Thursday, May 21, 2020

First Dolly Sods Ride of 2020

It's been a minute since I trailered off property to go anywhere with the horses. Which is a shame because I have a literal 10-minute trailer rider to so many incredible spots!

This past Saturday, Kate and I enjoyed a lovely 15.5-mile ride on Q and Stan in Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. We were going to ride with Dan, but ended up riding just the two of us after Dan and I rehashed the trail junctions so I could refresh my memory on our preferred loop. The Sods are a beautiful place to ride - and riding is my favorite way to experience them! - but not all of the trails are safe for horses. It was pretty critical that I was clear on our route before setting off. (Backtracking is of course possible, but never my preferred method.)

Funnily enough, I always doubt myself before heading into the Sods on horseback. It doesn't matter how many times I go. I still question myself on the route. However, once I'm actually IN the moment on the trails, I rarely question anything. It's all so obvious to me once I'm in the moment. Maybe one day I'll quit doubting myself during the planning stage? Hopefully!

This was Stan's first trip in the Sods sans shoes. Both horses had front boots only, and we took those off for the middle section that is predominantly free of the crazy-rough rocky terrain that makes up the start and finish of this ride. Stan was outstanding! I am SO proud of where I've gotten his feet since bringing him home. He's not nearly as smart about foot placement as Q is (she's the real professional and has some stellar fecking feet, too), but hopefully he'll learn with time.

So before I go off on a complete tangent about how much improved my horses' feet are and how wonderfully perfect they were all day, I'll instead just bombard you with beautiful photos. That's what everyone loves anyway. 😉

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The ride began with a 2 mile climb up a gravel road to the trailhead. This was right after we entered what I believe is called 'Wilderness Way'
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And thus, our schlep up the Wall of Tears begins. 
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This is by far the roughest section of trail for the day.
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But thumbs up for good horses!
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And thumbs up for gorgeous freaking weather, too.
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Entering a tunnel of spruce and mountain laurel - still on the Wall of Tears
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Classic Dolly Sods right here.
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Is it a trail or a creek? The answer is both.
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I love Q's studious expression here as she decides the best place for her feet. Stanley, meanwhile, is just motoring through the mountain laurel lol!
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He lacks the ability to make quick decisions about safe, soft places to put his feet in between the rocky chaos like Q can do
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And finally, we've reached the top and gain our first view into the Sods
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SO GORGEOUS. Ugh. I am beyond grateful to call this HOME.
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Kate and I were both gushing about how awesome this place is and how much we love living here when she struck this pose
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Looking over to Red Creek Canyon
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Kate on the trail for perspective of where we are on Blackbird Knob Trail in relation to Red Creek
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Flora habitat changes so much within a short distance up here. It is super cool to travel through so many ecotypes.
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Taking a short break to snack (humans and horses) after crossing the Left Fork of Red Creek. This is also where we took the horses' boots off because I knew the trail wouldn't be as wr
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Snackamore for Staniel!
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No snackamore for this wee beastie. She gets too strong for it these days thanks to her newfound confidence.
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I told Kate to stand Q up on this rock for a photo. I did the same thing 6 years ago when I brought her here for the first time. Kate was hesitant at first, but I assured her Q was very accustomed to my ridiculous requests to do silly things.
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Little valley within the center of Dolly Sods created by Red Creek
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lol @ Kate's smirk
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But there's a smile!


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Entering a copse of red spruce after our lovely gallop
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I love the stands of spruce
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They provide a great escape from the heat on warm days, hanging onto cooler air well into the afternoon
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A sweaty Staniel - very typical for him. 
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Looking down into the valley created by the Left Fork of Red Creek
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We're traveling along Beaver View trail here
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Such a gorgeous spruce specimen in front of Kate!
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Left Fork of Red Creek in the bottom of this wee valley; Rocky Ridge rises up on the other side and Canaan Valley drops down from it
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Ugh, it just makes my heart go pitter patter looking at this view
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Vanna White-ing the gorgeous scenery
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Look close to glimpse the many rocky outcroppings that give the ridgeline its name
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Climbing up a super cool little gully
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And yes, the horses are still barefoot here! Stanley was a boss!
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Q was a wonderful leader all day long. She only gave one semi-significant spook that almost unseated poor Kate. Thank goodness this little mare doesn't pull her head/shoulder drop and spin maneuver like she used to do so often!
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Another trail/creek nearing the summit of Rocky Ridge
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And yep, they're STILL barefoot here. We ended up putting their boots on about 5 minutes later.
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After lots of hand grazing at the trailer following a bath, we headed back up the mountain to our little farmette. Grif was overjoyed to see his barnmates, and all three horses enjoyed a few hours of grazing before the sun set. 

10 comments:

  1. Wow what a GORGEOUS place! I am so jealous of all the great places you have to ride, and so close! :) that last photo of them all out grazing together <3

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  2. Gem could have handled that Wall of Tears footing wise, but I'm pretty sure Eeyore's feet would simply fall off 1/4 of the way up. Gorgeous views all the way around.

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  3. Beautiful! I experienced some similar rough trail out here in the PNW two weeks ish ago. But the reward for slogging through it was a phenomenal view.

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  4. that looks lovely <3 <3 what a perfect ride!

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  5. Meanwhile on my ride yesterday I found the unstable ground like you did in the Sods that one time. 😱 So glad you guys avoided that kind of adventure, bc this looks like a PERFECT kind of ride!

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  6. 15 miles? Coooolll! I kinda miss trail riding... Lovely pics of you guys and the scenery.

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  7. WOW! This is so beautiful! 15.5 miles is IMPRESSIVE!!
    I'm like you- I want to know that I know where I'm going, although this past week I got kinda lost, and I have to admit, it was pretty fabulous. lol
    So glad you are having such a great spring and the horses were doing so well!

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  8. Gorgeous! Love all the rocks and greenery. I love the rough trails when horses think about their feet, some better than others, you’ve got good ones! Question: why take off the boots part-way through? In my case I just put them on once, even if footing gets better.

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    1. I've lost several boots in that middle section due to absolutely ridiculous mud conditions classic to Dolly Sods. Think hock-deep minimum. It's special. So instead of worry about the boots, I've taken to just ganking them off after the Left Fork crossing when they're clean. Something about this incredibly wet, clay/silt-laden mud is murder on boots once you pick up the pace traveling uphill. And the section through the middle is where we can travel the fastest - a near guarantee for losing boots! No matter what kind of boots I've tried over the years, they always come off after mud like that when I want to canter. So I now try to stay one step ahead of potential frustration by choosing when the boots will come off lol

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  9. Wow, that's indeed one gorgeous trail. Our horses wouldn't know what to do with that trail / creek full of rocks. Good ponies!

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