Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Big Horn 2006  - Joyce Anderson

 

I started the Big Horn this year, aiming for my 7^th  BH 100 mile buckle, on an

 outstanding young mare Kathy Arnold had found for me in Pinedale, WY.  I had

planned for a steady pace on trails I know well, except for the new section around

Adelaide, which was only a few miles.  My friends Nancy Smart & Joe Selden

from Maryland, came out to crew for me again, and it is such a luxury that they are

 both advisors and support team - they are the NASCAR crew for horses - and I

thank them (again) from the bottom of my heart for trekking to Wyoming for

another adventure.  They were also incredible mentors to my friends Cherie and

Mike Borer, from Larkspur, Colorado who were tackling their 1^st 50 mile ride at

the Big Horn!   Cherie and her horse ?Mr. Bigglesworth - aka Jake? had a fabulous

ride and finished the 50 in Top 10 looking like a million bucks.  Mike decided to

pull his walker ?Nick? at Hudson falls as the pace and heat this year might be too

much; but they had a great time showing how a walking horse could zoon across

the desert two tracks into Hudson Falls. The weather this year was much warmer

 than I can ever remember. Most years you need a coat at Horse Creek check

after the canyons, and twice I have been snowed on.  This year a light shirt was

enough so the horses did not have the relief of the normal cool mountain breezes of

the Big Horn high country.  There was as usual a lot of grass and the flowers

accompanied by the spectacular panorama laid out before us at almost every turn. 

 The trail was very well marked and the vet checks went smoothly.  The small

group of dedicated Big Horn managers and volunteers did a great job on the trail

this year and we made good time through the 1^st 50 miles.  We headed out of

Antelope Butte for Ranger Creek and again had a good leg, completing the 8 miles

 in just under an hour and a half.  It was 5pm and I had always covered the

remaining 17 miles up the Adelaide trail, thru Boulder Basin, Shag Nasty & down

into Jack Creek in about 3 hours - so even if we cruised along at a leisurely 4

hours we would be out of jack creek by 9:45.  Since I have covered the final 25

miles of two track in 4-1/2 hours twice before in the dark, I figured that 6 hours +

would give us enough time to get to the finish at an easy pace for my young horse.

  However, as the old saying goes ?the best laid plans??  - the new stretch of trail

around the Adelaide wilderness section rode a lot longer than the actual measured

mileage.  It was the steepest and longest stretch of trail I have ever ridden and

then, after reaching the bench on top, you had more rolling climbs with sharp loose

rock which again made travel slow.  When we came off the mountain to the gravel

road above Jack Creek I saw that we had taken over 3 hours to travel just 7

miles.  I absolutely knew how much trail there was ahead of us and how quickly

you would have to travel it to make the 4am cut-off.  It took me just a tough

couple of minutes (since I love this ride and really wanted to finish) to decide that

my mare had (1) done a fabulous job!, and (2) I didn?t want to push her to get off

the mountain inside the time.  So I trotted into jack creek & vetted her out for a

rider option pull.  She had a 54 pulse & straight ?A? vet scores, was bright eyed

and wanted to follow the other horses down the trail; so did I; but this just wasn?t

going to be our year.   Tessa is one of the nicest horses I have ever ridden and I

realize how very lucky I have been to have had horses who could complete the Big

 Horn and make it look easy - her time will come with a few more miles under her

belt - this years trail was much tougher than the original trail, and the eight riders

who finished deserve a huge round of congratulations for riding well on the Big

Horn++ trail this year!!  My retired horse E.O. knows the original Big Horn trail so

well that he once trotted over 15 miles through inky blackness & I had only my

trust in him to carry me along.  He took me unerringly through every twist of the

trail and I had no clue where I was until my husband asked out of the darkness

?what took you so long.?   This year - I don?t know if I could have even finished

on E.O. given the time we came off the new section and knowing that we still had

the 12 miles of Adelaide Lakes, Boulder Basin, etc to cover before Jack Creek;

but I probably would have given it a shot since he seems to have the trail

embedded on his brain and I think he delighted in zooming thru the darkness -

completely in control of the situation, knowing there were lots of hugs and carrots

at the bottom of the mountain.  Tessa gave me a amazing ride and is the first horse

I could ride in a 4am hundred mile start without gloves - she bounces a bit to ask if

she can ?catch those horses? but she absolutely does not pull and I am here to tell

you that is a delight, after a lifetime of riding Ex racehorses that pull like crazy. 

We?ll be back next year to again tackle this amazing trail and hopefully follow the

ribbon of moonlight under a highway of stars guiding us down from the mountains

to the desert below.  Joyce Anderson, Dedicated Big Horn Fan !!

 

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