Beth wrote:>>>>...make the ride sound horribly difficult and
dangerous. They talk about hovering on the edge of a cliff that dropped
straight down far too steep for comfort. Can anyone tell me just how
narrow the trail is at that point, 3 foot, 5 foot??? I have been
= told by several that the Old Dominion is not as difficult as
Leatherwood<<<<
First, I have done this ride many times, and there
are NO "hovering over the edge of the cliff" moments. There are parts
where you are climbing or descending and are on a path littered with rocks and
there is an edge to one side or the other, but not one you could fall over
without a concerted effort. I am a little hinky about cliffs, and I have
never felt unsafe at OD. I have, however dismounted and led my goofy
mare at Ft Armstrong in PA, where the drop-offs are straight down and the
footing is soft. When you are on a ridge or side of a mountain at OD,
you will be on firm footing and mostly on a trail wide enough to pass
on if you are careful.
OD is not difficult LIKE Leatherwood is....but I
believe it is MORE difficult in many ways. Leatherwood is up and down
constantly, and when I was there, the mud made the footing atrocious. It
was a very hard ride mentally and on the horse with it's constant elevation
changes.
OD is more LONG, LONG climbs and descents, many
times in rocky footing, with some flat gravely roads and woodsy paths, and of
course a beautiful river crossing. You will see MUCH MORE varied
and beautiful scenery at OD. Taken at a reasonable pace, OD can be
easier on your horse; it will be harder to be in the top 10 than
Leatherwood because it is fairly deceiving in it's difficulty and must be ridden
intelligently.
I LOVE OD. I have ridden in many regions
and OD is in the top three for beauty and tough fair
trail. The other two I love are Big Horn, and the ROC out
of what is now RMTC (someday I hope to do Swanton Pacific and Tevis).
Leatherwood is very nice and you won't find a ride more hospitable and well run,
but IMHO, OD is the best ride in the NE and SE.
