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[RC] DVE - Day 4 (From Merri) - John TeeterDAY 4 PLEASANT DAY, PLEASANT CANYON (by Merri) Yes, it was another cold, beautiful desert morning! Gretchen and I saddled up and met Nancy on Jazzbo and Ali on Nancy's spare horse Quinn. We'd picked up the junior Ali out of the lunch stop on Day 2, when her sponsor's horse went lame, and she finished with us that day. Her horse went lame at yesterday's last vet check, so she was horseless for today until Nancy offered her spare horse to ride. We took off down the road to Ballarat and Pleasant Canyon. Raffiq got a little hitch in his gitalong after a few miles, and where he warmed out of it on our 2nd day, he didn't look like he'd warm out of this one, so Gretchen turned around and headed back to camp. Spice was pulling my arms out on the road to Ballarat; she felt awesome today. I sure wished she'd drink before we headed up Pleasant Canyon, because it would be a while before we came to the spring water trough, but she turned up her nose at it. And so we began our long walk up Pleasant Canyon. The speedy horses trotted up most of it (and trotted down), but we ride slower horses, so we were just planning on a long day's trail ride. Up the steep-walled canyon we rode, past old mines and shacks and rusted cars, past barrel cactus on the steep rocks that looked like heads watching us. There was lots of wild burro poop everywhere (in the Panamint Valley also) that we'd not seen before. It stayed chilly in the canyon and we soaked up the sunshine in the few spots that the winter sun could reach. We met a couple camped at the remains of a small mining town halfway up the canyon, and several jeeps passed us going up the road. Everybody was friendly, out enjoying the brilliant winter desert day. When we got to the spring and bathtub, Spice still didn't want any water - only rinsed her mouth - which didn't thrill me, because, as the fast riders that passed us there on their way home said, "It's 3 more steep miles." We were getting a special treat on this day this year; instead of climbing the pass into Death Valley National Park and doing a loop in the valley below, we were climbing up to Sparrow's gold mine. Sparrow is famous for going to Congress to fight to keep his mine from being absorbed by Death Valley National Park. Sparrow won his dispute and kept his gold mine, which now stands just outside the Nat'l Park boundary. It was a treat to do this, but boy, what a trail to get there. It wouldn't have been so hard if we hadn't climbed for 3 hours already. The horses struggled to get up there, (we were joined by Sarah and her gray mare) and we 4 girls finally got off and led them up the last mile or so. The horses being led down the hill were slipping and sliding, and our horses looked longingly after them. It was a great triumph for the 8 of us when we hit the top of the ridge, at 7500 feet - we'd climbed an amazing 6350 feet from the valley floor. From there it was another mile on a snowy road to Sparrow's gold mine where Louie welcomed us with fresh spring water (every bit of it hauled up that road from the bathtub - could NOT imagine driving a jeep up that, riding horses was bad enough). And the view - stunning. You could see down the next deep canyon to the north of Pleasant Canyon, back down into the Panamint Valley, over the Argus range, the White Mountains, to the Owens Valley topped by the snow-covered Sierra Nevadas. 120 miles of clear sight, said Louie. A special place to visit, though I don't know if I'd like to live up there by myself in the winter like Louie does! We turned around, and headed back down, down, never-ending down, that rocky road back to the Panamint Valley. Thank goodness Spice took a big drink at that bathtub on the way down, and she snatched at anything she could eat (including my Luna bars!). She felt great and full of energy (and accomplishment) as we walked down that long road. We had the treat of seeing a mother and baby burro at the old mining camp halfway down the canyon. We were just reaching Ballarat as the golden sun was slipping behind the Argus range to the west, and it cooled right down. Spice never once lifted her head from the hay and grain; she was in hog heaven. When it came time to trot her out for the vet - uh oh! She was off in her left front. I hadn't felt it at all at the walk, and maybe she'd just stiffened up while standing there and eating (I'd thrown a blanket over her), and maybe she'd have been sound if I'd kept her walking around, but, there was no point in seeing if she'd walk out of it and be able to trot the last 7 miles home. So we pulled, which was a big bummer, but not such a huge deal, because whether or not we got a completion, and no matter if we were 3 or more hours behind the winners, Spice conquered that mountain! In all, about 50 riders started and only a handful pulled. Steve McCorkle won the ride. A great dinner was served by the owners of Indian Ranch, and a great party was had to the sounds of a local band. Some of us wimped out early and had a few drinks with friends in a trailer, and were snoring before midnight hit. Another fun installment of the Death Valley Encounter - see you there next year! Merri http://blog.theequestrianvagabond.com/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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