Re: XP 2001

["Kris Hazelbaker" <shajarah@cybrquest.com>]

Steph -
Out of curiosity, which horses are you riding?

Until I started reading yours and Karen's daily diaries, this ride just
seemed like a curiosity to me.  Now, I've really gotten caught up in the
ride, and really wish I could have done at least part of it too!

Thanks so much for letting all of us join you vicariously!

Kris in Idaho

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ms steph teeter" <stephteeter@yahoo.com>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Cc: <steph@endurance.net>
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 2:48 PM
Subject: RC: Unidentified subject!


> July 3 - 9.
>
> We're camped at Fort Bridger State Park about 60 miles
> east of the Utah
> border. On the west side of the continental divide,
> the Uinta mountain
> range is in sight - headed that way this week.
>
> We arrived at camp outside of Casper, Wyoming last
> Saturday - June 30.
> Nice camp, along a sandy shaded creek. Spirits were a
> little low throughout camp - everybody was TIRED from
> the previous month. Too
> much heat and not enough sleep. Quite a few folks had
> lost pets along the
> way to random traffic accidents. Many riders had
> packed up and left
> before we arrived - problems with horses, problems
> with crews, or just not
> having any fun. Some of the crews stayed on though and
> took up with new
> riders. And the day before we arrived the roads took a
> large toll on vehicles.
> Rough road and steep grade proved too much for some of
> the trucks and
> motorhomes.
>
> But - most of the folks we talked to were very
> positive about the whole
> experience. Yes they were tired, too many hot humid
> days, random
> problems, but still having a great time. And
> determined to see it through.
> Many of them started doing half day rides instead of
> trying to do the
> whole 50 miles each day. Some took more days off, just
> riding when they
> wanted to, and doing more exploring on their own. The
> folks with a
> positive, flexible approach seem to be thriving.
>
> John and I rode every day last week, alternating
> horses and taking it
> as slowly as possible, averaging 10 hr days. The days
> have been plenty
> challenging - rolling terrain, mixed footing -
> generally good, but a
> fair amount of sand and rock too, and the afternoons
> get very hot. We
> crossed the continental divide two days ago, and have
> been riding at around
> 6000 ft elevation. Mornings have been wonderful, but
> by 10am it gets
> hot. We start at 5am so at least the ride is half over
> by the time it
> gets really hot, but the afternoons have been
> grueling. The starts and
> early hours have been great. It's barely light at the
> 5 AM starts, we
> saddle up in the dark and usually hand walk the horses
> for the first mile
> or so. We get to watch the sun come up and there have
> been some
> spectacular sunrises. The last few days we've actually
> had a bright moon for
> the first hour or so before sunrise.
>
> We actually rode the 'real' trail for the past five
> days - the
> Oregon/Mormon/California/PonyExpress trail. This has
> been a surprisingly
> poignant experience for me (and for several others
> that I've talked to).
> There are markers all along the way, and also
> monuments at special
> landmarks - with short descriptions and explanations.
> In many places you could
> see the deep ruts from the wagons. John and I both
> have
> great-grandparents that came across the trail in wagon
> trains. Mine to Utah and
> California, John's settled in the Snake River basin in
> Idaho. Riding along
> this trail one can almost imagine what it must have
> been like. Rocks,
> sand, alkali flats, mud, river crossings, dust, hot
> sun, wind, bugs - not
> to mention loss of family members to cholera,
> dehydration,
> malnutrition. My mother told me about her grandmother
> who came across with the
> Mormon migration - she was so terrified of the river
> crossings they had to
> actually tie her to the wagons before they crossed. My
> father's mother came across as a child and settled in
> California - she developed a
> strong love of the land and a desire to become a
> naturalist.
>
> We stopped at one monument, the 'Parting of the Ways',
> which was a
> point in the trail where some travelers went south -
> and some headed north.
> The descriptiong mentioned the sorrow of parting after
> having travelled
> together for 1000 miles, probably never to see each
> other again. There
> must have been some lingering spirit there - I was
> overwhelmed by
> emotion - and afterwards discovered that others had
> felt the same thing.
> This awe and respect for the Oregon trail - and the
> travellers - has been
> somewhat of a surprise to me. I'm not much of a
> history buff (too much
> excitement in the 'here and now') and didn't
> anticipate how much it
> would affect me. The riding, the scenery, the XP2001
> adventure - all of
> this has been wonderul, but the sense of history has
> been the most
> overwhelming.
>
> The XP2001 adventure ... well, I am totally impressed
> by what Dave
> Nicholson (the Duck) has accomplished. The use of the
> GPS and waypoint
> navigation is brilliant. He collected waypoints
> (latitude/longitude
> coordinates) for the entire 2000 miles last season.
> Some sections have changed
> and he's had to go out and collect new ones on the
> fly, but we have
> always had a navigable course to follow. He loads
> waypoints for the week
> onto everybody's GPS and every morning the riders
> activate the
> appropriate route. There have been very few problems
> following the course - and
> the only problems have been caused by riders failing
> to follow the
> waypoints for one reason or another. He also provides
> a printed page with
> the waypoints and landmark description itemized (e.g.
> WP 8904 Cattle
> guard w gate, follow main trail West) and also a topo
> map with the
> waypoints marked. And these are definitely 50 mile
> courses - every mile, or
> half-mile has at least one geographic coordinate
> waypoint. The nightly!
>  ride meetings are  always an event. Ann Nicholson
> (who as usual is
> holding things together in her kind and gentle way)
> gives a rundown of the
> day - finishers, placement, a few stories and
> highlights, and then Dave
> takes over. Description of the trail, things to watch
> out for,
> historical aspect of the trail, and always a story or
> rambling which has
> everybody at the meeting laughing (or groaning). Dave
> seems to be in fine
> form. I can't imagine anybody else who could pull off
> something of this
> magnitude.
>
> There have been a few glitches with the camps (wrong
> spot, irate land
> owners) but mostly that has gone well too. Barny
> Fleming is doing a
> tremendous job as veterinarian. He and Linda seem to
> be always cheerful and
> supportive. Even the day that they had two flat tires
> within 5 miles
> trying to get from the lunch vetcheck to the finish in
> time to meet the
> front riders.  The pink tutu Barney wore on day 24 was
> a big hit. The
> little things that keep spirits high...
>
> We took today off - the day's ride looked awfully
> tedious and we want to save the horses for the nicest
> days. We spent the day running the lunch vetcheck -
> giving Ann a day off. Pleasant day - nice to see all
> the riders come in and spend time chatting with Barney
> and others.
>
> My hour at the Mountain View library is just about up
> - will send this off and try to spend some more time
> later writing. It's an amazing adventure. I'm not sure
> how many days we'll try to ride - these are tough days
> - but I suspect we'll enjoy ourselves no matter what
> we choose to do.
>
> Tomorrow - the mountains.
>
> Steph
>
>
>
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