Settling into Ride Season

This riding season has gotten off to a slow start for a variety of reasons, but I’m settling happily into May — my favorite month to be outside — and finally starting to tick off trail miles with renewed vigor.

Grif has shoes on all the way 'round, and Stan's got his first set of glue ons in front. Q, being the perfect little queen that she is, remains barefoot because her feet retain boots beautifully. The first round of gluing went smoothly; I am so happy to have this method of hoof protection available!

Prior to May, I ventured off property for two rides. The first was to a nearby rail trail for 8 easy miles. The second was to one of the few trails in the Seneca Creek backcountry that I hadn't set foot on before, Spring Ridge Trail. Both outings were uneventful, but the Spring Ridge one was exciting from the standpoint of having a new incredible trail to use to access the rest of the Seneca Creek backcountry. 

I hadn't attempted Spring Ridge before because the parking isn't fabulous and I knew nothing about the trail itself. I didn't want to try it on horseback before hiking it to scope it out. But then during a meeting with USFS in February where we discussed trail work opportunities for the upcoming ride season, one of the trail managers gave me solid beta on the trail that increased my level of comfort exponentially. As a result, I made it the first trail I rode in that area for the year.

Spring Ridge trail is a former road and is wide with great footing the entire way to it's junction with Allegheny Mountain trail. Compared to Swallow Rock, it's a superhighway. Provided there isn't another trailer parked at the bottom (because there's only space for one), I will be frequenting it often this year to access other trails in the Seneca Backcountry. It will also be the perfect trail to ride on week day evenings when I want to get in a solid 7+ miles of trail riding.

It’s rare to find a “new” trail in a place I know this well, which made Spring Ridge feel like an especially fun discovery. Finding a new reliable access point into the Seneca backcountry feels a little like unlocking a secret level, and I’m excited to see where it takes us this summer.