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Re: trail safety



> If you have ever ridden the Mt. Laguna Ride, do you feel the trail is
> too dangerous for endurance?
> 


Terry, I only rode Mt. Laguna once and that was in '87, so don't know if
same trails, but it was my (and my horse's) very first 50 and I didn't
have a clue of what the bejesus I was doing.  I had a wonderful ride
(finished dead last) and was hooked forever.  I don't remember anything
at all about the trails being "too dangerous".  I've also ridden your
Southern California Extravaganza in '93, this time on a hotter, much
friskier horse and remember spending time picking my way along the PCT,
and still didn't mind it a bit and had a great time.  As a matter of
fact, it was one of my very favorite trails because of the variety of
scenery and challenges---something for everyone.  Although I do remember
joking with friends that part of the hairier portions were a little
squirrely for the 25 mile first-timers, and that we'd scare them all
off!  For the fifty, though, no sweat, and I am NOT one of those riders
that gets a charge out of galloping willy-nilly along cliff faces!

The only trail I have ever ridden that I considered just a tiny bit over
the edge was the '93 Old Warriors Water Hunt, where quite a bit of trail
really was alongside very sheer drop-offs, climbing over big boulders
that IMHO too easily could have trapped a hoof or leg and had several
dozen water crossings where the horse had to jump or scramble on or off
the bank.  But even then, I much preferred completing a really tough
course that took alot of thinking, rather than just cruising along just
another dirt road for fifty miles.  Nice footing and flat terrain is
great when you get it, but if you have to spend part of the day really
paying attention to what you're doing (within reason) then you
appreciate the easy parts and having completed the ride that much more.

Seems to me that no one remembers rides that just cruise along...they
remember scrambling over Cougar Rock, the rocky canyons at Sunland,
Bulldog Hill at Malibu...isn't that the point?

Just my .02, of course.

Susan Garlinghouse



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