A Ride to Remember!

Sorta by accident while "horseing around" on the internet I found this on OPB (Oregon public broadcasting) I am going to watch this in the morning at 9:30 on OPB.....and yes I am so excited :)))
Hope the link below works for you all to see it too! It is funny that I just posted my Happy Place being the PCT and, here it is!!!





Oregon Experience: Pacific Crest Trail: A Ride to Remember

Don and June Mulford share adventures along the Pacific Crest Trail in 1959.

I may have to rethink my goal of how many segments I can ride in 20 years ;)))
Your Desert Rose!

My Happy Place!

YUP...that's my Pacific Crest Trail and I am happy anywhere on it!!!
Your Desert Rose!

Pacific Crest Trail...(6th segment ridden)

In my goal of riding as many segments of the PCT in a 20 year span I have just completed my 6th segment ridden! One of these 6 segments we have ridden over and over has a great lunch stop, Live Oak Spring, with an underground spring that supplies water for our horses. Even if at the end of the 20 years I will have only ridden 20 segments I will feel satisfied with the accomplishment!
Since we had never been to this new trial head the Bossman and I have our usual disagreements as to what way is left and what way is right but we hit our targeted time of leaving the stables for our ride. On our way to the trail head I make a silly comment..."well at least it's not windy today" because our trail today would start at the Mesa Wind Farm. Of course the wind farm was built in this location...because it is FUCKINGWINDY there! (25 cents in the cuss jar) there!!! I finally relented and said that the Bossman did not have to wear his cowboy hat and instead wear his beloved Pith helmet. My reasoning for this was...if his hat was going to blow away...I sure did not want it to blow back on Lady and me knocking us off the trail down into the deep ravines of the PCT.

Now before I go to much further in my story...I must tell you that this segment was ridden almost a year ago! And since then we have ridden a few more segment adventures to tell you about! But...back to this segment ;)))

I have to admit that I was NOT sure how Lady was going to react to the wheeeeer wheeeeer of the windmills as we entered their domain! However after a minute or 2 she did NOT pay any attention to them even though they annoyed the HELL otta me! ( 25 cents in the cuss jar!)

About 45 minutes in to the ride we see this sign...

then another one in a few minutes!

 Of course we go explore and meet these 2 friendly guys!

The signs are really meant for the thru hikers ( the ones going to Mexico to Canada) who really need to stop whenever the can to restock their water supply.
We don't stay long because we want to ride as far as we can today and then turn around and ride back to the trailer...which I hate to do. But in the future we now have it figured out how we could have BIG FOOT drop us off and leave the trailer for us at the end of this segment. not all segments have trail heads that can be ridden this way....you just have to turn and around and ride back where you came from :)))

As you can see...the above signs show this distances between trail heads!
There are not as many rocks on the trail or terrain and the trails are not hard packed sand but more mushy as they are in the dry washes. This trail has been well maintained and many wooden trail braces can be seen. There are grassy meadows in the distance and the hills seem more rolling.

Finally... we have climbed up enough so that we have left the LAND OF THE WINDMILLS and come to a much different terrain than we usually encounter on the PCT! All but one of our PCT segments have begun in high desert terrain. This particular segment actually began on the desert floor of Palm Springs...which meant we would need to climb.climb, climb...and then drop down, down, down into a wash before another big climb~~~

 

Ooooppppps.....how did that get in here ;)))

 So this next picture...has a very washed out area that shows up in the middle of the picture! This was taken across the canyon after we had ridden it...I have to say that to date...this was probably my worst bad trail spot. I say this because the sand was very soft and very narrow at the washed out spot! I think what brothered me most was knowing that I was going to have to pass it again on our way back!!!

 Spectacular views at every turn!

 the view to the wash below!

We finally decide it's lunch time...there is a science to knowing that! You take the time traveled thus far, add an hour for lunch and then deduct 1/2 hour cause the horses always walk faster on the way home ;)

So the next few pictures are new to my rides...

Bridle resting during lunch!

Back in the saddle after a delicious lunch and chilled bottle of wine!

Finally have made it back to the flat ground but need to pass by the windmills again but this time you get to hear it too!

