I packed my rain gear just in case. Didn't need it though.
I love this picture of my niece, and Cowboy trying to eat her hat. She has the same mischievous look she used to get when she was a toddler. She's always been a lot of fun.
John and Henry packed their heavy packs all the way up the mountain. I don't know how they do it.
Pretty green trail.
Ornaments, and good grazing.
When I got home I was totally spent, but then I got a text from my boss/friend the equine dentist, asking if I wanted to ride her trails the next day. Of course!
The views were spectacular! We could see waaaay over into Washington.
It was neat riding with a vet who does endurance. When Scout was getting pretty tired she checked his heart rate and made sure it was falling as he rested. She declared him fit to continue. :) As she said, he has a lot of horse to haul up that mountain. Not to mention me! Her little endurance Arabian didn't think what we were doing was hard work at all.
Kamiak Butte in the distance:
Steptoe Butte:
We ended up near the top of Lone Jack Butte and then went down, down, down pretty quickly. That was probably the hardest part. We were tired and sore at the bottom, but it was totally worth it. Scout got to lead most of the ride, which was good for his baby brain. He was a rock star, and it helped the energizer bunny Arab have a more relaxing ride. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this ride was going to go because our horses are so opposite in terms of speed, but it went really well!
So now we have permission to ride up there whenever we want, to try to keep the trails from disappearing. She worked hard to create them, but doesn't get as much time as she'd like to go ride them. With so much land being closed due to fire danger, I'm really happy to have this option.
We did 2200 feet of elevation gain on Saturday, a short ride on Sunday (still a good climb) and 1400 feet of elevation gain on Monday in a short amount of time. Then Scout got Tuesday off while I busted butt working for 9 1/2 hours and then bucked hay for 3 hours for a friend in need. I'm tired. But we're going out again today. John's last training hike before climbing Mt. Adams. Should be fun!
7 comments:
That first trail looks about perfect! Love land on both sides of me, and some shade. You must be in central Oregon??? The buttes you mentioned don't sound familiar, but if you could see into Washington and your hubby (?) is going to climb Mt. Adams - we must live fairly close to each other. We may have even passed one another on a trail at some time...glad you had such enjoyable rides!
I'm actually in Idaho, near Pullman/Moscow. Oregon isn't too far from me. Where in Oregon are you?
I live in Yamhill, SE of Portland by about an hour. Northern part of the Willamette Valley. We travel to central Oregon to ride quite often because around here lots of the trails are steep, steep, steep and country has dense undergrowth. Our son and his wife live in Nez Perce, which I think is in your area.
Nez Perce must be somewhere near Lewiston? That would be Kind of near me, but different terrain and hotter.
I used to live in Vancouver, a couple lifetimes ago. Didn't get to ride much then but I imagine the trail choices are limited.
Nez Perce must be somewhere near Lewiston? That would be Kind of near me, but different terrain and hotter.
I used to live in Vancouver, a couple lifetimes ago. Didn't get to ride much then but I imagine the trail choices are limited.
Nez Perce must be somewhere near Lewiston? That would be Kind of near me, but different terrain and hotter.
I used to live in Vancouver, a couple lifetimes ago. Didn't get to ride much then but I imagine the trail choices are limited.
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