Decided to try out another State Forest south of Sugar Hill that is technically part of the same trail system, so after breakfast we loaded up the horses in the trailer and headed down to where there is a parking area clearly marked on the map. Unfortunately, as we got further and further down the road, it got narrower, then we started seeing a bunch of Private Drive signs, and pretty soon we were at the "end" of the road, which had a driveway up a hill to a house, and the "road" turned into an overgrown two track that looked dubiously passable, and I wasn't about to haul a horse trailer back there without knowing whether I could get back out again, so we carefully turned around and headed out again, disappointed we wouldn't have a new forest to explore. Instead, we headed over to the parking area on Evergreen Hill Road at the sound end of Sugar Hill and took the A trail to the D and E trails, which turned out to be a very nice ride. A bit muddy in places, and with some rocks going up and down the steep hills, but I didn't put boots on Apollo because the mud here just sucks them off. Even Hubby lost a boot near the end of the ride, so I once again got to get myself all dirty retrieving it. Another beautiful day, perfect temps, gorgeous skies, couldn't ask for a better day to be alive and riding!

Got up a littler earlier today, hoping that Hubby feels up to making the long ride to Trailside today, and was very happy when he said he felt good enough to go! The humidity and temps were down a bit, making the weather utterly perfect for a long day's ride! Everybody had their breakfast, and by 11:30 we were on the trail! We headed out on Twin Ponds down to Hiawatha, then south on Confusion Flats to Erie Canal to Pitcher Pond going east. Mark had told me that the second renegade trail on the right was the one to take to get to an alternative creek crossing and a more direct route to Trailside, though I wasn't sure how far apart the first and second trail was. Turned out they were only about 10 or 20 yards apart, but the second one clearly went downhill, a must to reach the river, so we headed down. The trail was much less used, obviously, and there were a few trees across the trail that made it challenging, but we made it without any trouble. The crossing was quite wide, and the rocks were large and jumbled, and I couldn't remember if Mark said stay to the left or the right, so I just let Apollo find his own way, once I got him going, of course. He took his time, was very careful, and made it across with no problem, with Hubby following a bit behind, and Lola bounding her way across. When we all reached the other side, we saw little Billy still standing on a rock on the other side. I had hoped he would follow, and had brought a leash with a harness in case he needed help, but after a few moments of urging, he bravely ventured forth into the water, swimming when he had to, resting on rocks when he could, getting pushed a little downstream, but shortly, he made his way across to the shore, then came trudging up the bank to meet us. He looked tired and wet, but no worse for the wear. A few minutes up the trail, he caught scent of something and went bounding off into the woods, barking like a puppy! Then he took point, jumping and leaping as if to say, "I did it, I did it! I'm the Man!" He was evidently very proud of himself! He's proven to be quite the creek-crossing trail dog, even with his short stubby legs! We'll never underestimate his abilities or desire again! Once we hooked up with Blueberry trail, it was easy to follow the signs south to the restaurant, where we tied everyone up and headed up the hill for lunch. They've done a lot of work since the last time we were here, adding a deck and extending the 2nd story, with plans to add even more, we learned from the crew. We rested about an hour over lunch, including a nice draft IPA called Southern Tier, before tightening our cinches and heading back out up to Blueberry, and continuing east, picking up Crooked Creek, which had two more puny water crossings that didn't cause any concerns at all, carrying on to Florence Pond, then Confusion Flats, straight north, then took the woods trail which parallels Blue Jog but is much more interesting, before arriving back at camp by about 5:00 or so. What a great ride! Hubby wore his back brace, so his back wasn't hurting at all until about the last half hour. Billy was still keeping up like a trooper, and Lola found a tennis ball and started throwing it at me to play almost the minute we got back to camp! When we arrived, however, the work wasn't done, as several more campers had come in, and someone had actually put their horses immediately next to our stalls, despite the fact there were two empty stall on the other side! For those of you who may not know this, as long as a place isn't overly packed, it is always protocol to leave a stall between you and someone else's horse, to avoid any potential personality problems. The last thing you want to do is for someone to get kicked or bitten by a strange horse in such a confined space. Anyway, that meant I had to move all of Clio's stuff from one side of Apollo to the other, re-hanging her hay bag and so on. Not to mention, now I will have THREE stalls I'll have to re-sand and clean before we leave. Gee, thanks a lot. Making work for your neighbors is not the best "hello" you can devise. In any event, we got that done, then I had to fill up with water because I have some more laundry to do, and that meant getting out the sump pump, an electrical cord, and several hoses which I then had to string through Clio's former stall, hook up to the generator, fill a large water tub and start running until the tank was full, about a half hour job. I was ready for a cocktail by this time, I can tell you! At last got a drink, visited with some other neighbors for a while (who were equally perturbed by the stall incident), then came home for popcorn and a movie for the evening, with a break to hang up a load of laundry (if you can call that a break!) Nevertheless it was a wonderful, fabulous ride, and a great day!!