Your Desert Rose!

Oh What a Night! ( Finale)

Dear Readers,
In honor of the one year anniversary if our "unscheduled overnight on the PCT" I will be re posting the story one segment each day for the next week. If you read about our adventure last year...please feel free to skip it. If you have NOT heard our story before...you might want to take notes...cause we never thought it could happen to us either ;)

The adventure of a lifetime is over for "The 3 Amigos" ! We have seen each other at our worst and best. It is the best that I want to focus on now.

It has been 2 weeks since our "unscheduled overnight mountain stay" and I have finally stopped getting teary when I think about almost, possibly, could have, knock on wood, killed my horse and favorite cousin! ( not in order of importance) The Bossman is too ornery to die on one of out rides!!!

In no order at all...

I want to honor Bronco Betsy or Baby Doll as she is now known in some circles! ( Better than "She who rides many ponies!) This PONY COUSIN has been joining me in the desert now for the last several years as a temporary "snowbird". She started out riding stable rentals...and was so excited her 2nd season when Spanky upgraded her to ride Banjo! Banjo is Tennessee Walker who is not a beginner horse...Bronco got to ride him again this year after Jesse had his owe toes!Bronco and Banjo on our last ride together...notice the Pendleton Saddle pad and halter and lead, This is not "stable" issue!!! Has Baby Doll become the Bossman's favorite PONY COUSIN???

To Baby Doll...I know we scared the "chalupa" out of you more than once on our adventure! What I want you to know... is this: You just experienced one of the most frightening experiences that will EVER happen to you!!! And you did it, YOU cowgirled up when you needed to and did what you had to do! Unless someone rides exactly what you did, they will never know what the terrain we had to ride was. The Bossman and I know...and are proud to award to you...Baby Doll

The Desert Rose, Red Badge of Courage Award! You have earned this award for going above and beyond the call of "cowgirl duty"!

To The Bossman! Always ready to stand up and fight for a PONY COUSIN, especially the Desert Rose in time of need! For ALWAYS being a gentleman and never asking for a "blow job" no matter howfuckingcold you were!!!

To Jesse... I could not have said it better than Cowgirljlynn at A Cowgirlsgrace who dedicated Jesse this special award to Jesse!
And finally last but not least...I dedicate this award to Baby Doll and The Bossman! Alas, this PONY COUSIN has stolen the Bossman's heart away from The Desert Rose during our "unscheduled overnight mountain stay" Although I was somewhat involved in getting him his 1st "blow job" on a trail ride...I was not DIRECTLY the one who gave it to him. As Baby Doll stated in her blog...she is pretty sure she is now The Bossman's favorite PONY COUSIN!!!
I also want to thank...Slick the "Drunken Stallion" and "Little Lady" ( Pretty Girl)(soon to be "My Girl"...yes stolen from "PONY GIRL") who amazed me at their dedication and perseverance in getting us all home safely!!!
You Desert Rose!

Oh What a Night! (part 5)

Dear Readers,

In honor of the one year anniversary if our "unscheduled overnight on the PCT" I will be re posting the story one segment each day for the next week. If you read about our adventure last year...please feel free to skip it. If you have NOT heard our story before...you might want to take notes...cause we never thought it could happen to us either ;)

