On our fourth day in Utah, near Bryce Canyon, the trail I chose for us to ride was Thunder Mountain Trail. Thunder Mountain Trail is primarily a mountain biking route, although several local horseback riding outfitters lead guided rides for paying guests. I had read that it was a 'must-do' for any adventurous horseback rider. So, of course, it was on my list of trails to ride and I had done thorough research on the terrain and trail conditions.
The trail head is only a 15 minute drive from Ruby's Inn, and there is plenty of room for several rigs in the parking area loop.
My Apache mare, saddled up and ready to ride.
The trail head is actually called Coyote Hollow, even though the trail is called Thunder Mountain trail.
Here we go!
The trail starts off winding through a pretty confider forest, traveling gently up and down and around small hills.
Up we go!
Even though the trail is very pretty, there are no hoodoos to be seen for a couple miles.
We started off with four of us during the first section of trail because there weren't any steep drop-offs.
The vistas that opened up on top of the ridges were gorgeous!
There weren't any signs on the trail, except a couple that showcased species of trees, because there is only one trail to follow. Which makes it easy to not get lost.
My riding buddy, Yvonne, who has a fear of heights, did really well during the first couple miles of trail, because the trail had no drop-offs.
But eventually that changed.......
But there were still no hoodoos.
As the conifers grew more sparse on the hillsides, the narrow trail hugged the red sandy hillsides.
This was the last photo I took of my buddy Yvonne, because soon afterwards, she decided to stop and turn around. The trail just became too scary for her.
I was disappointed for her, because she turned around before we made it to the hoodoos. But she was fine with it, and she insisted that the rest of us continue on and not turn around. She said she would wait for us back at the horse trailer.
So, we continued on, enjoying the views and the exciting trail, but waiting eagerly to finally see our first glimpse of hoodoos!
The trail wasn't all steep drop-offs. There were some fairly flat sections, too.
Such an odd tree. We wondered if someone placed that branch there to keep the tree from falling over.
My friend Ginny was out in front on her Friesian gelding. I was in the middle riding my pinto mustang mare, and my friend Gin was behind me, riding her Arab mare.
Up...up...up! Hi Ginny!
As the trail wraps itself into and out of small canyons, it's fun to ride across from your riding companions.
The ridge tops were very windy, but the views were amazing!
We still hadn't seen any hoodoos, but we did arrive at an 'open-air' outhouse. Apparently there had been a door on the outhouse at one time, as seen by the debris on the ground, but it hadn't been replaced. We did check it out and apparently outhouse was still in use by the horseback riding outfitter groups, as well as hikers and mountain bikers. There were hitching rails, and comfy looking logs set up around the area. We decided that we would probably ride back to this rest stop for a lunch break once we finally saw some hoodoos.
But for now, we decided to continue on, searching for the elusive hoodoos.
And......there they are!!!!!!
We could see them off in the distance, but hoped the trail would lead us closer.
Closer.......
And!!! It did! The trail led us right up beside the hoodoos!
How cool is that?!
And shortly after that, the trail led us out to a magnificent viewpoint.
The red hoodoos and white hillside provided for an impressive view!
Apache seemed to enjoy the views, too!
My riding companions were a bit unsure and stayed back behind Apache and I.
That was ok...more views for us! haha!
Apache and I didn't want to leave those amazing vistas!
The trail continued on and changed from red sand to white sand.
Right after this photo was taken, we decided to turn around because the trail dropped pretty steeply and then became the famous, Fin, which is basically a very narrow trail that drops off steeply on both sides into a deep canyon. My friends weren't quite brace enough for that adventure, and we all didn't want to leave our friend Yvonne and her mare back at the horse trailer for too long.
So, we turned around and rode back to our chosen lunch stop location.
On the way, we stopped again to enjoy the views, along with a mountain biker.
When we arrived at our chosen lunch stop location, we each picked a hitching rail and tied up our horses.
Apache and I hanging out for a moment.
We then picked out a log and enjoyed a relaxing lunch.
While our ponies enjoyed a well-deserved rest.
And after lunch, I tried out that open-air outhouse...yes, I sure did. I preferred the outhouse without a door because the views were great and there was no stink. After we all took a few minutes to 'try-out' the outhouse, we mounted back up to return back to the trail head.
As we prepared to leave, one of the horseback riding outfits led a group of paid riders through the rest area. Several nice looking mules!
And then continued towards the hoodoo area.
The hoodoos made me smile!
I love me some hoodoos!
This is a small glimpse at what the Fin looks like, although the trail is even narrower, with steeper drop offs. Google 'The Fin' and you will find some pretty awesome photos of The Fin at Thunder Mountain.
I found this trail tons of fun to ride.
The narrow trail does look a little intimidating when it winds around the sides of the hills, with a steep drop-off on one side.
But it was fun, too. This is why a sure-footed, experienced, calm, confident trail horse is worth her weight in gold.
And a courageous rider, too.
I managed to grab a quick photo of my friend Ginny riding through one of the narrow canyons.
And Gin, bringing up the rear, too.
Following the narrow trail as it hugged the hillsides.
On top of the ridges, the wind was blowing strong. I am sure that some of the gusts were at least 40mph. It felt like we might blow off the top of the ridge!
The steep downhills provided for some impressive vistas! They easily took our breath away!
When the trail dropped down into lush green, thickly forested canyon it was truly beautiful.
I really enjoyed Thunder Mountain trail, but wished that there had been a lot more hoodoos during the entire ride, because that is the main reason we traveled with our horses up to southern Utah. Thunder Mountain was definitely a fun, adventurous ride, and I would absolutely ride it again.
