Red Canyon

Last week, we went on an endurance ride starting in Red Canyon, Utah, west of Panguitch on Highway 12, and just a few miles east of Bryce Canyon National Park.  Both Bryce and Red Canyon are on the Paunsaungunt ("Home of the Beaver" in Paiute) Plateau.  Both Bryce and Red Canyons feature the orange-red limestone of the Claron formation and its fascinating spires, columns, and hoodoos.

The evening we arrived, it rained almost all night long.  We thought for sure the next day would be cold and damp with slick trails.
As it turned out, the rain stopped before morning, leaving a mist that hung over the  cliffs.  The riding conditions were fine.

Here we are, trotting through Casto Canyon, about midway through our first day.
Our second day was sunny, and the main feature of the ride was the spectacular Thunder Mountain Trail.  The trail is narrow and winding in places, and we shared it with a few mountain bikers.  Fortunately, our horses have seen a lot of bikes, so that wasn't a problem.

All along the way, we went around and through the orange-red hoodoos.

Limber Pine and Ponderosa Pine grow throughout the area.
Bristlecone Pine grow above 8000 feet in dolomite soil, usually on windy ridges. These slow-growing trees are poor competitors and tend to survive best in difficult conditions where other trees don't do well.  The needles can last up to 30 years before they are shed.

At the trail's high points, the views were spectacular.  

Above, you can see about 20 miles to the long ridge of the Aquarius Plateau, the top of the Colorado Grand Staircase of southern Utah.  Powell Point is at the end of the ridge to the right. A tall, scraggly Bristlecone Pine frames the photo on the left.
The vast expanse of open territory shows how much there is to explore.  I don't think we'll run out of trails any time soon.  

Antelope Island Endurance Ride

We arrived on Thursday for a the Antelope Island 55 endurance mile event on Friday morning.  Ride camp was already a busy place, with 30 to 40 trailers parked near the Garr Ranch.

By the next morning, the count was at least 50 trailers.  Over 40 riders were signed up for the 55 mile ride, and probably about as many for the 30 mile.

This black stallion caught our eye.  He was a beauty and reminded me of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, which I read numerous times as a child.

The ride manager checked off the riders. Horses milled about, whinnying and dancing.

And they're off.  The black stallion led us out for a "controlled start."  Control is relative at one of these events, since all the horses know they're out for an adventure, and they're eager to get going.  Every horse there would take off at a gallop if it were up to them.

The scenery was beautiful.  We rode across the island on a trail that isn't usually open this time of year because of bison calving.  Island management decided to make an exception for the endurance ride.  Hopefully we didn't cause any undue problems.

A bison herd grazed along the shore on the west side of the island.  They seemed unperturbed by our presence, if they even noticed.  In a few places, we left the trail to go around groups of bison.  Many of the cows already had calves at their sides.  We also saw antelope, deer, and one lonely coyote trotting along the beach.  Chukkar and meadowlarks are abundant, as well as plenty of seabirds.  As we headed for the homestretch, the sun was getting low and gulls were flying and shrieking above us.  By that time, we were getting a bit fatigued, but we could still appreciate the beautiful scene.

We clocked in at 7PM, having traveled a little over 60 miles, with 4500 feet of elevation gain and loss. We arrived about the middle of the pack.  Riders continued to trickle in for the next couple of hours.

It was quite a day.  The horses looked good and the vet gave them a thumbs up. All was well - another fine (albeit very long) day in the saddle.   

50 + 55 = Sweet Success

The Strawberry Fields Forever Endurance Ride was last weekend.  We were conditioned, primed and eager.  There were 125 riders in all, and the ride camp was like a small city.  Some were registered for 25 mile rides, some for 50.  Everyone was ready to rumble.

We rode the 50 miler on Day 1, and the 55 mile ride on Day 2, coming in about the middle of the pack on both days.  We felt pretty good about competing, and even better about finishing with us and the horses in decent shape.  We could have ridden another 50 on Day 3, but since this was the first time we'd tried 2 competitive events in a row, we thought we'd call it good.

