Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 – Rocky Ride Day from Cane Brake Camp

 Weather was fine this morning, though a bit cool at first. Had to spend some time rasping Clio’s hooves so that her new boots would fit her properly, but once that was done they slipped right on. Saddled up and headed out on a trail with a couple of loop options that led to the lake, recognizing that this will likely be the only chance we get to ride. While it was a lovely stretch of woods, the trails turned out to be MUCH rockier than we had hoped, and there was enough climbing and descending that eventually I could tell the horses were a bit frustrated with the footing. We did manage to get down to the lake, and only had a couple of missteps, because there were a few trails that turned off in unexpected places, and we didn’t realize it until the blazes disappeared, even though very often the trail didn’t change much between when we were on the trail and when we weren’t. Once, the turnoff was halfway up a hill we galloped up, so naturally we didn’t notice at first. Fortunately we didn’t let ourselves get too far before turning around, so it ended up being a pretty nice six and a half mile ride, though most of the time the footing was less than what we normally like. There was a nice field near the end of the ride where we were able to get another good canter in, but most of the ride was walking on rocks, not our favorite. Either we picked the rockiest trails out here, or we’re missing out on the reason why so many people seem to flock here. The campground had filled up while we were gone, with most campsites now filled, and people milling everywhere. As night descended, the place took on a party atmosphere, with lots of bonfires, music and conversation abounding. We tucked into the RV and watched movies all evening.

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