First Sierra Horse Packing Trip: Helms Meadow and Beyond

We've visited all of the western sates, and there are so many beautiful places. But the Sierra Nevada always gets me. It's truly heaven on earth - mountains, trees, fresh air, lakes, creeks, waterfalls. What's not to like?

OK, this year, the bugs were an issue - specifically those blood-suckin' mosquitoes. And where the mosquitoes quit, the black flies began. The only exception was along lake shores when the wind was up enough to keep the little frackasses busy.

We packed up the horse, Maddie, and all her gear and ours Saturday morning and headed out for the 6-hour drive to the trail head. We made only one significant stop (for lunch and horse watering), and Maddie did really well. She rode quietly and didn't flee from the trailer upon arrival at the campground, so the ride must've been OK.

After camping at the trail head Saturday night, we packed the gear again and hit the trail near Trapper Springs Campground on the west side of Courtright Reservoir.

The trail was fairly easy for the first five miles or so, including a spectacular walk through Helms Meadow where the wildflowers were poppin' and the views of Dogtooth Peak where out of this world. But perhaps a little over a mile past the meadow, the trail markings weren't quite so clear, and the trail itself was grown over or blocked by fallen trees more often than not. Old blazes had long grown to pretty well-healed (nearly invisible) scars. Even with the GPS and topo maps in hand, we found following the trail difficult. And blazing our own trail with a horse packed for bear (VERY wide horse) was time consuming given all the fallen wood and dense forest.

We worked our way past the trail head to East Lake, then opted to backtrack a bit to a granite slab where we made camp for two nights. We knew we could make it to our intended location nearly 2 miles away if we worked at it, but the old folks and the horse in our party were all tired - particularly tired of backtracking and circling in efforts to stay on the trail. AND we knew that we'd probably have the same issues on our departure day - no fun!

So granite slab it was. We aimed for the mineral soil and slab because we'd noticed throughout our hike that these spots had fewer mosquitoes than another spots along the trail. Still, we used more insect repellent on this trip than any two trips combined and still came home looking like chicken pox clinic refugees.

Monday, I took a pretty short ride up the hill to East Lake. The GPS noted it was "only" 3/4 mile, so I saddled Maddie and off we went. It took us awhile to come upon the proper trail which we ultimately followed to the east side of the lake (the swimmin' rock side). There was a nice little meadow there for her to enjoy while I took a dip and some photos, missed my dad and missed Grandma Kathy, then opted to spend that time remembering great pasts rather than regretting their absence at the moment.

Such great memories here - lots of laughs, for sure! After Maddie tanked up on lake water, we headed back down the mountain, this time following the trail all the way back to camp. Someone has done a LOT of work maintaining the markings on this trail, including cairns, fallen branches lining the walk, rocks marking the path over granite slabs. But all these are quite temporary, and I didn't notice more permanent - like blazes.

Tuesday we decided to walk part way back toward the trail head and find a spot along Courtright Reservoir's northern shore (still in the wilderness area). The idea was that our walk out would be shorter the following day, thereby making the day that would ALSO include the 6-hour drive home more tolerable. It would also get us on a lake where V (OK, and Mr. B and I) could cast a line. The hike down was especially fun for me where the Helms Meadow trail disappeared. Rather than continue looping and spinning through the trees trying to find a route wide enough for packed horse, she and I enjoyed a nice creek walk while the little people and their dad had a fairly straightforward walk along the bank. The water was cool but not cold, refreshing, and SO clear! We spotted lots of fish along the way before finally returning to the Helms Meadow trail where it re-emerged along the bank.

We came upon a really nice, well-established camp at the mouth of Helms Creek where the fishing was fantastic! V and her spinning/fly combo setup didn't get any bites (can't imagine why, though), and Mr. B's similar setup brought in a couple of bites, but didn't reel any in.

