New Friends

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr

On Sea’s first day heading into the wilderness she met some new friends and ran into an old friend who took these pictures

And here’s a picture of Sea’s new straw hat.

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Next town: Alpine

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr


I camped last night at Bill’s Lake, a beautiful well-fed pond and small RV park.  The bull frogs serenaded me all night long.  It was lovely.  This morning I woke up and was determined to make an early start.  I got up and put water to boil on my wee camp stove and removed the fly from my tent.  Very quickly I realized that I wasn’t going to be taking down the rest of it any time soon.  It seems that the dragonflies like the Mutha Hubba as much as I do!  Quite of few of their pre-dragonfly selves had crawled up onto the mosquito net part of the tent in the night and as the sun was warming the day the adult dragonflies were slowly and carefully emerging from their dry, wingless shells.  It was an amazing thing to be able to watch – and only put me back by an hour and a quarter!

Today we rode for almost 6 hours down the shoulder of a big paved road with plenty of traffic.  Jesse James was remarkably calm about the trucks and motorcycles – the mental break seems to have helped him as much as the physical break helped Finehorn.  Even so – riding along the side of a busy road in the heat and wind isn’t any of our favorite sort of day.  By the time we followed L to the camp she’d scouted (which is lovely and on a creek that’s actually got moving water in it!) we were all a bit grumpy and out of sorts.  L’s brilliant picnic sorted most of that – the ponies had plenty of green grass to munch on and roll in and I enjoyed raspberry chipotle chicken and gourmet potato salad.  I got camp set up quickly when the sky started to spit and there was even time to tidy up my haircut a bit.

Tomorrow morning the ponies and I are heading out into the wilderness again.  We’ve got 8 days of riding between us and civilization and in terms of how much food we can carry there’s not a lot of leeway.  I’ve got a big fancy forest service map of the area we’re riding through (courtesy of B) and I swear it’s big enough to use as a blanket (and waterproof!) The women at the Ranger Station in Lakeside were above and beyond helpful – helping me to plot out a route that goes from known water source to known water source and stays away from areas that are closed due to recent or impending fires.  I’m as prepared as I know how to be – but it’s a big deal taking two ponies across 8 days of dry wilderness, gaining well over 3000′ of altitude and not knowing the terrain.  This is not an ecosystem that I’m familiar with – and apart from things I’ve been warned about like bears and mountain lions and dry springs and non-existant lakes (and the monsoon season starting, which can lead to flash floods, and lightning… )  I don’t know what I don’t know about the area I’m riding into – Solo.  This is sobering!

I’m hoping to be in Luna in time to pick up my mail on Friday-  6.July.  I’ll be 47 by the time I emerge from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and enter New Mexico!  What a strange thought.  One other bit of news – I traded in my red felt hat with the feathers for a big floppy brimmed straw hat which L put a giant sunflower on and brought to me.  The red felt was cooking my brain!  Sorry I don’t have any photos of the new hat yet – that’s something to look forward to when I emerge from the wilderness!  I’m so grateful to have had 3 days of rest (and lots of water and fruit) with the Llamas and the Peacocks before heading into this stretch.  Really having to watch my hydration in the hot winds – I’ve upped my carrying capacity to 1 1/2 gallons and my Steripen Adventurer is charged and ready for the trail.  Tonight it’s raining on my tent, I’m snug and dry and counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder – it’s getting farther away now and the sound of raindrops is soothing and comforting after so many months of dry.
  

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You never know what’s coming for you!

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr


Last Tuesday in the very early morning I was woken from a peaceful sleep by the sound of galloping hooves.  I was out of my tent and into my shoes before I was conscious – Jesse was running up and down the fence and around the yard, all flags flying, snorting and blowing and intently focussed on Something down the wash to the south.  I went towards him and Finehorn came trotting over to me, wrapped her neck around me and pressed close.  The sun was not yet up (it was before 5am) and although there was enough light to see, I couldn’t determine what was upsetting the ponies.  After about 5 minutes of this Jesse came over and I put my hand on his neck to find his muscles tense and literally trembling.  We all looked together, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, until finally things calmed down and the ponies returned to their grazing.  The best guess is a bear or a mountain lion coming by to check out camp – and since whatever it was didn’t return, that morning or the next – Mr.James had been big and fierce enough to make his point – my Hero!

