Stories

The Lost Padres II ride, held Sunday May 23rd, 2004 was easily the most beautiful ride I've ridden to date. It was also easily the rockiest. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. But, boy, was it gorgeous!

This was a first-time ride and was managed by The Duck (Dr. David Nicholson), who also manages the XP rides, which are multi-day rides in beautiful country that I aspire to ride. I've tried once before to ride a Duck ride, another first-time ride, Eastern Mohave Scenic, that was held in March. That time I pulled Phlyrt pre-ride because she had swollen lymph nodes when I got up in the morning. I had also planned to attend the Mt. Carmel XP ride, which is a 3-day 155 mile ride in Utah, but due to truck troubles I had to miss it. So, this was my first time actually riding a Duck ride. I've heard that you love 'em or hate 'em with The Duck's rides. Well, I'm hooked. Now I'm more eager than ever before to try an XP ride.

I had originally planned to attend both days of this ride, Saturday and Sunday. However, I arranged to haul another horse up and share gas costs with someone. Dale could not skip work Friday, so we drove up Saturday to attend only Sunday's ride. This ride was held in the Lockwood Valley / Los Padres National Forest, just outside of Frazier Park at the top of the Grapevine. We arrived in camp early afternoon on Saturday, and lucked out in getting a spot to park where another rig had already left. The area was incredible: a pine forest, what a fantastic change from all the desert rides in our So Cal region. The air even smelled different, and it was so quiet and peaceful.

The first thing Phlyrt did after I tied her to the trailer - other than attacking her hay - was to roll. She has mastered rolling & lying down while tied, and I guess wanted to try out the new dirt. I had been on the other side of the trailer and walked over and found her happily munching away while covered head to tail in dirt. Maybe she just wanted a good brushing?

Dale & I hiked over to the ride office and entered Sunday's ride. The Duck lets people enter online, and then you pay and fill out forms after you arrive. This method works well for him because he hosts multi-day rides where a rider never knows until the end of the day if they can ride the next day. This time, however, it resulted in over 40 people entering and pulling a no-call-no-show on him. Of course, I don't know where another 40 people would have camped, since the ride camp area was already pretty spread out over a large area and people had to park pretty tight together in between the trees.

The Duck told us to return around 6-6:30pm to vet-in the horses, and that Dr. Hugh Hewitt would be around by then. Hughie is at every single So Cal ride it seems. Actually, I don't think that's an exaggeration. I can't remember going to a ride that he wasn't working. Back at our campsite I watched for Hughie's truck, but around 6:15 we headed back over just in case I'd missed the truck going by. Hughie wasn't there yet, but The Duck went ahead and vetted our horses. The Duck's rides are unique in that not only does he not number the horses, he doesn't even use vet cards. Anything that must be written down is kept on a clipboard, and everything else is just in his head. The man's memory is amazing. Just as The Duck finished checking Phlyrt & Sunny, Hughie pulled up.

The ride meeting for Sunday's ride and awards for Saturday's ride was at 7pm. It was short and sweet. Among other things discussed, The Duck mentioned a Jeep group that had been around earlier in the day. Later I asked my parents and it turned out they were in that group, but they said they hadn't seen any horses, just signs about the ride. I just thought that was an interesting coincidence that they and I were up there the same weekend.

The sun was getting low and the temps were dropping fast. I bundled Phlyrt up and then hid myself in my sleeping bag, prepared for a cold night in the mountains. However, it either wasn't as bad as the desert nights or I'm getting used to it. Don't get me wrong, it was cold and I was buried deep in the sleeping bag, but it just wasn't as bad as I expected. I got a pretty good night's sleep and I only checked on the horses once.

Phlyrt camped really well, happy to have company at the trailer with her. She ate even more than she normally does, and seemed well-rested and ready to go. We tacked up just in time and headed out near the tail end of the pack for the 7am start.