Since I count Sierra seasons not by weather, but by bug life, I know that mosquito season is followed by "bee" season. Yellowjackets come out en masse, I believe to gorge on the mosquitoes, late in the summer. With so many mosquitoes out, and the temperatures still warming, "bee" season must be just around the corner. So I decided to tie on an early season trout treat - a small "bee" fly. I cast a few times in an area that was more lake than creek, then Mr. B pointed me to the sweet spot where he'd had his nibbles. Sure enough - first cast I brought in a 14" trout! V helped me release it before my second cast brought in a smaller rainbow trout. The next big bite resulted in the loss of that little bee, and with mosquitoes doing their darnedest to suck V and me dry, we headed in for the night, happy as could be.

Prather, then the long slog home.

It was a great escape to one of my favorite places in the Western U.S. We also learned a few lessons. Next time, bring the horse her own bug spray (big bottle), bring the horse's light blanket (forgot it in the trailer when we packed up at base camp), bring an extra set of shoes for each kid, too, and, for our family, probably don't plan on hiking more than 5 miles per day on a back country trail which is, more likely than not, going to disappear on us a time or fifty.

I can hardly wait to do it again!

Mattie Meets Montana de Oro (or How to Wear Out Horse & Kids In One Fell Swoop)

(For those of you who receive these updates via e-mail, to see photos, click through to the blog.)
 First, don't bring a good map. Bring a cruddy little, general map of the park which spells out WHICH trails are horse accessible, and which are off limits, but omits super helpful info like, oh, topo details or, say, landmarks.

Then, don't bring a GPS. Newfangled technology makes outdoor adventures far too easy. You can't have a properly exhausting family adventure without losing yourself in a small maze of unofficial, but clearly well-established, trails.

Bring only one horse to be shared between four people. OK, we're technically three riders and one dedicated walker, but you get the idea.

Bring only the tack that accommodates the rider with the shortest legs.

Then set out before lunchtime knowing you have a good five hours before you have to load back into the trailer and head for home, and explore trail spurs along the way.

OK, certainly those aren't the ideal pointers, but that's what we had to work with and we had a fantastic day at Montana de Oro where Mr. B and I could never really be lost. The girls played along nicely and traveled well. Mattie performed wonderfullyl. We found a few sticky spots (she wasn't all that thrilled about stepping down over a thick root in a spot where she had to pass between a tall tree and a tall bank), but worked through them. V was onboard when Mattie decided to go UP the bank rather than simply walk past that "scary bank." Mr. B led Mattie across the first water hazard, which she preferred to jump. (HEAVEN forbid she should get her hooves wet.) She and I worked on that issue at a couple of other crossings, including a super challenging step from sticky mud, across a significant log into a running creek. I discovered she was just bluffing about that fear of water when she stopped mid-creek to graze.

While Mr. B and the girls began their return route, I took a short side canyon down to a fantastic stretch of beach before returning to the maze of trails in which we all spent a little extra time before calling it a day.

By the time we returned to the trailer, Mattie was a sweaty, muddy mess and we were all ready for naps. And I'm not sure any of us have fallen asleep so quickly at bedtime in recent history. I can hardly wait to do it again.

Heading Back to Las Flores with 4H Friends

We've been enjoying our local open space - Las Flores Ranch. Eventually, the city of Santa Maria plans to turn a portion of it into a new landfill. Meanwhile, we're enjoying the serenity and beauty of the place. The raptors and oaks are fabulous there. Our horse enjoys her portion of the picnics as well as anyone in the family. And the girls are doing really well on horseback.

Recently, E's 4H horse group gathered for a trail ride at Las Flores. Mr. B, V and I enjoyed a nice family hike while E rode up the trail with her horsey peers. They had their own adventure before making it to the picnic area where we crossed paths on our way back to the truck. Another beautiful winter family day on the Central Coast.

Winter Update - LOTS of activity

I know, I KNOW! It's been awhile. But we've been busy around here, and my New Year's Resolution involved spending a lot less time on the computer despite a predicted increase in freelance work and the summer release of the second edition of Best Family Adventures: San Luis Obispo County. (I hope this old computer can handle THAT workload!)  With little feedback on this blog lately, I decided this was the place to start with cutbacks. If you've missed us, I'm sorry. (We've missed you, too!) Remember: the phone rings both ways, as do e-mails and blog entries. So many ways to keep in touch these days!

