We hadn’t been up Dry Canyon ridge since the aspens changed, so we made that ride one more time from the Pigeon Water Spring road. The trail is rocky in places, but we went without boots. The horses’ hooves are really toughening up. Mischief and Boss took even the rockiest parts without much complaint. There are several long stretches of alluvial trail that allow for nice trots and canters.
We went all the way to the aspen forests at 10,000 feet. Some small patches of snow remained in the shade, left over from a storm over the weekend.
Most of the aspen leaves had fallen, but the views across the high meadows to Big Ridge was still pretty spectacular.
Most of the aspen leaves had fallen, but the views across the high meadows to Big Ridge was still pretty spectacular.
Daisy took a swim in one of the cow troughs, always a highlight for her. She has the idea now. She can climb in and out all by herself.
We ran across a group of six hunters on our way up. Their horses were tied to trees, and the men were lying on the ground in mid-afternoon, presumably conserving energy for an evening hunt. When we passed the area on our way down, we saw only the horses. The hunters must have been off doing their thing. We didn’t hear any shooting, so I guess they weren’t successful.
Almost back to the trailer, we saw a couple of deer leaping through the sage. I took a photo, but don’t have a telephoto lens to bring the wildlife in close.
Overall, the ride was 10.5 miles, 2600 feet elevation gain, in about 3 hours moving time.
After unsaddling, we treated the horses to some corn on the cob from the garden (a big hit) and a couple of apples from our apple trees.
We ran across a group of six hunters on our way up. Their horses were tied to trees, and the men were lying on the ground in mid-afternoon, presumably conserving energy for an evening hunt. When we passed the area on our way down, we saw only the horses. The hunters must have been off doing their thing. We didn’t hear any shooting, so I guess they weren’t successful.
Almost back to the trailer, we saw a couple of deer leaping through the sage. I took a photo, but don’t have a telephoto lens to bring the wildlife in close.
Overall, the ride was 10.5 miles, 2600 feet elevation gain, in about 3 hours moving time.
After unsaddling, we treated the horses to some corn on the cob from the garden (a big hit) and a couple of apples from our apple trees.
Ugh, hunters. We keep seeing guys in camo walking around on popular trails like the trail to Mt. Aire and the one to Alexander Basin, carrying around crossbows. I've been wondering if that is even legal in popular areas. It makes me nervous.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you need to get a camera that you can have a telephoto lens on now that you're blogging lots of pictures. :)
Good suggestion, Tess. I have been using my telephoto a lot more now that I'm blogging...except for this week when I've been too busy and gone and my $#$#%@!! picture importer broke.
ReplyDeleteIt's always something.