Mid-Winter Riding Adventure

It was a gorgeous mid-winter day with abundant sunshine and a temperature of 68 degrees...in February! So, myself and three of my friends headed over to the National Forest/Open Space trails at Oak Flats/Juan Tomas. It was the first time I had ridden Apache in two months...and she was full of  spunk with tons of energy! I didn't take any photos until after lunch because Apache was too much of a handful for me to take my focus off her, and my reins, for even a second!

We rode for about an hour until we reached the Oak Flats Picnic Grounds.

Our leisurely lunch break was very much appreciated, and well deserved!

Yvonne, Roxanne and Gin.




Me, Yvonne and Roxanne.

We each brought our own mini-bottles of wine to enjoy with lunch. Great minds think alike!

And of course, a fun wine toast was in order!

Apache enjoyed a nice rest after giving me an exciting ride before lunch. I kept hoping that her energy-level would be much lower post-ride.

And it was.....for about 15 minutes!

I was even able to sneak in a few photos!

Our Trail Selfie.

I made Apache do a bunch of weaving between and around trees, quite a few turns and circles, and I even had to point Apache into trees when she'd try to run off with me! All this from my normally laid back, lazy, dead-head mare! Suffice it to say that Apache and I had a few serious discussions that day!

Plus there was still a lot of snow and melting ice...and mud, which really gave our horses a challenging work out.

Ironically, my friends' horses were all on their best behavior, except at the beginning of the ride Gin's Arab mare was a bit jiggy. But even she calmed down for the remainder of our ride. My friend, Yvonne's mare was perfect and calm all day.

I kept hoping the mud and ice would slow down Apache, but she tried to speed up instead. She was obviously having a great time and if it hadn't of been so slippery everywhere, I would have let her break out and enjoy more speed. She was thrilled when I allowed her to lope up a hill and even I broke into a huge grin and whoop-whoop!

But most of the trail looked like the photo below...covered in either snow, ice or mud.

We went from sections of snow and ice to mud, and then back again to snow and ice.

We also did a bunch of bushwhacking up and down hills to avoid the ice, snow and mud on the trails. But it was pretty much impossible to escape the mucky and slippery mid-winter mountain trail conditions.

The forest was beautiful, though, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day with bright blue skies!

Gin and Roxanne out in front.

And Yvonne, bringing up the rear. We kept those positions all day.

Some of the photos I tried to take didn't turn out so great because I had to be hyper alert with Apache's energy bursts and make sure she didn't try to run off with me or run us into a tree!

This was one of those photo moments. haha!

I loved riding in the snowy sections, where the snow wasn't too mushy and melted. So beautiful!

We only rode 6 miles which took us about 2 1/2 hours, including a 1/2 hour leisurely lunch break.

But all 4 of our shaggy beasts worked up a sweat that day! And we all enjoyed being out in nature riding our wonderful horses on beautiful mountain trails on a lovely mid-winter day.

Life is Good!!

Pre-Thanksgiving Thankfulness Ride

The day before Thanksgiving, I invited a friend of mine to go ride the local trails near my house. She hauled her horse over to my house and we loaded her mare into my trailer for the drive to the trail head.

Apache seemed surprised to have a trailer mate in her trailer.




When we got out onto the trails we were also surprised to see so much snow covering the trails.

These trails are only about 300-800 ft higher in elevation than my house just 5-6 miles away as the crow flies, and there was no more snow left at my house when we loaded up our horses.

But that little bit of elevation change sure does make a difference in the mountains!

The trails were absolutely gorgeous covered in snow and I am comfortable enough navigating these trails anytime of year, since I ride them so often.

My friend was thrilled to be out on such a beautiful day surrounded by such gorgeous nature all around us!

 

Surprisingly enough there were mountain bike tracks through the snow.

And there were snow free sections to ride in, too.

The scrub oak were still holing onto their leaves from Fall as we entered the Open Space.

When the leaves finally fall off the trees, it provides breathtakingly beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains towards the northeast.

 

Oh yeah! This is my "Happy to be out on the trail riding my awesome horse, surrounded by beautiful nature and lovely snow" selfie!

 

We rode out to one of my favorite lunch locations and tied up our horses.

My friend and her horse snuck in some snuggle time before lunch.

Our amazing lunch spot provided breathtaking views of the Sandia Mountains and a comfy and colorful picnic table.

Haha! My friend was excited to enjoy lunch together at such a beautiful place.

Well, of course, I was, too!

 

Attached to a tree beside the picnic table is a charming surprise!

A journal tucked inside the box for all to sign.

Oh yes! I love these words so much and I strive to live my life this way!

 

After signing in to the trail journal and writing a few words about our beautiful ride, we packed up our lunch supplies and got ready to remount our horses.

My Apache mare always waits for me to give her a granola bar after a lunch break. But she is an experienced, trail savvy horse with thousands of miles under her cinches, so she usually always takes the opportunity during lunch breaks to enjoy a nap. Smart girl!

