On this day, we planned to not only to enjoy a ride in the beautiful National Forest, but we also planned to do some trail clearing work, trimming overgrown branches and low branches growing across the trails, and remove a specific small tree that had cracked and fallen across a new favorite trail.
The day was gorgeous and I was very happy to be out on the trails with my partner Apache.
We did a lot of trimming as we rode, just using our hands to snap off branches as well as our trimmers. my folding saw and and Yvonne's loppers.
I chose to ride down Gamble Spur Trail, because it leads to one of my favorite areas to ride, Ponderosa Canyon.
This was Roxanne's first time riding Ponderosa Canyon and she loved it.
Yvonne and I discovered this trail together a while back, while just exploring.
I have no idea what the canyon is actually called, because the trail through the canyon isn't even listed or named on any maps, so I aptly named it Ponderosa Canyon.
It's simply beautiful!
The trail is surrounded by tall ponderosa pines and it's so green and shady.
The meadows were covered with green grass that we allowed our horses to snack on as we rode through the canyon.
It's truly one of my most favorite places to ride locally.
When we leave Ponderosa Canyon, the trail rides up a couple of steep, thickly vegetated switchbacks.
And then the trail just winds through a wonderfully tree covered forest.
It's so green and shady and beautiful.
As we rode, we all continued to trim any overhanging branches.
But we also enjoyed the peace, quiet and beauty of the forest as we rode.
Even though we were doing some work as we rode the trails, it was also very relaxing and calming. Riding my horse is better than therapy.
My friend Yvonne, who is 73 yrs old, has been riding horses her entire life. She can't imagine a life without riding horses.
Neither can I.
At one point, Yvonne had to stop for a potty break, so Apache and rode a few minutes down the trail to a meadow, where I let Apache graze, until Yvonne was finished and caught up with us.
And then we continued down the trail.
Alongside the trail, someone had built a meditation maze. I rode Apache through it and I think we actually felt a few minutes of zen.
And then Yvonne rode Etta Bay through the meditation maze. Etta Bay was searching for her zen.
Pretty soon, we turned onto one of my newer favorite trails, Boulder Canyon Trail.
This is another officially un-named and un-listed trail, but Boulder Canyon Trail seems to be a perfectly appropriate name. Don't you think?
The little canyon this trail travels through is so pretty.
Eventually, we found the small fallen tree that I had planned to remove, and we tied up our horses nearby, and pulled out our saddle saws.
The fallen tree. It was too low to ride under and the alternative "bushwhacking" route around it, led downhill through an arroyo filled with boulders and part of the fallen tree.
Someone, probably from the National Forest, had attached an orange ribbon to the fallen tree. It had been there when I first discovered the trail several weeks earlier. So, we figured we might as well be the ones to remove this fallen tree from across the trail.
My Corona saddle saw made fast work of removing the tree. I made two separate cuts on the tree, one just above the cracked off area and one on the opposite side of the trail. This made it easy to remove the section of tree across the trail.
Roxanne and I worked together sawing and supporting the tree. Great teamwork!
The result: a nice, clear trail!
Apache had been waiting patiently while tied to a skinny, mostly dead twig of a tree. She is such a well-trained, well-behaved trail horse.
After I put away my saddle saw, I took a photo of the most awesome horse ever! My Apache, the One-Eyed Wonder Horse!
And then we mounted back up and rode through our nice, clear trail. Along the way, we continued to trim off low and overgrown branches growing across the trail.
Trail Selfie!
When we got back to our trailers, we unsaddled and watered our horses. Then we tied them to shade trees down in the picnic area.
And we set up our chairs and enjoyed our lunches and some ice-cold beer.
Roxanne and Yvonne kicking back and relaxing after a wonderful trail ride and job well done clearing trail.
Our horses seemed to enjoy hanging out with us as we ate our lunches. And Apache entertained us with some silliness.
After lunch, we loaded everything up, including our horses. Apache was only sticking her head out of my trailer's window while I took this photo. Afterwards, I pulled up the mesh window screen and secured it before we drove away. It's never safe to allow a horse to stick it's head out of a window as you drive down the road.
What a fabulous ride!
Life is Good!
