Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015 – Trailer to Hobey Hollow for Boot Hunt

After breakfast and a discussion, Hubby and I decided the best course of action would be to trailer the horses down to the south end of Hobey Hollow and take another look for a lost boot. Based on my GPS track from yesterday, I plotted out the section that deserved the most attention, and we headed out in the early afternoon. We found the camping area along Forest Road 1 where we had passed yesterday, and got the horses saddled up again. Hubby’s mare Clio had an abrasion on her foot, so neither one of us put boots on, but considering we knew this section was mostly dirt and only a few rocks, we decided it was worth it. As soon as we reached the area where I lost the boot, which thankfully was less than a quarter mile up the trail from that point, I dismounted and started searching along the left side of the trail, which we figured was where it had landed. We also discussed the possibility that Apollo had kicked the boot to the other side of the trail, or deeper into the underbrush, so we looked as thoroughly as we could. I asked Lola to look, too, and she seemed to understand, sniffing in the bushes as well. After a few minutes, Hubby argued we should go further up the trail, but I was convinced I had been diligent in my watchfulness yesterday, and didn’t want to go further until we had completely exhausted that area. In the midst of the discussion, Hubby looked directly down on the right side of the trail and said “Oh, there it is.” Neither one of us could believe it, it was sitting right on the side of the trail, but had turned upside down, and the bottom was covered in dirt that exactly matched the color of the stones, and looked just like a stone! Incredible! Before I picked it up, I asked Lola again to find the boot, and she went almost straight to it, but was afraid to get close enough to pick it up, as it was directly under Clio and she didn’t want to get underfoot (a smart girl!) Bodes well for next time I lose a boot on the trail! All told we only spent about 10 minutes looking before we found it, so we headed back and loaded up the trailer again. I had some internet work to do, so we drove up to the State Park Lodge and piggybacked on their wi-fi for awhile, answering email and getting some other logistics done. It took longer than I had hoped, almost an hour before we headed back to camp. No worries, the horses and dogs and Hubby all took a little nap. Got back to camp, happy that my lost boot had been found (yeah!), and determined to figure out a way to solve the problem, possibly with duct tape! Had another nice evening once we finally got back.