I've been having some compatibility issues with this "old" computer and the giant external hard drive which decided this past year that it no longer liked our old-fashioned Windows XP. At least we THINK that's what the problem is. The pair cruise along for weeks with no problems, then there's a catastrophic crash and images are scrambled beyond repair. I don't know at this point how many photos have been lost forever - I shudder to think! So, I'm leery of it, and with the recent horsey outburst of spending, a new computer's not in the cards. Plus, doesn't it just suck that we have to purchase new, expensive hardware so often to keep up with these insane changes in software?

So what have we been doing with our time? We enjoyed some fantastic winter storms in December complete with LOTS of water and flooding in some areas here on the Central Coast. It was such a pleasant change from the everyday sun with which we're spoiled here. We visited family, enjoyed our horse, took our first family hike/ride (boy, those pioneers with just ONE animal to share among the group were far more fortunate than those without!), and enjoyed Santa Maria's first skating rink. E has also gotten more involved in 4H. She's volunteered for a variety of committees (ice cream social, toy drive, pizza party, senior movie night, etc.) and continues to enjoy her project work (sewing, cooking, beginning 4H, porcelain dolls).

Here's a photographic peek into our world in December:


We also enjoyed an all-too-brief gathering in Riverdale with cousins galore:


When I get up the nerve, I'll upload the January images to the external drive, and hope for the best. Then I'll send a more recent photo update. Meanwhile, what's new with you?

Meet Mattie - Skip's Pine Blossom

I think I mentioned in a past blog entry that big changes were coming to our house. You probably thought the post about Hestur summed it up. But, no. There's a method to this madness, you see.

Mr. B's truck has been faithful and fantastic for two decades. And while he had an urge to replace it a decade ago, I had stalled him, noting that we'd just picked up the minivan and should probably pay off that loan before taking on another. Plus, it's a Toyota, I told him. It'll run FOREVER!

He apparently took my comments to heart. We paid off that loan years ago, and his truck just keeps chugging along. And when I've mentioned replacing it, he's said, "It'll run forEVER!" And that was that.

But it won't tow much, doesn't seat four (and only seats three if someone gets SUPER friendly with the stick shift), and it's getting up there in miles. Still, after living to regret the sale of three of the four vehicles I've ever owned (my '71 Demon, '90 Saab convertible and '79 Jeep), I'm not certain I want to sell the old Toyota.

But we knew this was coming:



Her official name is Skip's Pine Blossom, but her previous owner called her Mattie after one of her great granddam. She's not exactly an impulse buy. I've wanted a horse for as long as I can remember, and V has been loving her horseback riding lessons since she began nearly two years ago. Plus, we're both suckers for large, friendly animals. (E rode for more than a year, then tired of the arena and has since opted to spend ranch time running amok.)

Last year, I rode this horse for a month to help the owner get her back in shape after a long rest. You see, they had lots of horses, and only so much time. She taught me a few things (chiefly, that I knew NOTHING about horses), and convinced me that, were I ever to actually have a horse, she might be the one for me.

But she wasn't for sale.

She wasn't ever going to be for sale.

She was a keeper.

Until three weeks ago or so when the owner decided she might want to move on to a gaited horse - a Peruvian Paso that offers a much gentler ride. As she told me about the potential new horse, she kept referring to Mattie with "but" in the sentence....lots of "buts." I got the feeling she was considering selling the horse, and asked her to let me know first if she so decided.

Two nights later I got the call.

And here we are.

As I took her out for my first ride after purchasing her I thought, "This is the. stupidest. thing I have ever done." Really...I'm a city slicker. I don't even live on property where I can KEEP a horse, let alone live a lifestyle requiring a horse. On the other hand, in the week since she became mine, the girls have spent a little bit of every day out on the ranch, a bit of every day providing for her care and feeding, exercise and grooming.

And E is riding again.