refreshing dip in Rock Lake.

From the top, the 360 views of the Uintas were amazing, a nice reward for the uphill climb. The humans appreciated it. I'm not sure about Daisy and the horses. After 5 and a half hours in the saddle with an hour and half or so of breaks along the way, we returned to the trailer about 7:30PM, a long ride day.

The drive home was about 45 minutes, so we arrived just in time to cook up some frozen lasagna and collapse in front of the tube to watch Real Time with Bill Maher, my favorite show. Today, we get a rest. I insist.