Hey Sweetie,
What a great way to finish off my ten days here! After muddling through the last few days trying to figure out how to get more mileage on Flash, and having to overcome yesterday’s back pain, today turned out to be an incredible ride! First, I was going to go with a gal named Julie, but she wasn’t feeling well, so at the last minute, I tagged on with Linda, the woman who was so kind and generous in her information about Lost Corral, and I was so happy to have the opportunity to thank her for all her help. She picked me up just after 10:00 and we headed up to the kayak outfitters, where we passed by on the train the other day, and met up with a bunch of her friends; Robin, Lori, Carrie, Steve and Cindy, and we proceeded to ride through some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever seen. We followed an absolutely gorgeous creek, climbed mountains teeming with forest, it was just indescribably beautiful, exactly the kind of riding I love! We ended up going about 11.4 miles, and there was so much climbing, it was definitely a workout for Flash! Linda was riding her husband horse and trimming branches off the way, and he had a very long legged, fast walk, so Flash was well-matched for speed, thank goodness! There were several places we had to stop and clear, but we had the mini-chainsaws to do the job, so we were never held up for long. Very challenging, but so perfect! The only mishap was when Flash tried to climb over a slippery rock to get out of a creek and slid very badly. I came off, and he nearly slid off the rock into the creek, which was a good drop, but I was able to calm him down enough not to panic, and he very carefully managed his footing until he was on solid ground again. No damage to him whatsoever, thank goodness, but I hit the top of my foot on something, a hard rock evidently, and the top of my foot hurts in the same way it would if a horse had stood on it with all his weight. I don’t think I broke anything, but I’m certainly going to have a bruise and some pain there for awhile. I limped around the rest of the day. We ended up back at the outfitter’s where there is a nice picnic area, and Steve cooked up some elk/beef burgers and we had a bunch of snacks, and we chatted for quite awhile. Such a great group! I hadn’t figured on coming back here in the fall because there is so little riding out of camp, but Linda has shown me there are scores of trails around, just that they have to be trailered to. They all generously invited me back, so I may just make this one of my regular stops. What great fun, great folks, great food! And Lola had a great time, there was literally a pack of dogs on the trip, though Linda and her dog Annie, with me and Lola, were pretty far ahead of the group most of the time. Lola and Annie fetched and swam in the Hiwassee before lunch, then settled down while we were eating. I let Flash graze with some of the other critters, he deserved some fresh grass after all that! Once Linda dropped me off, I got in my gravity chair with my leg up for a bit (Cindy had provided me with a bag full of ice at the picnic, so some of the swelling went down), doused it with witch hazel and let it rest a bit. Finally I felt fit enough to put some stuff away, all my tack, the carpet and chairs, etc., whatever I could for now. Nice that I won’t have to make dinner tonight, an added bonus to the day! Time for my shower, then I’ll wrap my foot and get in bed. No doubt it will take me longer to break down the highline tomorrow with my foot the way it is. Good night, babe! Love you!
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