Wild Wild (Wet) West Ride

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Alison Dunn alCritters@hotmail.com
Well, I stayed and did it!  (The 30 anyway.)  When I pulled in, 
there were people in campers pulling out - and I had a tent.  Oh, well
 I decided - there was always the cab of the truck!  It would start, then
briefly pause, (I mean briefly!), then start up again.  The tent 
got wet while setting up - and it only went downhill from there.
I looked around at the briefing - we really are crazy people.  
Everyone was standing around the fire, rain dripping off panchos
and coats, looking at maps enclosed in plastic, talking about 
riding all those miles the next day like it was normal!
I didn't end up in the cab of the truck, but nearly!  The floor
of the tent was wet when I turned in.  I had an extra water proof
sheet for Sorin (he had the waterproof one with the lining on)
that I spread out over my sleeping bag in case the roof of the 
tent totally gave up.  I stayed dry, but there were puddles all
over the floor - the suitcase was sitting in one and soaked the
contents on the bottom.  (Luckily nothing I needed to ride in.)
The blanket on the horse did a great job - He only had only small
wet spot on him.  I had a long australian-type coat out of gortex
I found on sale.  I got wet anyway (it doesn't have a cape) but
the polypropelene shirt kept me from getting cold.  The fifties
did a complete change of clothes at lunch.  (The ones doing more
than one day did a mad dash for laundromats to dry everything out.)
We finally saw our shadows once in the afternoon - it did finally
stop raining, but the branches we brushed through were soaking wet.
The trail for the 30's wasn't bad.  They re-routed the trail to
avoid the worst hills.  We did have a steep downhill one at the end, but
it wasn't slick.  At the up-and-downs we waited for the horse 
ahead to finish the uphill - if your horse changed speed going up, he would
slip.  There were some beautiful long stretches where we could trot along under
the trees - you only had to slow down when the trees grew too close 
together.  (You could see scars on the trunks from other stirrups.)
There was a hot fire they kept going, and the awards dinner of tri-tip was
delicious!  Apparently I looked like the lady who ended up winning
the fifty (Sorry, I don't know who she was).  I was suprised at the
vet check with applause, until I figured out they thought I was the
first fifty in!  My moment in the spotlight!  (My first fifty is yet
to come - soon, though!)
I left before awards because I had a long drive, and wasn't going
to spend another night there - I didn't have anything more that was 
dry!