Daisy camped with us, but had to stay at the trailer during the ride.  She was sad, but very glad when we returned.  Out of all the places around camp she could lie down, she chose Boss's portable corral.  Boss didn't mind.  During camp meetings, all the dogs were running around, visiting with other dogs and humans.  It was a friendly dog's paradise.
On Day 1, the 7AM start of the 50 miler involved 80 snorting, whinnying, dancing horses, mostly high-stepping, tail-flagging Arabians.  The ride master played the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever on his truck's CD as the first competitors rode out. Once we got going, the horses settled down to a good working pace.

Part of the trail wound along a ridge with a rock wall, shown here.

The trail went through a convenient gap in the wall, where elk had worn a path.  The travels included an elevation gain and loss of 6000 feet.

On Day 2's 55 mile event, the competitors were a little more sedate, since most had already competed the previous day.  Here's Steve at the start of Day  2, which also began at 7AM.

We traveled up high, to a mountain ridge with gorgeous views,

and past what the ride manager has named the Elk Gate, probably because a lot of elk hang out up there.   The second day's ride had 6700 feet of elevation gain and loss.
Both Coco and Boss passed their final vet checks with flying colors.  Steve and Janie were feeling a little addled right after the rides, but soon recovered enough to enjoy some socializing each evening.

Wildflowers were in bloom, the mountains were gorgeous, and the bugs were minimal.  Altogether, a great weekend!

50 Miles on Our 40th

View from the Trail

The Mount Carmel XP ride takes place in southern Utah, just to the east of Zion National Park.  

We arrived at the ride camp last Friday evening, planning to ride on Day 4 of the 5 day event.  We were entered for a 50 - our first 50 mile event. 

Janie rode Boss, since he has a heavy quarter horse build, not ideal for endurance.  Steve rode Coco.  With Boss carrying a lighter load, the two horses' heart rates (according to pulse monitors) stay almost identical throughout a long, hard ride.

At 7AM when a group of about 50 horses and riders pranced out to the starting point, both of our horses were charged up and ready to go. Steve was in major competitive mode, too. 

For the first few miles, the trail was narrow and everyone traveled in a line, moving at a fast trot.  The horses didn't start to spread out until the trail widened.  

Since the day's high was predicted to be about 85 F, we planned to keep up a fast trot wherever possible for the first few hours, taking advantage of the cool morning.  For most of the first half, we stayed with riders who usually finish in the top ten.  Just before the lunch break, we stopped for a water break and when we started again, no one else was in sight. We missed a turn and found ourselves a couple of miles down the wrong road. After 30 minutes or so of wandering, we finally found the lunch camp.  

Steve studying map

We were about to give it up at that point.  The ride manager had not been able to download the route to our old model GPS, and the map provided was condensed and a bit difficult to follow. We doubted we could find our way by just following the flags.  

Luckily for us, a very kind, considerate and experienced rider named Angie had the GPS route on her unit. She insisted that we WOULD finish the ride, because she was going to stay with us until we did. She was pure guardian angel. We managed to keep up with her and her 5 year old Arab  pretty well.  

And yes, we did complete the ride! Both horses "pulsed down", meaning their pulses dropped below 60 beats/min, in 5 minutes or less.  So they weren't too stressed.

The horses were tired that evening, but perfectly sound, eating and drinking normally.  Our human muscles were a little sore, but not much more than after the 25 mile rides we have done before.  We felt good when we realized we had come in mid-pack, about 25^th  out of more than 50 riders.   We felt especially good since this ride attracts many Tevis riders.  The terrain near Zion is similar to the part of California where the Tevis Cup occurs.  The Tevis is a 100 mile ride that is considered one of the toughest in the endurance world.  At Mt. Carmel, we rode with people not only from Utah, but from California, Arizona, and Colorado, too.  Some riders traveled as much as 3 days to get there.   A T-shirt logo we saw at the ride seems like a good motto for this active group: "You can rest when you're dead!"

40 years ago

Our ride last weekend coincided with our 40^th anniversary. We’re lucky to be in good enough health to stick on our horses for 50 miles. Plus, we mostly still like each other when the rides are done.

Moab Endurance, Year 2

We returned to the 3 day Moab Canyons Endurance Ride for the second year in a row. 

