I have no photos at all from this ride. I do have the photos I purchased from the ride photographer, but I don't have a scanner to put them on my computer. Maybe someday in the future I will get one.
I will just post a few random photos since a blog without photos is not very interesting.
OK. I suppose I should at least keep it related to horses.
Caartouche with neighbors at his previous summer/fall home.
Anyways, two highlights that come to mind regarding the High Desert I and II rides besides some general stuff.
1) It was really cold for me camping with the camper shell.
2) The first time I met and rode with Peggy Davidson and her horse, Dakota.
Prior to entering this ride and deciding if I wanted to ride 2 days, I spoke to my friends/mentors, Dick and Carolyn Dawson. I wanted to ride 2 days versus 1 day, but I was not sure if my horse was up to it. Their advise was that if you ride slow, a 2 day endurance ride will make a horse get stronger.
The ride was at the end of October, and although the daytime temps were fair, the evenings and early mornings were freezing. It also got dark early and since we were there for 2 nights, there was not a lot for Pete and I to do when the sun went down. There was a really nice, large, hot campfire for the dinner and ride meeting, but that only lasted so long. After the ride meeting, Pete and I went and hung out in the front seat of our truck with the motor running for awhile with the heat on. I slept just fine; warm and cozy in my sleeping bag in the truck shell.
I don't have Peter get up to help me in the mornings, so he continued sleeping while I got up and took care of my horse and myself. My crew bag, etc. and other organization had all been done the evening before. I fed Caartouche (Rio). The water in his water bucket had froze, so I dealt with that and put fresh water in. We had a portable table set up with our camp stove, etc. on it. I put some water in the kettle to heat up for my coffee. I poured some milk in my cereal to eat, but the milk froze. (I learned after this that a good thing to bring to eat for breakfast on cold mornings is instant oatmeal.) I sat in the front of the truck drinking my nice, hot coffee while Rio ate his breakfast.
I started tacking up Rio. I put the saddle on him. When I went to put the breast collar on him, I had to unclasp the lead rope from the halter. I had taken his halter half way off, but still tied to him because I would not be using it once I put the bridle on him. Well, the first thing that happened is that the clip on the lead rope was frozen shut. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, I started getting worried because it was time to start in about 5 minutes. I went over to the shell and woke up Peter and asked him to come and help me because I was having trouble. I went back to my horse, and I guess I had not tied the halter well. He was nowhere in site. I felt panicked. Luckily, it only lasted about 10 seconds. Someone was walking towards me with my horse. He said, "your horse stopped at the first sign of a carrot". Whew. So scary for me. Not just because of my horse's safety, but I have heard of the damage that loose horses can cause to others. But all was fine.
I really liked this ride. Very nice, well marked trails with good footing in a historical and beautiful area, great dinners, volunteers, vets, ride managers, and base camp. Also, a lot of really nice riders. On the first day, about mile 10 or so, I ended up riding with a woman, Peggy Davidson, as we were riding similar paces. I ended up riding the rest of the race that day with her and her horse, Dakota, as well as the following day.
It was sooo helpful for me riding with an experienced rider. I learned a lot. Peggy and her horse had won the AERC National Limited Distance award the previous year. She explained the controversy regarding the LD distance versus endurance distance with some AERC members. Her purpose for riding as many LD rides as she did was to put a good base on him. And boy did she. She is one of the few people who compete on only one horse (mostly). She does a lot of AERC rides, and she rides very conservatively. She and her horse reached 5000 endurance miles last year! One of the many great things about Peggy is that she is so open to help educate newbies like me. Plus she is also super fun to ride with. I learned a lot about the importance of taking good care of our endurance horses as well as good trail etiquette to use while competing, among other things.
I don't think that Peggy and I had planned to ride together the following day. It just turned out that way. The start was gnarly. We had to cross the river. It was so deep that we had to follow someone leading who would be leading us through the most shallow part of the river. The water still came up past the horses bellies. I took my feet out of the stirrups and put them behind me on Rio's back so that they would not get wet. The most difficult part was getting in the river. It was a bit of a drop off. By this time, my horse and I had experience crossing creeks in various conditions, but not with this kind of steepness to enter. It took some coaxing to get my horse in. Peggy was a few horses behind me, and when she saw my horse's hesitation she came up to where we were and went in front of us and entered the river. Once she was safely in, she turned her horse around and waited for us. This helped my horse. He went in (hesitantly) and the rest of the river crossing was ok. Pretty exciting actually. This is what endurance is all about!
We had a great day and both of our horses finished successfully. I was not nearly as sore as I was on my first 50, even though I had now rode 100 miles in two days.
Oh-one more thing I learned. A margarita or a beer (or both sometimes) after completing a ride seems to help my body recover somehow. It also helps to keep moving while I am having my first beverage: Feeding Rio, organizing, cleaning, and putting away my tack, unpacking and putting stuff away from my crew bag and saddle bags, petting my dog, putting wraps on Rio's legs, walking him every 20 minutes or so, brushing him, etc. Then I get myself cleaned up and change my clothes and sit down and enjoy my margarita and look and admire my awesome horse (with his mouth constantly in his hay bag chomping down like a good endurance horse-except for breaks to take long gulps of water, then back to the hay bag), who not only carried me on his back for 100 miles in two days, but also seemed to enjoy it as much as I did!
I should also mention that besides the refreshing beverages, my favorite post ride snacks to eat that help to replenish me are celery and peanut butter, hummus with whole wheat pita bread, orange slices and watermelon. I am a Very good water drinker, and drink (water) consistently throughout the day. In warmer months, I ride most of my rides with my camelback on.
Lastly, after this ride, Peter decided we should research getting a camper for our truck. And so the research began.
So, that was it for our 1st year (starting in 8/06) of AERC competitions:
1. Eastern Sierra Classic 30 mile LD (Aug 2006)
2. Camp Far West 50 (Sept 2006)
3. High Desert I and II 50's (Oct 2006)
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