We were camped in a lovely spot.  The ponies and I had everything we needed and quite a few of our “wants” covered as well.  I had wonderful neighbors a few miles up the road who knew where I was camped and were keeping a friendly eye on me.  A young elk had come by the water trough the day before.  Hummingbirds hovered, checking out my bright yellow dry bags and colorful laundry.  I was catching up on my journal Tuesday afternoon, sitting in my tent under the shady pavillion, enjoying the peace and beauty of my surroundings, when a dust devil sprang up right behind me, twisted and whirled across the yard, picked up several Large barn sections that were neatly stacked not far from my camp and tossed them over the fence and across the field – then sudden stillness and silence – spooky!  (and it all happened so Fast – maybe a minute total!)
  

Since being back on the trail I have been reminded over and over again how much I am at the mercy of things over which I have no control.  It’s easy to feel threatened by that – vulnerable and insecure.  But let’s go back to the sentence just before – “at the Mercy”.  Being vulnerable isn’t always such a bad thing!  On Thursday the 14th, as I was setting up camp in a fortuitously fenced-in area (to keep Finehorn safe from the Mustangs!) and realizing that all of the available water was contaminated by cow pies I looked up to the SW and saw a big plume of smoke rising and spreading – oh No – Not Again!!!  A few minutes later I heard dogs barking joyfully and the voices of women.  I walked quickly in their direction, calling out so that they would know I was a female and not a threat, and one of them stopped to talk.  L was so gracious and reassuring, offering to send somebody in to warn me if the Poco Fire looked to be an imminent threat and giving me a bottle of water to get me through the night.  She returned in the morning with news of the fire, a gallon of water, fresh fruits and veggies and a warm heart.  We strolled around the meadow, talking and sharing, enjoying the morning and getting to know one another.  What an amazing blessing, brought about by my vulnerability to (and fear of) the forest fire – and the seriously disgusting water – without which I probably wouldn’t have “bothered” the nice women out walking their dogs.
   

In the past two weeks I’ve been reminded that I cannot rely on my maps.  The drought is serious and the monsoons are late and lakes that look large and unmistakeable on paper simply do not exist in reality.  (On the other hand, I’ve found enough water to keep us going in tiny creeks that the maps show as dry – go figure.)  I’ve been stopped by large areas of blow down (impassable mazes of fallen down trees from the Rodeo-Chediski Fire of 10 years ago – at 468,638 acres it stands as the largest in AZ history) and in finding an alternate route I met DB, who not only welcomed me in like family, she told me about the wonderful haven that started this post And she called ahead to her daughter M and arranged a stay for us a bit further up the trail.  What a wonderful family – and I never would have met them on my “original” route.
  

Due to the extreme fire hazard conditions, whole sections of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest are currently closed and off-limits.  Tomorrow morning (Monday) I will call the Forest Service in the hope that they can tell me where I Am allowed to travel – and where along that route I’m likely to find water.  My next “destination” is Luna, NM – 100 miles from where I am today.  I was hoping to be there by my birthday on 2.July to pick up a package from my folks and a new solar charging device that some friends in Florida are sending.  Right now I think the likelihood of arriving in Luna “on time” is remote – and I’m not fussed about it.  Even with all the detours and drought, I’m back on the Journey and once again finding it a great Joy.
  

I want to write more soon about Vulnerability and Security – but right now it looks like a storm might be blowing in.  I’m inside a beautiful house which is not only full of art, it IS art, staying with a couple who rescue not only llamas and cats but also this strange thirsty woman (with two thirsty horses) in need of a bath on her coast-to-coast trail ride.  I’m about to be interviewed for The Maverick Magazine and before that happens I want to get outside to feel the wind and see what the ponies sense about the incoming weather.  Manana!

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Fletch’s Savory Skillet Scramble

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr


I’ve been meaning for quite some time now to put a few recipes up on the blog – it’s not all porridge and Clif bars – and sometimes a “what’s on hand” experiment is worth repeating.  So – here’s a Free Range Rodeo Recipe – feel free to adapt as necessary!

