Hi Darlin’!
I was up before the crack of dawn this morning, had breakfast and fed the horses and left them with extra hay, and drove out of camp with Lola before 6:30 as the sun was just coming up. The reason was because Kari had invited me along with a group of her friends to go riding in the wilderness, but the logistics of taking Flash was just too complicated, so Kari offered to let me ride her horse Velvet, while she rode a younger horse named Bliss. I arrived right on schedule, got my saddle on Velvet and drove out to who knows where to meet up with her friends, who all arrived at the same time as we did. These were all world class gaited horses, and I was looking forward to seeing what a true, uncompromising gaited trail ride was like. We headed out in short order, but it quickly became clear that there were so many horses that Lola got confused (I didn’t realize the group would be so big), so we ended up having to leave her in the trailer as we rode off, which was the right choice, I had enough to worry about without adding keeping an eye on her to the mix. I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten introduced to a horse doing 20 mph, but that’s about what happened. We all lit off down a road to get to a trailhead, and everyone was going at racking pace, and I had to keep up. Velvet was full of energy, and was trying to make it a race, so it was a little while before I figured out how to get along with her. It’s a totally different feel than Flash, of course, but I managed to hang on long enough to get the hang of it. Lost my sunglasses though, I hadn’t battened everything down well enough because it was a bit more bouncy than I’m used to. Anyway, once we settled down a bit, it was more comfortable, and I was pretty pleased with the way it went. The trails in this part of the forest are unmarked and not very well maintained, so there were lots of times we had to go around or over trees. With this group, though, at every opportunity they were moving along pretty fast, so I had my hands full keeping up, though my horse was entirely capable, I just needed to learn to handle it! Whipping through trees on a narrow trail can be a bit harrowing! We did over 13 miles, left after 8:00 and were back just after 11:00, so we made good time! It’s a beautiful raw forest, with a lot of challenging sections, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Special thanks to Kari for the invite and the transport! We got back, rinsed down the horses and sent them out to pasture, then I headed into town to trade in another tank of propane. I thought I still had two full ones, but it seems I only had one, and since I need to do laundry tomorrow I didn’t want to take any chances on running. Unfortunately, the Tractor Supply doesn’t fill propane at this location, and the Coop is too dang expensive, so I ended up just swapping out a tank at Walmart again, though this time I made sure I got a brand new, unrefurbished tank. The last one wasn’t new, although it was freshly painted and the dates are good on it, but it wasn’t quite new. Doesn’t matter, really, just a little sentimental about trading in the last original tanks on the trailer. Silly. Anyway, got back to camp, there were lots of dayriders’ trailers, and they were all starting to come back and leave around the time I got here. Had a relaxing afternoon, heading to bed early, tomorrow is a busy day of laundry and packing up. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Well, all of my planning and network finally paid off, with Kari picking me, Flash and Lola up at 8:30 and running us all over to the trailhead on the west side of the forest so that we could ride the Pine Torch loop. Pam, whom I met the other day, joined us there, and we gaited off on a perfectly lovely trail, with lots of waterfalls and ferns and beautiful trees, very, very nice! Surprisingly, the footing wasn’t too bad, all the rain drained off pretty well (as evidenced by the full creeks and falls), we took turns leading and following, which was really good for Flash, it was just a very nice, fun ride. We ran into a few other riders on the trail as well, as it was a gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky, temps never got too hot, just perfect. I was worried Lola would be tired after fifteen miles yesterday, but she kept up just fine, with her leading the way while Kari’s Aussie trailed in back, so it was just perfect. Got back to camp by 2:00, leaving the afternoon to relax a bit, I let the horses graze for awhile, but more folks came into camp so eventually I had to put them back on the highline. Other than filling the truck water tank and doing some prep for my ride tomorrow, it was a pretty low-key rest of the day. I’m heading to bed extra early, which I’ll tell you all about tomorrow. Anyway, a great day, the kind that make me adore living on the road at a trailhead! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
