Into the Wild

Last week, we took our son Eric on his first horse pack trip.  He's done plenty of hiking, both in Utah and in the Seattle area where he lives, but 3 days on horseback was a new element. 

Steve rode Coco, and Eric rode Boss, our calmest mount.  (The orange wear is because it's bow hunting season.) All of the horses were loaded with overnight packs, which included light backpacking-type overnight gear and food for the humans, plus hobbles and highlines for the horses.

Mischief and I were ready to go, too.

Signs were a bit confusing in places (note the crossed-out direction).

The trail wound through a spruce forest:

and past serene lakes.

The meadows and even the steep, rocky slopes delighted us with end of summer wildflowers:

(bog gentian),

(cinquefoil),

(harebells),

We ascended from the 10,200 ft trailhead to the rocky Fox Queant Pass (11,400 ft/ about 3400 m):

where we entered the Uinta Wilderness Area. 

Don't worry, the horses had boots on, and the humans got off and walked wherever the going was especially tough.
Join us in tomorrow's post, as we continue our "survival" adventure!