Fry up 6-8 slices of bacon in your skillet with a small onion (diced) and a hot dried pepper (crumbled) – chop up the bacon into sections before or after frying.  Leave everything in the pan.

In a bowl or sauce pot mix up a box of muffin mix as per directions (we use Jiffy, the 6-8 muffin size – which calls for 1/3 cup of milk and an egg) – add a small can of corn (drained) and a handful of craisins.

Pour the corn muffin mix into the hot skillet – all of it – like you’re going to make a giant pancake.  As it starts to crisp up (when you’d normally be trying to figure out how to flip this thing without losing a bunch of it) start to slowly “scramble” it – gently turning over parts and folding them into other parts – some of it will be crispy and some of it will be soft – that’s the beauty of it.

It’s done when it’s mostly “dry” – but you’ll be able to push it together and it’ll stick to itself.  It’s a different sort of texture than most USA food – but I like it!  This serves as a main meal for two cowgirls.  I discovered today, making it for the first time solo, that the leftovers (saved in a ziplock bag) are quite tasty at room temperature later.

Enjoy!  (and let me know how it turns out if you try it!)

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On the Trail Again!

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr


Monday morning I awoke to a beautiful day.  I was enjoying my Mocha and had decided to check e-mail before packing up.  Both ponies were grazing contentedly – Mr. James on his long tether and Finehorn loose for the morning as she’s disinclined to let him out of her sight.  Suddenly I looked up and saw one Jesse James and Two! Finehorns.  Something was seriously awry and I was hoping it wasn’t my eyes/brain.  I jumped up and ran over to where a beautiful buckskin was trying to steal Finehorn away and convince her to join him.  He was showing off, flirty more than aggressive.  Jesse was doing an amazing job of staying between the intruder and his mare (even tethered as he was) but wasn’t exactly in a position to drive him away.  I made myself as big as scary as loud as I could and was within 12′ of the buckskin before he took the hint and backed off.  I watched him go, and he returned to his herd, which I hadn’t noticed until that moment.  Several mares and younger horses including a baby who probably wasn’t two weeks old yet.  I caught Finehorn and tied her to a tree.  It was time to break camp and vacate, but every time I turned my back and got distracted by packing up here came the buckskin, intent on stealing Finehorn.  Fascinating, if a bit intense.

I had planned to stop at Black Canyon Lake to water the ponies and purify some water for myself, but when we approached the lake, there was the herd, grazing in the meadow between us and the water.  The buckskin was obviously watching for us and trotted over, high wide and handsome when he saw us.  He was just about floating across the meadow in glorious passage – and I decided we could probably wait on the water.  I quickly chose another route and kept watch over my shoulder as we rode away.
  

Not many miles along I saw a sign “Baca Meadow”, a small cemetery and a beautiful valley with fragments of a creek still lingering in puddles full of mosquito larvae.  I hadn’t planned to stop so soon, but the place just called to me.  A forest service sign filled in a few details about the Baca Family who had arrived in 1889, built a house, had a bumper crop that first summer, dug a root cellar and called the valley home for half a century.  Seven daughters and a son, so you can imagine this was a popular stop in a country with more eligable bachelors than unattached frontierswomen!  Damasia Baca (the mom) stayed on after her husband died in 1903, befriended the Apache (communicating with them in Spanish) and hosting all night dances and celebrations.  There are tales of her running out to greet a passing traveler and begging them to stop and have a bite to eat before going on.  There are also stories of 150″ of snow in the valley!  That welcoming spirit lingers on in Baca Meadow.  Even though the water situation was a little sketchy, I decided to trust my Steripen Adventurer and linger on an extra day.  The air smelled of sugared vanilla, the hummingbirds visited, I watched a small bird chase a chipmunk Up a tree, the breezes blew through the pines and the skunk who visited my camp the first night passed on leaving no trace of the aroma that woke me out of a sound and peaceful sleep.  I have a new appreciation for the diverse beauty of Arizona’s high country.