After days of endless rain, at last the rain finally stopped! Though the forecast had said it would rain overnight, it never did, but the skies were still pretty gray this morning, but at least there was no rain! Got up early, did my usual chores and then some, and before I even had my breakfast, my riding buddies, Laurie and Dean, showed up, an hour early! Well, we managed to fill the time with me eating and us chatting, partly because I wanted to make sure Flash had a good breakfast. Nevertheless, I was saddled up and ready to go by 9:45, fifteen minutes ahead of our scheduled time. We had decided to just do a road ride today because it was still so wet in the woods, and we were all pretty sure the trails would be messy and probably trees had come down, so even though it may not have been as interesting, at least we didn’t have to contend with mud and cobwebs! Lola came along, too, since most of the road was just forest road, but there was one section I had to put my lead rope from my McCarty on her because she wouldn’t stay off the busy asphalt road. I put Flash’s boots on, but he lost one the first time we started to do a good speed, so I ended up taking them off. It seems his feet have gotten pretty hard so it didn’t seem to bother him, and the roads here don’t have too much gravel on them, so he seemed okay. In all, we went about 15 miles, some of it through the forest, some of it not. It was a nice ride, and we had a good time chatting. They’re taking a trip to Florida in February, they were asking me about places to stop along the way, something we’ll talk more about later. When we got back, another trailer had come in, with a buggy on it, then later another came in, so I’ve got company again. Because the horses have been standing in mud and their feet were soft, I took the time to trim the front hooves on both of them. I also filled the trailer water tank, and I once again had to put the trailer on the truck and readjust the leveling, because the other side had sunk in about six inches and when I opened the door this morning I almost couldn’t get it open because it was butting up against the steps. Thank goodness there’s a pile of gravel here! I finally got all that done, then had some dinner and settled down for the evening. Already had my shower, will be off to bed soon after my Sleepytime and Ginger tea and my French lesson. Got another early morning tomorrow, Kari is coming to get me so that we can finally do the Pine Torch loop on the west side of the Forest. Good night, my darling! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
Well, my network paid off big-time today! Although we didn’t go exactly where we planned… Kari arrived and said she had spoken with a couple of friends who were already planning on riding out of my campground today, and would it be okay if we joined them and rode Pine Torch later in the week? Of course I said yes, and it turned out to be a great ride! Pam and Laurie really knew the renegade trails here, and we had a lovely, nearly 13 mile ride, some of it at a fabulous Walker-gait pace, which was no problem for Flash to keep up with. We switched between leaders and being in back throughout the ride with very few problems, though Flash did get kicked once because he kept sticking his nose in the tail of the horse in front, so he got what he deserved! Not being a “beer ride,” we did a lot less stopping, though we did take a couple of breaks, but there are several nice picnic areas set up along the trails, so we had no problem finding a place to stop. Flash did very well, as always, though he lost one of his boots a couple of times, and the final time I just left it off since we were almost back to camp. They took me to several out of the way places, including a great cave with a waterfall they call the “shelter.” Apparently there are a lot more of them than are visible from the orange trail. We also did some fast gaiting along the road a few times, also wonderful! Anyway, it was a fabulous day of riding, a little warm but much cooler in the woods, a bit humid because there’s a front moving in that’s bringing rain and hopefully slightly cooler temperatures tomorrow. You know me, I never mind a rainy Sunday, makes me relax, though there is some housekeeping I want to do, just a bunch of stuff that needs to be put away. So I’m spending the evening reading and watching TV, and it won’t be long before I’m off to shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Had a fabulous night sleep last night, woke up nice and refreshed, did my chores, and it wasn’t long before I was saddling up Flash for his first ride here. Last time when we were here together, we did the orange loop twice, going in opposite directions, which is a little over eight miles long. Today I wanted to add the smaller blue loop in the middle, which the maps says is only about 2.5 miles long, so I figured about 10-12 miles with the added terrain. Turns out that it’s more than 15.5 miles long, so it was a much longer ride than I had anticipated. Still, it was a very good ride, and Flash did an excellent job. I met some other day riders resting down at that nice picnic area by the bridge, but only stay for a moment to adjust a stirrup, then I was off on the blue loop trail. A really nice ride, though. It reminds me of Big South Fork or Hocking Hills, without the mud and the long stretches of slippery rock, though there were a couple of short instances of both here. I had forgotten how nice this forest is in places, with lots of caves and little waterfalls, though most of the trail is well-built so that it traverses along the middle of hills as they curve around, rather than trying to go up and down them all the time. Still some nice grades, though. I ran into a local woman out riding, too, on a pretty paint horse with one blue eye. We chatted a bit, but I never got her name. Anyway, it took longer than I had planned, so by the time I got back to camp, I didn’t have time to go do the shopping like I had hoped I would be able to do, so that chore is now pushed off to tomorrow. It’s probably better anyway, it was a long day, I’ll need to recover tomorrow! Oh, my neighbor from the last two days left this morning, we chatted briefly, and when I got back to camp, all the day rider trailers were gone, so I was hoping to have the place to myself tonight, but another camper came in, though he doesn’t have a horse, and then long after dark, yet another trailer came in, too dark to see who it is, though. Guess it will be next week before we finally get the place to ourselves, though I did let the horses graze free for awhile before the first camper got here. Settled down with a movie with dinner, one more French lesson, now I’m ready for shower and bed! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hi Babe,