After breakfast, and saying our goodbyes to Marsha and Nate, we decided to take a short ride today. Upon careful examination of Apollo the last few days, his back seems to be in very good shape, no flinching at all. He has a thin scab that's already starting to pull off, but I decided that it would be worthwhile doing a short ride just to check him out. He was fine when I put the saddle on, and equally fine when I climbed aboard, so off we went down Twin Ponds to Confusion Flats, south to Hiawatha, west again back to the camp, just under 4 miles, and a little over an hour. We even tried some trotting and cantering, all the while paying close attention to Apollo's behavior, and he passed all tests with flying colors! Whew! That could have been so much worse! Meanwhile, it was another beautiful day, once again refuting the forecast which had about a 40% chance of rain, but the sky was clear, though it was a bit hotter and more humid today than it has been since we've been here. It was a great ride, very happy to be in my saddle on my own horse (though he did seem a lot slower than Brandy :-), especially with Hubby and super slow Clio behind. Back to normal, anyway! After we got back, I chatted with the neighbors, a Scotsman named John and his wife and another friend. Then the only other two neighbors left in the camp came along, and we were talking maps for a while, until the new neighbor declared she had the best map of all, and after a quick trip to her trailer, came back with a T-shirt with a complete map on both sides! Upside down on the front, for the wearer's benefit! First map I'd seen that had most of the renegade trails, signs for waterfalls, swimming, restaurants, and every other attraction you could think of! I asked it I could try to scan it so I could make a map for us, and she agreed. I spent the next hour or two accomplishing that goal, until I finally had a one-page map that was quite legible. I kept a copy for myself and gave one to John's group, which they seemed to appreciate. I asked a bit more about the route to Trailside restaurant, and Mark, another regular, told me about another renegade trail (which wasn't even on the new map!) that would save us 45 minutes, but would add another creek crossing. I ended up going back after dinner and spending the evening chatting with them, though I couldn't persuade Hubby to join me. Weather seems to be dictating that tomorrow will be the best day to ride to Trailside, fingers crossed!

Marsha and Nate went out buggying again this morning, but came back after 90 minutes on a rim. Evidently they got a flat again, and the new tube they bought yesterday was destroyed, which finished any more attempts at using the buggy for the weekend. Marsha again asked me to ride with her, as she wanted to do at least one "drama free" ride before heading home, so we saddled up and were on the trail by just after 11:00. She decided we'd go to Streamside trail, which was quite a ways down on the south end of the forest, and she showed me a couple of the renegade (unmarked) trails that would bypass the bad section of Icicle Trail, which I had planned on going down when (if) Hubby and I ride down to Trailside Restaurant, so I was glad to learn about it (and to get it programmed into my GPS for future use!) Once we reached a picnic area along Streamside, I remembered that we had been there before, overlooking a bend in Otter Creek, a really nice spot. Then we read a sign about how the upcoming trail was washed out and not suitable for all horses, but we pressed on, and though a couple of spots were quite a drop, we managed with no problem, and it was only for one small section, so we were soon back on good trails. She then led me out to Mohawk Trace, a private road where her friend Karen lives (though she evidently wasn't there when we passed by), and back up to the camp, arriving around 2:00. Though it seemed like we walked slower today, we still made good time, so maybe I just got used to the faster pace : -). Anyway, it was a fabulous ride, albeit it still is a little bumpy on a pace, but we did manage to canter a few times, Brandy truly does have a nice canter. After putting the horses away, I helped Marsha do some packing, including getting the sulky strapped onto the back of their trailers, with help from a series of winches and pullies that Nate had cleverly had installed. Eventually work was done, cocktail hour began, and Hubby even came by for a drink, extolling us with his theory of Shakespeare and performing a couple of monologues, which were much appreciated by both of them. It was a very nice evening, and soon we were back home doing our usual dinner and a movie evening routine.

Marsha and Nate went out in the buggy for a while today, evidently he was able to make some repairs on his tires, but by the time they got back it was flat again. Not to be deterred, Marsha still asked if I wanted to go for a ride, and even though it was almost 4:00, I said Yes! After testing Nate's Turner saddle, I decided it was too slippery and uncomfortable, despite the gel seat, and put my saddle on instead. Although Brandy had a hugely narrower barrel, it seemed to fit fine, I just had to wrap the cinch strap around a couple of extra times, and off we went! Brandy is a retired pacer, so her walk isn't too bad, and she was able to keep up with his gaited buddy Willy pretty well, and occasionally we got into a "pace" which was a bit rough, but after awhile I was able to get him to slow down enough to make it about the same as my Apollo's slow jog. A couple of times going uphill, we even cantered, and his canter was really beautiful, nice and smooth and easy. I decided that we needed to do more often if we get a chance to ride again. We just went around Shady Trail, so it was barely an hour that we were out, but it was very nice, a lot quicker pace than what I usually get with Hubby, and through some of the narrow trees it seemed like we were going at a dangerously quick pace, but I'm sure that was just because I'm not used to the gaiters. Anyway, we had a nice ride, it was good to get experience on another horse, and after helping Marsha put the horses away and having a drink with her, I came back and settled back down for the evening with Hubby.