After 9 weeks of lay-up (10 including the time along the Gila on the Rez) I was feeling dis-membered.  I had lost the sense of who I was and what I was doing out here.  I’d lost confidence in myself and the ponies.  I was living with people who only knew me in my time of trouble and incompetence and imagining myself through their eyes fed my doubts.  The six previous months of learning and riding and successfully making our way vanished into a haze of never-was and I felt like people were assuming that I’m an idiot who has no business being out here and I should just quit this nonsense and go home, if I had one.  Well meaning advice felt like judgement and my focus was on my failures.  Even with all the rest and comfort I felt drained.  No longer the Bold Adventuress on an Epic Journey, I couldn’t imagine anybody wanting to invite me in and hear my stories of the trail.  I couldn’t imagine anybody wanting me around!  What if I never left!  I felt like a burden to myself, a loser, and was so relieved to finally be able to slink off into the woods with my tail between my legs.

Blessings on the Wilderness!  I feel like I was able to spend my time in Baca Meadow re-membering myself and this Journey.  It is a great boon to have this time and freedom to meander slowly through such beautiful country.  I am still adjusting to the altitude and the ponies need some time to get back into condition before we start doing 20 mile days again and we have that grace.  It is a great boon to have friends who know me in my strength as well as in my weakness.  I am so grateful for the wisdom of another lady long rider who understands the ups and downs of such a life and is encouraging in realistic ways!  Yesterday I was given water (with Ice!) by a nice man when I stopped at his house and he took the time to look at my maps and send me to this lovely spot.  I feel back on track again – and blissing on my Journey.

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Celebration!

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr

         
Today I am celebrating 8 months on the Journey!  I am celebrating being back on the trail again.  I am celebrating Ponderosa Pines that smell of Vanilla (thank you K for that knowledge ;-)) and chipmunks and cooler weather with pure blue skies and a gentle breeze.  I am celebrating the incredible linear community of friends and family that are following the blog and staying in touch and being loving and supportive and helpful and encouraging.  I am celebrating my ability to sit in my tent in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, feeling gloriously at home, and send out a blog entry with photos of where I am right now.  I am celebrating the reality of the fantasy of Free Range Rodeo.

Jesse James and Finehorn are celebrating an abundance of green grass to eat!

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Jesus was a Transient

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr

You can tell a lot about a culture by what can’t be joked about.  And what can.  I remember my visceral shock when I was over in Ireland and was told that the Irish were taking credit for the World Trade Center coming down.  “How So?”  I asked?  Well, it seems that there were two Irish Carpenters up on the 95th floor, on the night of September 10th, trying to fit a door.  It was just a bit too tight and one of the workmen said to the other, “Aye Paddy, we’re goin’ to have to take a plane to that.”   (all of this in an actual Irish accent of course)  I was floored, wind knocked out of me – only gradually realizing that part of the joke is the American’s response to the joke.  I watched my dad have the same physical reaction to that joke a year later – he literally stepped back a pace.

“So where are you from?  Where’s Home?”    “Oh – we’re exploring the “om” in hOMeless.”  The very helpful, kind, friendly woman who had arranged a place for us to stay with her family and brought hay for the ponies suddenly stiffened, stood straight, crossed her arms looked at us a bit sternly.  “You’re homeless on purpose though?  This is a choice?”  Oops – not funny.  Change tracks – reassure her that we’re riding home to our families on the East Coast – throw in Caribbean home ownership for good measure (all true) – and everything is nice and friendly again.

Similarly, “Jesus was a Transcient”, tossed into a conversation with a Conservative God-Fearing Land Owning Man, didn’t go over very well.  He glared at me, “where do you get that idea?”  “The Bible?”  I replied.  At which point I was reminded that the Bible doesn’t tell us anything about Jesus’ adult life until his baptism at the age of 30.  That until then he probably lived a very conventional life, had a home and family and business (following Joseph into Carpentry) and was in no way a transient.  Well, that’s probably true of a lot of transients today as well.  It doesn’t change my mental image of Jesus and the disciples wandering around the countryside, sleeping wherever they found themselves of an evening, eating what they were offered or could find (handy trick – that with the loaves and fishes!)  The two views don’t necessarily contradict each other.  We all go through phases.