I left the story off when we saw the 1st Carin. We were soon scouting the valley for them. Some were easy to spot, others we had to struggle to find. Slowly but surely the Caren's kept showing up leading us up another rock hill until in the distance I could see another barbed wire fence. As we got closer..I began to get excited because I could see a green gate in the middle of it!!! Bronco was not sure I was right...that this time we had REALLY found the right trail...but I knew this was it. Neither of took any photo's after the 1st cairn as we were to tired and just wanted out of there. The trail down to desert floor was pretty well marked and in fairly good shape. But considering what we had been riding, it was a piece of cake. Within 1/2 hour we had made down to our intended trail from yesterday. Unfortunately...it was going to be another 2 1/2 to 3 hours to get to the staging area depending on Jesse's feet. You see by now he had lost his easy boot and shoe somewhere in all the climbing. The Bossman had given all 3 of the horses some bute that morning so Jesse was not in pain...but he was being very careful over rocks. We came to a trail head and could have gone either way to get to the staging area but choose to ride the one that would be best for Jesse's feet. Unfortunately all the water hole we passed were dry...which meant it would be 2 more hours before we hit water. The horses just pushed on doing what we asked them to do. That ride to the water seemed to take forever...we didn't talk too much all of us just focusing on getting back. Once we had cell service calls were made to let everyone know when to expect us back to the stables.Finally...we reach the water...Bronco is back on Jesse as sometimes Little Lady gets antsy in the canyon because there are so many hikers. We got to the water and let the horses only have a short sip. Jesse wanted more but we could not let him have his fill without risking the chance of him tying up! 10 minutes later we reached a second water hole and again only let the horses have a short sip. We made it to the trailer...it sure was a sight for sore eyes. We disconnected our saddle bags, took off bridles and started loading up. Jesse first, Lady, then Slick. All of a sudden Jesse began to pull back and do but bucks. I jumped up to look inside the trailer and realized he was in trauma. I yelled for the Bossman to get the other horses unloaded. As we took Jesse out of the trailer I knew he was going to go down and asked the Bossman to help me get his saddle off. We barely had time to get the saddle off when Jesse went down to a full roll twice. I urged him back up but he immediately went back down for 2 more rolls. The Bossman yelled for me to just walk him slowly and to try and keep him up. I called "The Doc" on his cell phone but remembered he was out of town. So I called Spanky and asked him to call the vet office for me. Spanky told us to give Jesse some ace. The Bossman got the ace ready and we gave it to Jesse. In a few minutes Jesse was not in as much trauma however he went down a total of 6 times before the ace kicked in. We gave Jesse a few more minutes and then load back up for the 10minute drive to the stables. When we got there Spanky had me give Jesse 7 sips of water and then we took him to the tie rail. 15 minutes later Spanky had me give Jesse 2 gallons of water with electrolytes. Another, 15 minutes after that. Jesse had not gone down since we arrived at the stables and seemed to be doing much better. As we took him to his stall though, he went down again. Spanky called the vet office...we were in luck they would be there in 1/2 hour. Before the vet got there Jesse went down a total of 12 times!!! Now also during this time the Bossman found the "Shoesales man" to come and look at Jesse feet. The "Shoesales man pulled Jesse's other front shoe so that it could be worn down a bit to macth his other foot. Both the Bossman and the Shoesales man were quite concerned about his feet because Jesse has such tender feet anyway.

The vet arrives and she begins her exam of him. Gut sounds are good so we hope that colic will not follow Jesse's tying- up.What is tying up?
Tying up (muscle tension/spasm) involves chronic tension in the horse's muscles due to overwork. When the muscles are active, they produce lactate as part of their normal metabolism. Too much lactate causes lactic acidosis, a lowering of the pH in the muscles and the body in general. This impacts the efficiency of metabolism, giving rise to fatigue. The excess lactate prevents the muscles from relaxing properly following contraction. As a result, large muscle groups tend to seize up, remaining in a state of contraction. In mild tying up, the horse’s muscles are extremely sore and stiff. In full blown tying up, the horse is unable to move.
The areas typically affected by tying up include the neck, back, shoulders, zones of previous trauma and areas where other muscles have attempted to compensate for those already affected.
Prolonged muscle fatigue can, in time, affect the skeletal, circulatory and respiratory systems.
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Is my horse likely to tie up?
Tying up is more common in young Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds that are either high strung or not fit. Fit, well-trained and well-bred horses are better able to deal with higher levels of lactate in their systems. However, if a horse develops a level of lactate significantly higher than his body has learned to cope with, he will be more likely to tie up.
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What are the symptoms of tying up?
The following symptoms may indicate that your horse is tying up:
Obvious discomfort and irritability
Abnormally short strides
Profuse sweating
Muscle stiffness, contraction
Difficulty moving
Elevated pulse and laboured breathing
Brown coloured urine resulting from the kidneys filtering myoglobin (a muscle protein) from the blood. Myoglobin is an indication of severe muscle damage.
Inability to sleep
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What should I do if my horse ties up?
If your horse appears to be suffering from tying up, you should call your veterinarian immediately. Since tying up can be very painful, and your horse may be panicky, ask what you can do to provide comfort until the veterinarian arrives.
Never move a horse that has tied up. Moving your horse even a few steps may cause the condition to worsen. Keep the horse on his feet and protect him from becoming chilled by using a blanket.
Encourage your horse to drink, as fluids will help flush the kidneys of waste.
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Tying-up treatment & prevention for horses
Much of the treatment for tying up focuses on prevention. Warm up and cool down your horse properly with at least 15 minutes of walking. Don't exercise the horse to a point where he becomes stressed. Provide turnout as frequently as possible.
Some horse owners/trainers have found that a diet that is reduced in carbohydrates (or total elimination of carbohydrates) helps to reduce tying up.
Yet another method that many horsemen have found useful is making sure that the horse's electrolytes (potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium) are kept at optimal levels through good nutrition.

