XP - history

["Steph Teeter" <steph@endurance.net>]

What an incredible event....

The last four days of riding were a blur of sagebrush, salt flats, dust....
sun and wind. Everybody seemed to be in the 'hunker down and get it done'
mode. I think the pace was actually a little faster on average. The horses
that had made it this far were fit, sound, accustomed to the work, and
raring to go, and many of the riders let them have at it. There were also
some new riders joining the group for the last week. For some reason I love
riding the stark, bleak landscapes - I didn't find it tedious or boring at
all. And the heat - in the high 90's - was tolerable too. Getting tougher?
Duller senses? Nearing insanity??

The first day out of Austin we climbed up into some beautiful country. High
enough to have Pinyon pines, and aspen. Lunch was actually at a beautiful
spot - along a creek - trees for shade, grass for the horses. The crews
weren't able to drive to lunch, so there were only a few rigs. Very
peaceful. Very nice. Dave was vetting (Barney and Linda were back in New
Mexico) and since we were tail-ending again, there wasn't much for him to
do, so we spent most of the hour listening to tales of the old days - his
early days at the race tracks in CA, adventures from the GAHR. A most
enjoyable lunch. The afternoon gradually deteriorated though. John's horse,
Bunchuk - the Orlov, came up lame while trotting down the mountain - sound
one step, lame the next. The road had some sharp rocks and I think he came
down too hard on one... I went on ahead to send the boys back with the
trailer and John stopped for the afternoon - put Buns in an old juniper
corral and hung out by the creek. The last 12 miles in were rocky and dusty
and slow and camp was near the highway at the Cold Springs 'Bar, Cafe and
Grill' - ankle deep dust. Pretty grim. It was really hot, but there too much
dust from the horses moving around to keep the trailer windows open. I
recall waking up during the night with grit in my mouth..... But just when
things seem their worst, something will come along. This time it was two
orphaned puppies - Heeler/Sheltie crosses - that the kids discovered at the
Bar & Grill - 3 weeks old, their mother had been hit on the highway. The
owner had started bottle feeding them, but they definitely needed more
attention - and I fell prey to all the kids begging me to take them. Kalina
(Dave's 11 yr old daughter) talked me into taking both of them, assuring me
that we'd find them homes. I decided to keep one and Kayla Ramsdale (the 14
yr old that rode all 2000 miles) eventually took the other home. They were
great entertainment for the kids during the next week.... and soooo cute!

The next two days we crossed the most bleak/stark/barren country I've ever
ridden in - down into the Carson Sink outside of Fallon, NV. Alkali flats -
some were soft, ankle deep - the dust tasted sweet and salty, the horizon
shimmered - but the horses just kept attacking the miles and heading west.
John and I sponsored Kalina Nicholson the day we crossed the worst of the
'barrens'. We actually had a great ride - I have a picture at one of the
water stops with only Kalina's ankles showing above the trough. We soaked
ourselves at every chance. (Imagine the the grins when I told the boys who
were armed with heavy duty squirt guns - "ok, fire away!". )

The final day into Virginia City was probably the most memorable of all.
John didn't ride, he opted for moving the rigs, and gave  my niece,
Michelle, the opportunity to ride. I also took Kalina again so the three of
us headed out at dawn. Dave had re-routed the morning trail to send us
through some nice wooded trails along the river where we had camped - a good
idea, but more of a logistical challenge than he anticipated, and we didn't
get our maps and waypoint lists until the morning as we were leaving. Trying
to juggle the GPS and waypoint lists (printed on paper) and keep a fiery
arab under control, as well as keeping an eye on Michelle (who is a rank
novice - never ridden more than 12 miles before - and was riding Great
Santini - aka "the maniac") proved a little more than I could successfully
handle. We spent a fair amount of the morning trying to find and stay on the
trail and keeping Michelle and Santini under control. But we did manage, and
after 3 hours or so had settled into a decent pace, though we were making
awfully slow progress. We took turns singing songs and had some fun gallops
to make up the time (which usually ended up in missing a waypoint turn and
having to back-track a little). The lunch/vet check was at 35 miles - and it
was a looooong morning. We rode down into the town of Stagecoach, NV (the
world's most dismal town) - situated at the edge of a huge saltflat - with a
perpetual circular dust storm. Unbelievably dismal place - the wind was
starting to really pick up and we were pretty tired and discouraged as we
navigated through the most dismal neighborhood in the world and across the
highway. The wind and sun had really sucked us dry - we'd run out of water
quite a ways back and were parched. We reached the highway in time to get
some water from another rider's crew, but she didn't have much with her -
she pointed us to a hydrant and hose behind a building. We drank until we
sloshed. Even Santini drank from the hose. We headed back out and I heard a
clunk clunk from Kalina's horse. Loose LH shoe. In the wind and dust, tired,
hungry, but still game (nothing like kids to keep a positive outlook) - we
took off one of Santini's easyboots and used it on Kalina's horse - looked
like it would work. On we go....

The next 8 miles were definitely grim. The wind had really kicked in - felt
like 20-30 mph steady wind with some huge gusts. We were riding along the
highway (a powerline/access dirt road), headed straight into the wind. Dust
and grit in our eyes and mouths and we kicked into a gallop to get it over
with. The footing was pretty good so we galloped most of the 8 miles,
catching the eyes of the motorists driving by - I can't imagine what we must
have looked like! John drove by at one point and circled back to offer the
horses water - it was WONDERFUL to see him! We didn't have time to dally, so
drank and rode on. We finally arrived at the vetcheck at 1:30 - on the trail
since 5:30 - with very hungry horses. The lunch stop was also grim. We
huddled in the back of the trailer to stay out of the wind and dust. John
took care of the horses, Michelle fell asleep sitting up - the hour went way
too fast, and off we go. Still dusty and gusting wind, still more grim
neighborhood to negotiate. We had to stop at one point and wrap Michelle's
legs. The saddle rubs had become more than she could bear, so I wrapped her
in pink vetwrap. We finally got out of the worst of the wind and dust and
started heading towards Six Mile Canyon which would take us up into Virginia
City. Kalina got sleepy and literally slept on her horse for over an hour.
When it because obvious that she couldn't stay awake I ponied her horse and
Michelle rode beside her to keep her from falling off (she was draped across
her horse's neck). Amazing.... everyone in a while I'd shake her awake if
the trail got too steep  - she'd sit up with one eye partially open, and
then slowly slump back over Boomer's neck. The final leg of the day was up
Chinaman's Wash - very steep, very rocky, very long. But it was the last
part and we got it done. Michelle was pretty numb  - totally exhausted, but
exhilarated by her accomplishement. There was a crowd at the finish line -
even for the tail-enders - and it was very emotional.

What a ride....

Steph