Recently I have been corresponding with another solo female long rider – which has been such an amazing boon I didn’t even know I was craving.  Though we haven’t met in person, suddenly I feel a part of a Grand Sorority of Lady Adventurers (of little means and noticable years ;-))!  However it seems that all the other long riders that she knows about have some sort of home base – and I don’t, in that way.  Which does tend to leave a huge scary psychic hole in the realm of “what will I do when the Journey is over?  where will I go with the ponies?”  And of course, where do I go if there’s a problem – like a pack pony who is taking weeks into months to heal.  Which is the situation I lately found myself in, and has raised the “homelessness” issue into prominence.  Because there are two very different fears that many of us have around this whole transience/homeless issue.  One is that something might happen and we’ll suddenly find ourselves homeless.  The other is that we might get saddled with a homeless person who has no place else to go and needs help.  From the first perspective, homelessness is a strange thing to choose “on purpose”.  From the second, homelessness is an irresponsible choice, because it creates a certain level of dependence on the kindness of strangers.

So I started thinking about that mythical home base/haven.  Because I do have the casita in Vieques – which doesn’t help at all in this situation.  I do have friends and family on the East Coast who would put me up for a spell, even with the ponies.  But none of that helps when I’m stuck in SE Arizona -> loading up and heading for our end point would pretty much negate the trip.  So in the current situation I wouldn’t be doing anything differently.  At least that assuages a bit of my guilt at not being totally self-sufficient.  And I am so ready to be back on the trail, riding across the country, sleeping wherever I happen to find myself of an evening – happily homeless and unencumbered.  I love this life!

 

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Out of the Frying Pan

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr

    

Yesterday the Free Range Rodeo escaped the heat of the Gila Valley and ascended to the Mogollon Rim where I am camped among pine trees and cool breezes. Yippeeeee!!!!   Blessings on B&C for their hospitality while I figured out how best to circumvent the Fire and for the trailer ride North and for the use of their cabin and stock pen as a staging ground for the next stage of the Journey.  Tomorrow the plan is to ride out from here to Black Canyon Lake and from there towards Heber, Show Low and Alpine, AZ – crossing into NM to Luna and then up to Quemado.

Last Wednesday night I had a wonderful treat – and I apologize for the lack of photos – I had no idea what was coming before I left the house and thus didn’t bring the camera.  I was picked up by Miz H in her Jeep so that we could hang out a bit before I headed out of the area.  After a few stops for provisions, we were still uninspired in terms of what to do with ourselves.  We’d both heard about the Indian Hot Springs just north of Eden (it used to be owned by the Rolling Stones – had a big white hotel that burned down) but we had also heard rumors of a crazy naked gun wielding caretaker and we assumed the gate was locked – we decided to swing by and check.  About half way there we reminded one another that the hot springs shared a fence with the back of Cowboy Jack’s property.  We got brave enough to make the call and the response was positive.

We swung by Cowboy Jack’s, he hopped in the driver’s seat and we set off down a long rocky road in the dark past Chaparral and Cactus.  Seemingly in the middle of nowhere Gentleman Jack stopped the Jeep and got out.  He led the way, held the barbed wire fence so we could climb through and “Sweeeet!”  A graceful rock and cement pool awaited; a curvy oasis full of hot water nestled into the trees.  I guess there’s also an Olympic sized pool of hot water somewhere else on the property, but this was perfect and suited the occasion.  The moon was two nights past full and everything was peaceful and quiet.  It was a perfect send-off celebration after two months in the Valley.  (…and a good time was had by all!)

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Heading North!

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr

Just a brief update – A new plan is in place.  Friday 8.June the ponies are going in a trailer (again!) and we’re heading up to Forest Lakes, up at 8800′ altitude on the Mogollon Rim.  We’ll head east into New Mexico from there, hopefully staying above the area of the fire.  The Gila Wilderness forest fire (Whitewater-Baldy) is up to 241,701 acres and although it is now considered 18% contained we certainly can’t go through there, it’s past time to be moving on and the northern route is looking much more reasonable.  It will take us through an area that burned last year – and thus has excellent graze this year (and significantly less chance of burning again).  One important thing I’ve learned, looking at forest fire projections for this summer, is that we’re going to be much safer once we cross over the Continental Divide.  I’m still working out how exactly we’re going to get there from here – but at least I know where we need to be.