After a nice slow start to the day, we saddled up again, and also put on boots, since my previous notes described our planned route as having some stony sections, before heading out at around 1:00. We headed out past the bathhouse to the aptly named Shady Trail, which was absolutely beautiful, then on to Independence River Trail, where eventually it did get rocky, then down Hiawatha trail till we finally reached Confusion Flats and the Blue Jog Road home. The dogs were brilliant again, with Lola even waiting for us at a road crossing, and Billy doing a fine job of keeping up, though we did have to slow down a bit after our several canters to allow him to catch up. Absolutely gorgeous day, temps in upper 70's, so a little cooler in the shade, just PERFECT! These are definitely perfect days, we couldn't ask for anything more. Despite all the rain in the area this spring and summer, there were only a few muddy spots, and the mud here is so different than down in Watkins Glen, the sand base makes it crumble under the horses' feet, rather than suck it in and hold onto it. Didn't lose any boots, thank goodness, and truly enjoyed the day. Could not have asked for more! Perfect trails, perfect weather, perfect horses, perfect companions, everything just perfect! I love this place! Definitely in my top 10, maybe even my top 5! Love it! Got back about 3:30, then settled down to watch a couple of movies for the afternoon and evening. Life is good!

Well, everything I remember about this place from our last trip here is true. The trails are wonderful! Hubby just wanted to take a short ride today, so I planned a loop about 5.25 miles long, and we took the dogs with us. The roads that I remember being sandy were still sandy, but with all the rain, it was pretty well packed, so we weren't sinking anywhere near as deep as I remember we had before. Once on the trails, despite the rain, the dirt was hardly muddy at all, and even in the few places where it was, it was never more than half a hoof deep, so it was wonderful! We got lots of trots and canters in when we were on the wider trails and roads, and some lovely walks and jogs on the narrow trails, of which there were many. Gorgeous! Mostly pine forest, with a few areas that deciduous and some were more open. Really enjoyed it! The dogs came along as well, and they just keep getting better and better. Lola listened to me as we approached the one road we had to cross, and we made it all safe and sound to the other side. Got back before 2:30, had a light lunch, and spent the afternoon reading (Hubby) and writing (me) and napping (the dogs, and Hubby). Fish for dinner tonight, freshly caught two days ago!

Another gorgeous day, and we had decided that this was our last chance to ride to lunch, so we headed out about mid-day straight down Maple Lane, passing the Road Closed sign meant for motorized vehicles, and made a beeline for the restaurant. It was more of a road than a trail, but much less of a road than what we've been riding on the past week, so we were quite happy. Debated whether to take the dogs along with us, and did bring them in the end. They were brilliant the whole way! Even though it was over 10.5 miles total, with a lunch break in between, little Billy managed to keep up and everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously! When we arrived, we found several other horses tied on the property, so we tied the horses to a couple of posts at the back of the property, and the dogs as well, and went in. We chatted with both the help and the other three riders that were there, and enjoyed a nice lunch before heading back to camp. The only thing about being on Sugar Hill is that it's always a long climb to get back home, and this route had several long slogs, but we had been gradually working up to this long ride all week, and it went without a hitch. Had a wonderfully relaxing evening, as most of the campers had left by the time we got back, so it was much quieter than it has been, to be expected, of course. Chatted again with the folks we met at lunch for a while, then settled in for the evening.

After our earlier ride, and additional rain, we knew the trails would be a mess, and didn't want a repeat of spending so much time looking for lost boots, so we decided to stay on the road as much as possible, since the road isn't too bad a ride anyway. We headed down Maple Lane until we reached the road closed sign, then swung east, missing our turn and running into the paved road, so we turned around and found the turn we missed, which was along a little used road, but the footing was still good, and that led us to the crossover on Mohawk, which meant we had to climb a bit, and I only lost a boot once, until we finally got back to Maple Road for the journey home. Not an exciting ride, but at least we didn't have any unnecessary drama, and got a few trots and canters in, which is always a good thing! The dogs behaved beautifully, too, with Billy doing a grand job of keeping up, despite his stubby little legs!