The trail started out by looping around camp, heading off one direction and turning and passing camp to end up going the opposite direction. Dale and I had agreed to ride together if possible. Near the start she started riding along with a couple other riders, with Phlyrt and I following behind. We rode this way for several miles, but Phlyrt really can't stand being in a group like that, particularly at the start. It was made worse because we were the last horse in the train, so when the lead horse would slow for an extra rocky area they would be going faster again by the time we hit the tricky spot and Phlyrt wouldn't want to walk as they trotted away. Finally there was a wider section of trail and I went ahead and let Phlyrt pass and get into her own groove rather than riding with the others. I had a much happier horse that way.

The trail was rocky. I've been on other rides that I considered rocky, where sometimes other endurance riders did not think they were rocky. Now I know it's all relative. This was a rocky ride. No if ands or buts about it. What was scary is that as rocky as it was, those people who rode both days said Saturday was even rockier, although by the end they said Sunday was the tougher ride in terms of climbs. The trails were all motorcycle and off-road vehicle trails, and every motorcyclist, ATV-rider, or Jeeper we came across all day was polite and friendly.

Despite the rocks, the motorcycle moguls, and the climbs (coming up), this was such a pretty ride and one I hope can be held again in the years to come. Nearly every foot of it was in the trees. Sprinkled in among the trees and in the clearings were abundant wildflowers: California poppies, lupine, Indian paintbrush, and many others in shades of yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, reds, and white. And, because of being up in the mountains the weather was sunny yet cool all day.

One thing about The Duck's rides is that he warns that he won't be hauling water out on trail, so you better ride like there's not going to be any water. But, if this ride is anything to go by, he selects areas where hauled-in water isn't necessary. There were streams and puddles along the trail. At the second of these which followed a pretty good climb up and then down an extra rocky trail, Dale caught up with us as Phlyrt was taking a good long drink. Phlyrt's so good about at least stopping and taking a sip every time water is available, even when she's intent on catching up and passing other horses.

Pretty soon the trail started up up up. The Duck warned us that there would be a "good climb" and to save our horses for it. Yikes. He wasn't kidding. It was one of those never-ending climbs. Unbelievably, Dale dismounted and tailed Sunny all the way up. She's apparently an iron woman. I would have keeled over dead if I'd tried that.

Along the way we could glimpse through the trees to see the valley below. What an incredible view. I had my camera out more on this ride than any other ride I've been on. I just love pine forests and we don't have too many of them in So Cal, and even less that we can ride in.

At the top of the climb - it wasn't a "hill" it was an actual mountain - we reached the vet check area. The LD riders would turn around here and take the same trail back down and most of the way back to camp, only cutting a few miles off on the return trip for their 25 miles. For us 50s this was just a water stop. The Duck & Hughie both were there and glanced over the horses as we rode up and let them drink, but there was no official vet check or even a pulse-and-go. I saw that Phlyrt had a nail sticking oddly out of her right hoof and in danger of cutting her left leg, so Hughie grabbed his farrier tools and cut it off for us. Then we headed back out.

The next section continued up and looped around the top of the mountain. At the peek of the mountain we were at 8100+ feet. The views, as one would expect, were glorious.

On our way out to the looping trail there was a short section of two-way trail and the front runners passed us going the opposite direction back into the vet check. As we finished the loop and headed back on the two-way trail we passed the very last riders on their way out.

When we reached the vet check and lunch hold, the horses pulsed down immediately after tanking up on water. I grabbed my "crew bag" and settled down to eat lunch in the clearing in the trees. I'd brought two kinds of hay, pellets, beet pulp and carrots in the crew bag for Phlyrt and Sunny to share - another thing about The Duck's rides is that not only is there only the one hold/vet check, you also have to fend for yourself as far as horse food at lunch. This is no problem, and is probably better for them since they get to eat their regular feed this way. The two horses were happily scarfing while I sat at their feet eating my sandwich. Phlyrt, of course, also felt the need to eat every weed in sight. I was a bit concerned since I had no clue what was edible, and none of these were "grass" or any other plant I could name, but she had no ill effects so I guess she's smart enough to know what she can and can't eat.