Finehorn’s withers hole is almost completely closed.  She still needs to grow some skin and hair and her pack weight will remain at 100# or so for quite some time but I’m feeling really good about her healing process and am confident that we can travel.  Both due to the extended lay-up and the need for re-conditioning And the sudden increase in altitude (we’re going up over 6000′) we’ll be starting slowly, probably 7-10 mile days at first, but the area we’re heading into is absolutely gorgeous and finding water will be less of a problem than it has been since we were riding along Sespe Creek.  I’m excited about the camping and very ready to be on the trail again.

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working on route planning

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Sea G Rhydr

Fear, like pain, can be a warning.  It can also be seriously distracting.  The Whitewater-Baldy Wildfire (in the Gila Wilderness) continues to grow.  Thus far 17o, 272 acres – the largest fire in NM history.  “For the most part the fire has been actively burning in all directions.”  and “0% contained” are the sorts of things I’ve read on line today.  Meanwhile, I’ve been making very little forward progress over the past two months and am eager to be on the trail again.  Several routes are under consideration, all of which involve a certain amount of trailering and risk.

Apart from the fire, here are some of the things I’m taking into consideration:
1) Conditioning – apart from Finehorn’s holy withers, which are healing nicely and I believe are in good enough shape to pack (with the cut-out pad and lighter pack weight) – two months of sitting around means that none of us are in shape to do long, strenuous days.  If we head north, up onto the Mogollon Rim, we’ll have altitude to contend with as well.
2) It’s Wildfire season – just because something isn’t on fire now doesn’t mean it won’t be tomorrow – this is true for much of the West (all summer!)  Two summers ago I was in Boulder, CO in August and there were two major fires close enough to where I was camping that evacutations were in effect within 1/2 mile of my tent.  I came very close to riding into this fire without even knowing it was going on (the smoke is mostly blowing Westward) and many of the places I’ll be heading don’t have internet access – in some of the areas my cell ‘phone won’t work either.
3) Monsoon season is coming – daily afternoon rains is the norm, which helps with the fires, but also increases the risk of flash floods – and the rivers will be higher, faster and more difficult to navigate in general.
4) Lighter pack weight means that I can’t carry food for the ponies – they’ll have to find forage on which to graze along the way if we’re in the wilderness – the other option is to stay close to “civilization” so that I can find hay and feed for them at ranches, etc.  It also limits how much food I can carry for myself – so I need to have a clear idea about how long it will take to get through the wilderness sections.
5) Minor other factors (like quicksand and rattlesnakes) for instance – I do not know this terrain well and there are hazards beyond heat and floods and fire that I might not even know I need to be wary of until I’m in a mess!
6) and yes – I am riding alone at this point.

All of that said – the current route that seems most likely right now is to ride the San Francisco River from Clifton, AZ to Glenwood, NM.  Then I’ll check in with the forest rangers there and determine the next leg of the Journey (if they’re not all too busy with the fire!)  heading up towards Reserve and probably Quemado.

The historic “ghost town” of Mogollon still stands as of this post -> it’s under mandatory evacutation and last I heard 11 of the town’s 17 residents evacuated and 6 elected to stay.  There are smoke/air quality warnings locally and as far away as Albuquerque.  There are currently 1236 people fighting this fire, including 12 helicopters – the terrain difficulty is rated extreme and the growth potential is rated high.  It’s interesting because the internet is a relatively new tool, historically, but one of my fears is being cut off from this source of information.  Wildfires can spring up suddenly and move faster than ponies can run.

So that’s the update – the plan is to put the ponies in a trailer on Sunday afternoon and head to wherever the chosen drop-off point is at that time.  Which is another thing I’m having to get over.  Accepting that A) I am not a purist. and B) sometimes the sensible thing to do for health and safety is to put the ponies in a trailer.  The easiest way out of where we are right now includes a 20 mile stretch between water holes and that seems like entirely too long a day in our current condition (and in this heat) – so if we’re getting into the trailer anyway the only real question remains: where are we getting out of it?  I’ll do my best to keep you posted.

PS – it’s been brought to my attention that I didn’t make clear that yes, I wrote “my life as a fictional character” – and that the panic moment of not knowing where I was, was real!

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