The last day. I awoke thinking I felt pretty good, and cautiously hopeful I'd thwarted the dreaded bronchitis. I got Hoss fed and cared for, and got my own breakfast. We hit the trail as the start was called, thinking Cheri and Helen would likely catch up to us in short order.
Hoss was really feeling the groove. He was not concerned about waiting for Echo, and didn't even seem to be looking for him. He wanted to step out and keep up with the "big dogs" in the lead.
Once the fastest horses disappeared, and we had managed to pass and stay ahead of one horse, Hoss settled in to his reasonable pace and we had a great morning. And then horses started catching up to us. First a few LD horses caught up shortly before a water stop. As is typical, they were faster -- not to mention fresher -- than Hoss. It took some doing to keep him from going much faster than he really ought to.
We arrived at the vet check at mile 17 in just over three hours, pretty fast but not too fast, unless you happen to be tired from doing 200 miles over the previous four days. Hoss drank and ate well, then took himself a nap, resting his head on top of my helmet where I sat on my little portable stool.
We were about 45 minutes into our hold when Cheri and Helen arrived. Wow, we had been going fast!
When our hold was over and Hoss passed the vet check we started out on trail. Because Echo had arrived before we were leaving, I knew Hoss was going to be difficult. Rather than mount up and have a fight about it, I led him until we were out of sight of the vet check.
Hoss still wanted to wait for Echo, but he went forward. After a while he gave up the notion of waiting for Echo, and picked up his comfortable trot.
Right about that time, he heard horses catching up. Elfta Hilzman and her friend were coming up behind us. Well, Hoss wasn't going to be doing a whole lot of trotting until they got by! I didn't see any point in getting into a fight about it, so I let him dawdle.
The other horses passed us up, and the fight was on. Nothing new, the horses were faster than Hoss. And now that he'd been passed, Hoss was particularly annoyed. I had to really keep checking him back.
We'd been having this argument for some time when we passed another horse. Hallelujah! Hoss settled down, satisfied he was "ahead" of someone.
It didn't last long. The rider of the horse we passed mounted back up and they trotted on by us. And the fight was on yet again.
We were coming up on the meadows after coming off the Rim of the World. Elfta and her friend were well ahead, and the other horse was putting distance between us. I knew I needed to keep Hoss back. There was no way he was going to be okay if I let him go at the ridiculous speed he insisted he wanted to do.
After a time the other horses got far enough ahead for Hoss to give up. Usually this results in him just picking up his good trot and doing what he needs to, but today, he sulked. His walk dropped to about two miles per hour.
Rather than fight about it, I stopped Hoss and offered him the opportunity to graze. Once he had a good mouthful, I got him moving again. When he'd finished, I stopped him again and let him get another mouthful. We made our way through much of the meadow this way, until he decided life wasn't so bad and picked up his trot.
I don't recall why, probably because I needed to answer a cause of nature, but I got off and led Hoss for quite some time. It was nice, I suppose, to walk and feel a little bit like we were just loafing along and hanging out.
Another rider caught up to us, and we rode along companionably for a while. By this time it was becoming evident I wasn't going to dodge bronchitis. I'd developed a "death rattle," and was alternately having trouble staying warm and staying cool. I kept my jacket on, knowing I really needed to just stay warm and my sense of my own temperature was off.
Hoss and I rode with the other rider through the farmland and to the highway. The other rider was pleased enough to stay with us, as she didn't want to ride along the highway alone. She wasn't particularly concerned her horse wouldn't be okay, but felt better about having a sturdy, steady companion for him.
We continued on together after the highway and crossed the Little Muddy together. One last steep uphill climb before we got back to camp.
While we were climbing the hill, I began to notice Hoss's stifles were hitting my heels. That had never happened before! It didn't take me long to realize the saddle must be slipping back. I hadn't tightened it quite as much as usual. We were in the middle of the hill, and Hoss didn't seem to be overly concerned about me gradually sliding back over his butt, so I let him finish working the hill before I got off. If that saddle had slid back any further, I really would have been sitting on his butt!
We made our way back to the finish and vetted out happy and done with five days, 250 miles.
On Monday morning, I got up and finished packing, and realized yes, I had bronchitis. I got us loaded up and headed out on the road. I dropped the hammer and got us home Monday night, so I would be able to get ahold of the doctor Tuesday morning and get my bronchitis treated.
And the link to the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx2GUpp_D_I&feature=youtu.be
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