The vets diagnosis was dehydration that lead to the tying up. Jesse would need to be given fluids through an IV four the next 4 hours and then the vet would come back out and check his levels and if need Jesse would gt more fluids. At 1100pm I meet the vet back at the stables ( I had to go home and feed and medicate both cats since they had been alone for the whole time too!) They always have kibble and water...but both need am and pm meds!!! Jesse's levels are all great and she takes him off the I-V. He also can eat his dinner now and he is sooooo happy to do that! Kidney levels show Jesse a bit high from the tie-up but she will retake his blood in 12 hours!

The next day at 4pm I met the vet again for her to check Jesse. All signs of dehydration were gone...kidney levels were good, although the ty-up enzymes were still evident...they would just clear up on their own. Jesse was released for very light movement for w few days then he could be moved up as movement allowed.

However this was not taking his lost shoe into account and THAT over 2 weeks later is still an issue!!! Jesse is now being hand walked by the Bossman everyday 2x around the stable grounds. Next up...ponying 1/2 hour until he seems to no longer be gimpy. This could take Jesse...1 month to recover from his lost shoe!!!
I have purposely not posted any pictures for this post until now!Jesse is burping...sorta, because as a precaution the vet tubed him with oil/water to prevent colic! Oops...another burp!!! See the bungee cord coming from his neck to the 2 big I-V bags hanging above??? The I-V cord is braided into Jesse's mane.
The actual shunt was "stitched" into Jesse's neck...see the black wire thread???
Jesse's hooves right after the Shoesales man pulled the left one. See how short the right one is???
Jesse really likes the Vet's assistant! See the Bossman in the background??? He has been at every shoeing...every vet appt. since he started caring for Jesse over 5 years ago!!!
He really loves his beautiful "substitute" vet, Jesse thinks she's pretty in pink! ( Last night at 11:00 pm he nickered at her when she first walked up to his stall for his recheck!)
The Bossman has been so concerned about Jesse since our "unscheduled overnight mountain stay" that he would not even let me in there!!! Also...he does not know this, but several of his "Boyfriends" have told me how upset he has been about Jesse and has been so devoted to Jesse's care during his recovery!

All blood test back to normal...all gut sounds normal! Jesse is released from vet care...just need to ease in back into workouts!!! However his owey toes... tell a different tale!

Your Desert Rose!!

Oh What a Night! (part 4)

Dear Readers,
In honor of the one year anniversary if our "unscheduled overnight on the PCT" I will be re posting the story one segment each day for the next week. If you read about our adventure last year...please feel free to skip it. If you have NOT heard our story before...you might want to take notes...cause we never thought it could happen to us either ;)

It was amazing... that all night, all I could think about was the sun rising and figuring out how to get off that damn mountain! Not because I was cold...I was colder than a witches tit. Not because I was hungry or thirsty for that matter...but I knew our horses were and I just didn't know how I could face them if we did not find water soon for them. They had worked so hard for us! I also lay there thinking about how I could have killed off one of my PONY COUSIN'S and Baby Doll is my favorite one too! ( family joke that no one ever laughs at!) I knew Baby Doll would have another hard day and I was running out of pills to drug her with. I knew the Bossman would do everything he could to get us outta there...but even though he sometimes thought he was a god...he could not preform a miracle! Yes...I was feeling VERY anxious about our predicament...rather the horses predicament. You see Baby Doll's son was a helicopter pilot and not just any helicopter pilot, he was one of those guys that could fly in and rescue her from the top of this shitty mountain. I knew that if I did not get her off this mountain soon...he would!!! And even though he could bring a sling for the horses...I was not ready to go there...yet!!!