 

There are some crazy and unusual shaped trees along this trail.

And the views from the trail are absolutely spectacular!

My friend and I were smiling all day!

The ride could not have been more perfect!

It's so fun to ride through the snow...makes me want to sing "Jingle Bells"!

Apache and I led the way most of the day.

My friend and her wonderful horse were content to follow.

What I love about riding these trails, is that they are so close to my house, I can ride them all year, and they are always different depending upon the season. It's magical to experience the changes throughout the year.

Some of the trail drops down into a lovely canyon, surrounded by tall ponderosa trees. And just that little bit of lower elevation drop lessens the amount of snow on the trail.

Beautiful trail!

Almost back to the trail head and the elevation climbs a little higher and there is more snow on the trail.

Being among the trees feels warmer because the trees insulate you against the wind. And the sunshine warms us up from above.

We arrived back at my trailer, unsaddled our horses, watered and loaded them. What a great day!

 

Apache and I posing in front of a beautiful Alligator Juniper. I love 'em!

 

Life is Good!!!!!!

Snowy Canyon Trail Ride

About 2 weeks after our last snowfall, I invited my friend Loeta to go riding at one of my favorite local places in the Cibola National Forest: David Canyon. It would be my 3rd ride there and Loeta had asked me a few months ago if I would show her the trails there. I picked a sunny, fairly warm day, and falsely believed that most or all of the snow would be melted in that area, because we had no snow at our house, just 15 minutes away.

Getting tacked annd ready to ride at the trailhead parking area. (Notice the snow!)

But I was wrong about the snow...very wrong. There was still snow...a lot of it. Along with deep ruts in the trail filled with cold water, covered in a thin sheet of ice. But Loeta and I were both just happy to be riding our horses on such a pretty day, and just figured it would be good to expose our horses to different, challenging trail conditions. So, we cheerfully forged ahead.

Loeta and her Paso Fino gelding, Profe

Loeta and Profe are happy to let Apache and I lead most off the time. Apache is becoming braver and more eager to be out in front and I like the wide open view in front of us.

Yep....lots of snow on the trail.

Loeta and I both took turns using my camera so we could take photos of one another.

Loeta was grateful that I had ridden David Canyon and knew the trails well, because the snow made it difficult to even see a trail.

When we rode the main canyon trail, which is basically an old Forest Service dirt road, ironically, only the trail was covered in snow, so it was easy to follow. And it was easier to ride the trail than leave it, because, even though the trail had slippery icey spots, the ground on either side of the trail was spongey with deep mud, so our horses' feet were sucked down with every step.

But the biggest challenge was just staying on the trail, especially when riding through the forest, where the snow hadn't melted at all.

Still, it really was a nice day, and the canyon is such a beautiful place to be.

But it was far from being a relaxing ride. We needed to keep an eye on the trail and watch out for slick spots, and for deep ruts covered by ice and filled in with water. At one point, Profe broke through the ice behind us and the cracking sound caused Apache to spook and lunge forward. It even scared me. I thought maybe a tree was falling on us, or a bear was crashing out of the woods!

I love this pretty section through the forest. The trail twists and winds through the trees and it's lined by huge boulders.

Loeta and I had a nice time talking and just enjoying being out in such a pretty place, but it was slow going as we had to really watch each step our horses took. And as the day went on and it grew warmer, the ground was even softer, slicker annd the icey ruts were even easier to break through.

At one point, early in our ride, I leaned over to give Apache a cookie, like I often do, and I wasn't paying attention and stuck my left index finger right in her mouth. She chomped down and the pain was excruciating as she tore the skin off of the side of the last joint. Thankfully I always carry a first aid kit for both me and my horse, so I used a tissue to soak up the blood and stuck a bandaid on my finger and we kept on riding.

I think Loeta was pretty impressed, considering how loud I hollered and how much blood there was, that I just yanked up my big girl panties and continued on without whining. Heck! I wasn't going to let a little finger injury stop me from enjoying a trail ride! hah!

I could sense that Apache felt terrible about biting me, even if it wasn't her fault. But after a while I offered her another cookie and even I was surprised at how delicately she took it from my hand, using just the tips of her whiskery lips. She was careful like that for the rest of our ride, anytime I offered her a treat. I just love my girl!

We did experience some more challenges that day. After we had already untacked and loaded our horses, we tried to drive out on the road that led into the trailhead parking area, and we got stuck. Loeta's truck isn't 4-wheel drive and we were on a sheet of thick ice! It took us a while, but we unloaded the horses again, gathered up some dirt, gravel and branches and working together we managed to get Loeta's truck and trailer off the ice and back onto the paved road. But what an adventure!

But even at the end of the day, we both still said it was a great day and a wonderful ride. We really enjoyed ourselves and our horses were real troopers that day. They kept us safe on the trail and were willing and brave trail partners.

Life is Good!!!

The End!