Once again set the alarm early and got out early, because the trail today is the Blue Trail, the longest this National Forest has to offer. We hoped because it took us to the far northern regions of the park that it would be more pristine and less clear-cut. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a very wrong assumption. Now, let me clarify something here. We have personal preferences as to what kind of trails we ride, as I’m sure all trail-riders develop after a while. We prefer trails over roads, we prefer dirt (or shallow sand) over gravel, we prefer old forest over highly-managed forest, we prefer back-country over populated areas (away from roads so we can at least IMAGINE what the early pioneers experienced), and we prefer public lands over private. In that context, the Blue Trail was a HUGE disappointment. The first half of the trail was on bull-dozed trails (I got the impression it had been a nice single-file trail once, but someone go the clever idea of widening it with a bulldozer, which utterly ruined it, in our opinion) and most of the trees had been clear-cut at some point. About the half-way point (going counter-clockwise, that is), the forest started getting nicer, more deciduous and older-growth, but then the trail went from bull-dozed dirt to an older gravel and dirt road logging road. Finally, the trail veered back into the woods again, but that was short-lived as well, and we were soon back on gravel and dirt roads. At about the 12-mile point, we finally reached a bridge over a creek large enough to water the horses, and stopped for lunch. Hubby was managing, but he was still in pain, and every time we trotted he had to post to keep from jarring his shoulder, so his legs were starting to burn. That meant we would have to either canter or walk for the rest of the six miles. After lunch we headed up the gravel road, but that quickly veered off into the woods on a real trail, thank goodness, and stayed in the woods for most of the return trip home, though it did continue to cross over the road back and forth. For the entire length of the 18.8 miles, we were never more than 100-200 feet from a road, and usually much closer, within view or earshot the entire way, so we never got even the slightest hint of the “back-country” feel we like to achieve. About the closest we got was a run in with a snake on the trail. It was stretched across the trail, about 3 feet long, and it looked dead, but I wasn’t about to take any chances, so I found a big stick and gave it a poke, and sure enough, it was just sleeping. It woke up and slowly started to get out of the way, first crossing uphill, then back across the trail downhill (see video). That was about the only excitement on the trail. We had estimated a 5:00 arrival, because all of the trail maps said the trail was 18 miles, but according to my GPS it was almost 19, so it was almost 5:20 when we got back. That extra time was critical, because Hubby’s painkiller started wearing off at about 4:30, and he didn’t want to stop to take more, he just wanted to get back, and he was in pain much longer than he should have been. Anyway, we finally made it, and after he took more painkillers, he managed to come out and help a bit putting the horses away for the night. It had sprinkled a bit during the last hour, and we knew there was rain in the forecast, so the help was appreciated. Got everyone settled in, then started the heat, cold regime on his shoulder again as we settled in for the evening, thoroughly exhausted, thankful for a day off tomorrow!
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