At the crack of dawn everyone stirred and the Bossman growled that it was time to get up!!! Now Baby Doll and I were quite snug and comfy at the moment and really did not want to move outta that "threesome" bed of ours. The Bossman said he was going to scout the top of the mountain and see where he thought we should go. However Baby Doll and I just knew he needed to drop a chalupa somewhere and wanted privacy! Speaking of chalupas...on the way to the stables yesterday morning I divulged the info to Baby Doll that I had NOT had my coffee poo poo yet and hoped I would before the ride. Baby Doll confessed that she was up the same shit creek without a paddle as me and we both wished each other well in getting that mission accomplished! Chalupa's bring up another important part of our survival story. Baby Doll's biggest concern during the inventory of supplies...was the toilet paper supply!!! She was really on the verge of panic, when I produced for her 2 mini rolls and one package of cowgirl Kleenex, unopened! That seemed to settle her down a bit but I saw the Bossman secretly load a syringe of ace to keep handy!!!

When we finally decide we had to get up this was our sight!Jesse was enjoying the beautiful sunrise too! We immediately went to find the little girls room...you see our chalupas from yesterday had eluded us both... and that was somewhat scary to mount up with that issue unresolved.Up this little hill to the right is our destination! Can you pick out what looks to be a fence post in this picture??? Well it is a fence post. You see the is also a barbed wire fence running across these mountains that has also been a problem for us to get places. I can confirm though... that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. The fence is to keep the cows that live up here in the right spot. We were lucky in a few places the fence was down and we could get through. In other places the when the fence blocked our way the Bossman in listed his "GOD COMPLEX" and sure enough...just like the Red Sea...the fence parted for us to safely get through! Good thing one of us was a JEW!!!

Baby Doll and I find empty stalls and begin to begin... our morning duty when all of a sudden Bay Doll is screaming at the top of her voice. You see I was not in a good position to run over and save her from this thing that must have been attacking her so I yell out...what!!!! Did you see the Bossman's chalupa??? She's screaming you are NOT going to believe this...over and over. I finally get over to her and she holds something out to me in her hand! Yup...a cigarette lighter! Or shall I say a" fuckingcigarettelighter"!!! She is just beside herself...you see she just now put her hand in the pocket of the fleece jacket I had brought for her and when she did...well what can I say! If she had not been so busy with her hands on face book last night she might just have put her hands into the pocket to keep warm...but not Baby Doll who quite frankly was enjoying being the center of "her" FACEBOOK WORLD! Baby Doll made me "pinky swear" not to tell the Bossman...not sure why she was sacred of what he would do to her... but I convinced her we should do this!

After all the fire ring was still in place and our toes were on the verge of frost bite. I told Baby Doll that we would tell the Bossman we had used my handy little mirror and magnifying glass in my trails kit to light this fire!!! The Bossman did not fall for this as easily as I thought he would however he was not too hard on Baby Doll!

We still have not made up our bed yet...time to get started packing up! Ya...we have a big mess to clean up here...don't leave a trace!

I decide that I will ride Jesse today as now he is cranky about his hoof... AND, no breakfast! We saddle up and start loading the bags for our ride outta here.
The Desert Rose looks like she was ridden hard and put away wet!

Baby Doll gives Jesse a scratch on his neck!

All mounted up...we face our next challenge getting over this hill full of more "rock jumps and slides"! See the small peak in the background??? That is the tallest peak in our range of mountains...we are pretty damn high up!!!

Here we go...bushwhacking our way up the hill! After an hour or so of up and down 2 hills we come to this! At first I think it is a mirage...could it possible be...yes it is our trail marker, called a Cairn! Could possibly be one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen!!!
I do believe that it will only take one more post for you to reach the end of the trail with us...stay tuned!
Your Desert Rose!