I was also smart enough this time -- after learning my lesson at Malibu not to be fooled by sunny weather -- to bring my rump rug. I was glad I did since it was cool and a bit breezy up there in the mountains. This time Phlyrt had no problems with cramping, and we'd quite possibly done more climbing than at Malibu. That long climb up the mountain was certainly even longer than Bulldog Canyon, but at least it hadn't been in the sun and humidity that had added to the challenge at Malibu. This time the added challenge was the rocks. I did mention the rocks, right? At this point what would have been remarkable would have been a section of trail without rocks.

About a half-hour into the hold we took the horses over for Hughie to look them over. Both were pronounced in excellent health with lots left over for the rest of the ride, he also commented on how well-hydrated Phlyrt was. She really has proven that she can take care of herself - eating and drinking at every opportunity. This is something that some endurance horses never manage, and it can literally kill them.

We went back over to our little picnic area in the clearing and the horses continued to eat. Phlyrt then took a quick cat-nap. Pretty soon it was time to head back out. It was only 12:15 pm, so we were making great time even though we'd actually walked quite a bit already.

What goes up, must go down. Unlike the LD riders who took the same trail back down, the 50 mile trail circled around a different side of the mountain to get in a lot more miles. This side of the mountain actually had a different type of forest. There were manzanitas, some California Live Oaks, and the pines were of a different variety (maybe they were junipers?). The views were just as gorgeous, and we even rode along a ridge with drop-offs on both sides.

Part way down the mountain I started to feel like Phlyrt wasn't quite right. She wasn't even head-bobbing, nor were her strides different. It was just a feeling I had. I told Dale that I thought I would just walk the rest of the way since I wasn't sure what was going on. We had plenty of time, and I didn't want to risk damaging Phlyrt. Dale agreed to just walk with us since her goal was just to complete.

That was a long walk, even with Phlyrt's powerwalk. But, at least it was beautiful. And, while we met lots of motorcyclists they were all polite (not that Phlyrt is even remotely bothered by dirt bikes). We even passed some people out in Jeeps, who were on a trail that I wouldn't have considered appropriate for either horses or Jeeps! Once we'd reached the bottom of the mountain I tried again to trot to see if I'd just been imagining things, but now I was convinced that Phlyrt was just ever so slightly off on the left front. I don't know if she met a rock with her name on it or if it had something to do with that nail that had been sticking out of her right foot, but I was going to take the time to just walk rather than asking her to move out and potentially hurt herself further.

During the last 5 to 10 miles I believe every other rider passed us. And a couple miles from the finish I told Dale that if she was tired of walking she could go ahead and leave us. Phlyrt nearly had a heart attack when Sunny trotted away, but we just kept on walking.

Phlyrt and I finally walked into camp; she took a nice long drink and then I took her over to check-in for our finish time & do our vetting out. I told Hughie about her being off, and when I trotted her out for him he agreed that she was "just a hair" off. I don't think it was even bad enough that we'd have been pulled had it been discovered by a vet at the normal vet check that would have existed between lunch and the finish on most rides; although with my paranoia I would have pulled if I'd had a chance. Other than that, he said she looked great and hydration & gut were both perfect. By Monday she was sound again and happily romping & playing with my other horses.

I had planned before going that this would be Phlyrt's last ride for a while, as she's going to have some babies. She proved to me that she's tough: surviving rides like Bar-H Boogie that had a high pull rate; and then finishing challenging rides like Malibu & Lost Padres on back-to-back weekends sure show that. She proved that she knows how to take care of herself, eating and drinking at every possible opportunity, which is a quality you really can't appreciate until you start riding endurance. She's happy going down the trail and has a strong competitive spirit, she doesn't just want to catch up with horses out ahead of her, she wants to pass them and keep on going. She's brave and willing, she takes care of me and even in potentially dangerous situations & locations I've never felt like she was going to do something stupid. All of the qualities that make her a good distance horse are the same reasons I want her breeding on into future generations, and since she can really only do one of those activities at a time, it's now time to breed her.