What a fantastic and rare ride I had today! The group that have been my neighbors had invited me to join them on a linear ride from Deam Lake back to camp, and since they had room for me and Flash in one of their trailers, I decided to go, since I felt this chance might never come again. The morning started out auspiciously, with rain moving in right around 7:00, which was about the time everyone was getting up and getting ready, but it was over within an hour. It did delay our departure somewhat, but by the time we loaded up and drove the short trip to the Deam Lake Day Use Parking, the rain was gone, and other than a few remnants of fog, which eventually cleared up, and soon it was a gorgeous, albeit cool day. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take long to figure out that the best place for me and Flash was in front with a spidey stick, otherwise I’d be fighting him all day. Most of the horses were stock, with one Rocky Mountain and one sometimes Tennessee Walker (he rarely gaited), so Flash and I left them behind for the most part, stopping and waiting for them regularly. The trip was nearly 19 miles, but it took over 6 ½ hours because of all the stops and breaks. I’ve come to realize that when it comes to these special opportunities, I just have to suck it up, even though Flash and I would have been quite happy to keep going, in which case the trip would have been more like about four hours for just us. But when you’re with a group that is drinking a case of beer along the way, the need for pit stops is apparent, so we just had to go with the flow. Still, it was a great trip, through some beautiful forest trails, though there were quite a few stretches on tarmac and gravel roads as well. Got back to camp earlier than they had expected (I think the other horses were trying somewhat to keep up with Flash, or at least not to get too far behind), but at the last stop at a place the locals call Table Top, all the other horses were dead tired, and Flash was still hopping around because he knew how close we were to camp and wanted to get on with it. He kept turning in circles, and was very glad when the rest of the group finally mounted up and we got on the last stretch home. Most of the trail was pretty easy, but then we hit the steeps hills at the end, so I can see the advantage of doing it in reverse, getting the hills out of the way while the horses were still fresh. They were pretty tired on the home stretch, and to start doing these steep hills, particularly when they were so slick from the recent rain, was a bit dicey. But everyone made it back safe, with only one upset when someone’s saddle slid too far forward going down a hill, but nothing serious. After putting the horses away, we all sat around the campfire and had a nice meal fixed by those who stayed in camp. Eventually, I left the circle to call it a night, put the heavy blankets on the horses again since it’s supposed to be in the upper 40’s again tonight, and came in and settled in for a brief evening. Now I’m off to shower and bed. Lola didn’t come with me today, but she played hard with the group, so she’s off in bed already, too. So good night, my darling! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Another excellent night sleep, though I had to close all the windows and run the furnace for a few minutes to warm it up before going to bed, and even though I had the thermostat turned down really low, it came on this morning for a bit, so I knew it got cold out last night! Somewhere in the upper 40’s! Was glad I put the winter blankets on the horses last night! Did a little computer work this morning, then saddled up Flash for our first ride. Meanwhile, I acquired a neighbor, a man named Art, we chatted a few minutes before I set off. I had mapped out a ride on my GPS, and managed to follow it for the most part, though there were a couple of intersections with renegade trails that weren’t marked, and I guessed wrong on one, but quickly turned back when I realized I was clearly going off the reservation! The trails are surprisingly steep for Indiana, considering the rest of the state is so flat, but we had some real climbs which were complicated by all the rain. Lots of mud, not stones or gravel, thank goodness, but from the looks of the piles of gravel being brought in, it kind of looks like someone’s planning on laying a LOT of gravel on the trail. The blue trail closest to the campground has been completely bulldozed, and as you know, trail by bulldozer is NOT my favorite. It just made the muddy area wider and worse, in my opinion. Once I got on to the more distant trails, though, it improved because it hadn’t been bulldozed. The green loop was pretty nice, though steep in some places, and my favorite trail is actually one that is marked closed because they’re expecting to start logging soon, but haven’t yet, which is why I took it now. That was really a lovely trail, more gentle slopes and very pretty. At one point, I ran into Art, who evidently thought I might get myself lost so he came out to find me, but of course, I wasn’t lost. He came back part of the way with me, but Flash just kept outrunning his quarterhorse, and eventually, after