We arrived in base camp on Tuesday, after I locked the keys in the truck in Las Vegas and my GPS routed us through Zion National Park. That made for a rather expensive day! At least I had everything I'd need for the next five days and shouldn't need to spend money for more than a bag of ice or two.
By the time we arrived, I realized I was developing a head cold. For most people this is nothing more than a nuisance. For me, especially so far from home, it is potentially a problem. It is almost inevitable that a cold causes me to experience bronchitis. And it wasn't like I could just call my doctor and get a prescription called in to the neighborhood pharmacy. I had no cell service, and there was no neighborhood pharmacy! I'd just have to muddle through.
I set up camp and debated about my sleeping arrangements. It was very warm, but the forecast I checked before I left called for temperatures in the 40s or lower overnight. So I chucked all the sleeping bags into the tent, but only set up the summer weight one. I could always get more out if I needed them.
We vetted in and I attended the ride meeting (just about a first in a long time). It was light until nearly 9pm, but once I'd taken care of Hoss I crawled into the tent. If I was gonna fend off a bout of bronchitis I needed every bit of rest I could get.
In the morning I fed Hoss and got us ready to head out on trail. Not feeling particularly like doing bunches of cleanup, I just had cereal and fruit for breakfast for myself. I sent my lunch along with Hoss's to the vet check, and we headed out to the start.
While riding around warming up and waiting for the start to be called, we ran into Merina Mitchell and her mare, Dual-E Grand Chance, known as Chance for short. Merina asked if I would mind her hitching up behind me and Hoss. I said no problem, and we set out on trail together, Merina using Hoss's butt to keep Chance in line. I had to keep Hoss in line, of course, as he was excited and more than ready to go.
Once we felt we had our horses in hand, we picked up an easy trot. Chance is ever so slightly faster than Hoss, so after a time she did most of the leading. She wanted to follow Hoss for a while, but once she got bored with being kept to a slightly slow pace she was happy enough to lead.
The views were spectacular. Hoss liked having Chance as a trail partner. He wasn't worried about whether she'd wait for him, and kept to his usual pace quite nicely even when she disappeared ahead on the trail.
We didn't go terribly fast. Chance had hurt her back at her previous ride, just two weeks earlier, and Merina was being understandably conservative. I was happy enough to go slow and enjoy the day.
We made the vet check in decent time, and stood down for our hold. Hoss ate well, and both horses shared a pile of the hay Merina and I had individually brought along. I sat and ate my lunch and minded horses so Merina could get her lunch. Then she tended the horses while I got some stuff as well.
Hoss vetted through nicely toward the end of our hold. Chance did fine, under increased scrutiny due to being pulled just two weeks before. We got ourselves ready, packed up our bags, and headed back out on the trail.
Some of the climbs were interesting. Very steep up or down. The one mentioned in the ride meeting was dubbed the "Hill of Death." To my mind, it wasn't as bad as some of the others. It earned its name because it comes down and makes a 90 degree left turn at the top of a rather steep cliff. Dave Nicholson's description on the ride map said something to the effect of, "If you fall off your body will vaporize before hitting ground." It was recommended to lead horses down, but I stayed on. With my hip in the condition it is, I'm safer on Hoss than the ground. In fact, he seems to know this and will frequently try to "force" me to get back on if I get off.
There was some nice single track curvy stuff through the trees, which Hoss just loves to do. We don't go fast, and Chance got far ahead several times. Hoss just kept his head down and powered through it. Still we kept up much of the time.
The last hill down toward camp was, in my opinion, far more treacherous than the Hill of Death. We were again advised by our trail description to dismount, but again, I'm safer on Hoss than on my own two feet. I trust his four more than my own two any day. He's careful and contemplates what's ahead. He'll even stop to think about how he's going to manage an obstacle or to allow the horse ahead to get further ahead so he has room to work himself. Smart fella.
We made it down the hill in good form and rode back to camp for the finish. Everyone vetted out fine for the next day's start.
I got Hoss settled in for the night with a huge pile of hay and bran mash. I felt a little bad I wasn't blanketing him, since everybody around me was blanketing their horses, but I just didn't think he needed it. I was sleeping in the summer weight sleeping bag in shorts and a tank. How could he possibly be cold? So I left him naked.
*For reasons I am unable to fathom, I can't get Blogger to recognize my YouTube videos. Below is the link to the video for Day One of Mt Carmel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN13w_YZ-Wk
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