Above is an action shot from last year, (photo by Vicki Gaebe at VRG Enterprises), since I didn't have time to take photos on this year's ride.  Last year, I rode Coco and Steve rode Boss. 
This year, I rode Boss on Day 1. Since he's a quarter horse, he shouldn't be as good at endurance as Coco, who's an Anglo Arab.  We hoped to even up the score by having Boss carry less weight.
Boss is a handful for me.  He's always wanting to get ahead.  We rode behind my blog friend Merri at first.  She and her fellow rider Steph have many years of experience, so following their lead seemed wise.  However, Boss was very unhappy with being behind.  Eventually, I let him pass, hoping he would calm down.  Not so. He immediately pricked his ears at a horse a half mile ahead and was determined to catch up with that horse.  He's a competitor, for sure.  And nobody told him quarter horses aren't supposed to be good at endurance! 
He did just fine.  Although we didn't go particularly fast, we completed our 30 miles and had a fun time.

Above is a photo of a ride start, with all the excitement amid flying hoofs and swirls of dust.
We skipped the competition on Day 2 and had our own fun ride instead.  More about that adventure later.
On Day 3, Steve rode Boss, while Coco and I stayed at ride camp. 

Coco was sad to be left behind.  He seemed to be favoring one foot, though, so letting him rest seemed best.  Daisy was with us, and she had the finest time of all.  There must've been 50 dogs in camp, and she played with all of them! 

Here's Steve coming in to the finish line with Boss.  They were in second place! They walked down the final hill so Boss could catch his breath before his pulse was checked at the race's end.  A horse has to drop his pulse to 60 within 30 minutes of crossing the finish line, or he will be disqualified.  Boss dropped to 60 in about 7 minutes, easily meeting criteria. 
Overall, we learned a lot from more experienced riders, had lots of fun, and exhausted ourselves thoroughly.  All good.  Getting home to showers and a real bed after 3 days of sleeping in the trailer was pretty great, too!

Strawberry Fields

The area north of Strawberry Reservoir has some of the prettiest views and wildflowers anywhere in Utah. 

We competed in the Strawberry Fields Endurance Ride this year, a privilege and a pleasure.  Above is our new corral system for camping with the horses.  They liked the freedom compared to the old school method of  being tied to the trailer or to a highline. 

Steve and I both rode 25 miles on Day 1.  Here's a pic from the mid-ride vet check.  Steve was gobbling a granola bar, which seems to be his standard pose.  We finished in the first 25%, not pushing the horses at all.  In fact, most of our effort was in trying to contain their zeal.  Seeing so many horses moving out really got their adrenaline flowing.

On Day 3, Steve and Coco went another 25 miles, sans me and Boss.  Here are the first of the riders (of a group of 25 or so) starting down the trail to the tune of - - what else?  The Beatles' Strawberry Fields. 
While Steve rode, Daisy and I stayed around camp, taking photos of the many beautiful wildflowers:



Columbine

Leafy Jacob's Ladder

Wallflower

Penstemon

When the first rider came in, I figured Steve couldn't be far behind.  He was the next rider to show up. 

Daisy and I were watching the trail, and Daisy recognized him immediately.

Oh, the joy of running with her pack!  What a great place for dogs, horses and people to come together and have fun. 

Ready, Set, Go!

On a sub-freezing October morning north of Moab, Utah, an entire camp of eager endurance riders are up before sunrise.  The LaSal Mountains are outlined against the brightening sky.

After bustling around, feeding,watering, and saddling, the 50 mile riders and their dancing Arabians are ready to go by 7:30. (A few quarter horses and other breeds, and even one mule, join the fray.)

And they're off!  The 25 milers (us!) leave an hour later. 

Here I am about mid-way through a ride.  Sorry, the photo is a little blurry.  Both stops and photos are few and far between.

It's big country.  We traverse shifting sands and wind around Navaho sandstone formations.  Above, look closely for 2 riders on the left hand side of the panorama. 

We have views of the LaSal Mountains in the distance, but not a lot of leisure to admire the scenery. 

All in all, we learned a lot and rode some beautiful trails.  On our drive home, we stopped for a photo of Canyonlands geology.