a long climb, he said he needed to rest his horse, so I went on without him. I had no trouble finding my way back camp, and took a long route whereas he took a shortcut, but I still got back to camp just before him. Flash was wonderful, though I could tell he didn’t really like all the slipping and sliding, but he still stayed pretty calm most of the time. He didn’t like slowing down to wait for Art, though, which is why I eventually just had to keep going. It was a cool day, but I wore lots of layers so it was fine. It’s supposed to be warming up in the next few days. Art says that he has a group of friends coming in, and they’re planning an all day ride starting down at Deam Lake and riding all the way back up here. It’s less than ten miles as the crow flies, but I imagine it’s close to twice that on the trails. I might join them, not sure yet. Anyway, settled down for the evening, another trailer came in who are part of the group, but I stayed home tonight, figure I’ll socialize tomorrow when more of the group comes in. Meanwhile, it’s time for a shower, I need to wash my hair and to get it somewhat dry before I go to bed, considering it’s supposed to be even colder tonight. I’ve been wearing my wool hat to bed, though, so it’s fine! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Started out a bit chilly this morning, glad I put the blankets on the horses last night! Spent the morning doing my knee PT and my Egoscue exercises, which I haven’t done in awhile. Felt good when I was done, though I had to be dressed in a sweatshirt outside! Don’t think it ever reached 70, and almost decided not to ride today because I just couldn’t seem to warm up, but I finally decided to take Apollo on the camp loop, which the locals refer to as the “kids loop” because it’s only about 2.3 miles long. I wanted to stretch Apollo’s legs, but it was still cool in the forest, so I thought that would be just right, and it was. I took his boots but didn’t put them on because I didn’t remember seeing a lot of stones last time, so it all worked out. Lola got a little exercise along with the rest of us, too. The only downside was someone was mowing the lawn nearby, so we had to listen to that the whole way, not exactly the quiet getaway we were hoping for, but it was nice nevertheless. Did a lot of French lessons today, started a new series of books, and relaxed most of the day other than the usual chores. I actually gave up on a series of books I was reading, and wrote a rather negative review on it, truly I couldn’t go on with it, and you know me, that’s unusual that I don’t slog through a book, I just couldn’t take this guy’s writing anymore. Slower than watching grass grow, really! The new series I started moves along so fast, it’s so refreshing! Anyway, I’ve already had my shower, another few French lessons, about ready for bed. Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hi Sweetie,
A wonderful night sleep without earplugs, it was so quiet in camp, it was delightful! Had kind of a lazy morning, then finally got around to saddling up Flash. Got delayed leaving camp, though, got into a conversation with a guy who happen to stop in camp, and he was a chatty fellow so it was awhile before we finally left camp. My intention today was to knock off the last few trails that I had previously missed, plus rehome the beautiful painted rock that Alison gave me, but it wasn’t as enjoyable a ride as I had hoped. For starters, to do the west trails, the shortest distance requires you to take a good half mile along gravel roads through farmland, and cross a relatively busy asphalt road. I had to put Lola on a leash just to be safe, and then when we got to the section I was trying to map, I ended up getting lost. In fact, I got lost half a dozen times because there are so many renegade trails out here that aren’t on the map, and the main trails sometimes don’t have good markings at the intersections with the renegade trails, so the result is inevitably getting lost! At one point, I was getting way off the reservation, thank goodness I have a GPS, or who knows where I would have ended up! Not a happy camper today, I’m afraid. It was practically 4:00 by the time we got back. It had been my plan to go shopping today, but it was so late now, I decided to go tomorrow instead. Flash was pretty sluggish at first, eventually I put his boots on because he was so hesitant whenever he saw rocks, and that helped a little bit. I think he’s just bored with doing the same old trails, just like me. He finally picked up his tempo when we were headed back east again, but even so, he was pretty sluggish. The western section has a lot of logs left on the trails, evidently the local hunt club likes them to jump over, and Flash also jumped a lot, which, considering I’ve never had any jumping training, was a bit intimidating, but I’m starting to get the hang of. Flash is actually a good jumper, but I’m not going to go over anything that’s very tall, not when I’m out riding on my own! Anyway, once we got back to camp, it wasn’t long before I heard thunder, so I got the horses fed early and everything put away before the rain finally hit. It was quite a bit of rain and thunder and lightning, but nothing very destructive, fortunately. That continued through the evening, finally tapering off around ten. They needed it here, though, it’s been quite awhile since they’ve had any rain. I settled down and binge-watched a bunch of episode of Manifest, they just released their third season so I followed that story all night. Anyway, now it’s time for shower and bed, and shopping in the morning. Good night, baby! Love you!