Hi Sweetie!
Stayed in bed late just to stay warm, it got down to 37 degrees this morning! Finally crawled out of bed and got the day started, getting to be the same routine, feed the animals, have breakfast, did some OTL work, then finally hooked up the small horse trailer to the truck, saddled up Flash and got him loaded in, and headed down two gates and along the powerline grade until I finally reached the crossover under the powerlines that makes the border between Dupuis and Corbett. My plan was to follow Road 3 to see if it improved any over the way it looked on the other end, and I’m sorry to say, it didn’t. In fact, it got worse. We’d get about 10 or 20 yards of sandy road, then have to wade through 50-100 yards of water, sometimes pretty deep water, and often with no way around it. It wasn’t long before I was soaked from the knees down. Never quite had to actually swim, but there was some lunging going on a number of times. At one point I tried to get around it, and ended up just going in one big loop and ended up right where I started, so we had to traverse another long stretch of water to stay on the road. FINALLY made it to the Gopher canal, which is where we usually come up off the canal, and that section eastward isn’t bad, until we turn north again. Scott and Anita said they think they found a good dry grade further east, but it was getting so late, I didn’t want to go that far, and I still wanted to see how Road 4 was, so I cut up Road 5, which goes along the Gopher canal northward, and it’s really nice. I wish there was an east/west road as nice as that one! It ran into Road 4 and I turned west again, and while it was slightly better than 3, with a few easier ways around the water, there were still sections where it was deep in the cypress swamp, so I’m thinking some folks are really not going to like it. I finally joined up with the trail I came in on, and headed out that way for a bit, until I reached the FTA trail. I had intended to check that out, too, so I headed out to see what that little section was like, and it was the best riding of the day. Ankle deep water most of the way, and some knee knocker trees you had to watch out for, but really, the best riding of the day. So that’s no doubt going to start a debate. My next jaunt will have to be the whole length of the trail, to see if it holds up, at least until Gopher canal again, at which point there are a few options, including the new one Anita and Scott found. Considering that when we leave Camp I we pretty much stay on the FTA trail anyway, I don’t understand what the big deal is about us using the west side of it as well, if it’s in good shape, which, as I said, will be my next recon trip. Anyway, we got back to the trailer and got loaded up by 4:45, and back to camp by about 5:30, so I fed the horses, filled the trailer’s water tank, got my dinner and settled down for the evening. Didn’t make as much headway as I thought today, but it certainly was enlightening, so I guess I accomplished something. Getting late now, so I’m off to shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!
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