By Patty Wilber
The Pecos Chapter of the Back Country Horseman has worked in the Manzanos and the Pecos this year and while I have only made two projects, my better half has been on all of them with 28-year-old Cometa as his mount and Penny as his pack horse. Now that he is retired, it looks like he is going to outwork me with the club for the second year in a row!
Jim with Cometa (bay, front) and Penny.
The club has had really good participation in these early projects! Starting out of the Albuquerque Trail trailhead, we cleared 4th of July to the Crest Trail, to Mosca. As well as all of Albuquerque Trail and Cerro Blanco with two teams in one day! The tree load was not as high as it has been in some years but we removed over 70 logs!
Colleen, me, and Jessica on 4th of July. Stella the horse forgot to pose!
Then we (the royal we–I was not on these) went to Red Canyon Trailhead on two days and cleared Box Trail, Red Canyon, Spruce, and the Crest trail between Red Canyon and Spruce! The big hole we filled with the Volunteers for the Outdoors last year held up really well! There were some big trees down, but not much can stop our crews!
Over Memorial Day we went to Jack’s Creek Campground in the Pecos. We had two crews each day. With all the cuts to the Forest Service, there was no camp host, no water as the system broke and no funds have been allocated to fix it, and our old coordinators have all been fired or left. I think it is a travesty.
We cleared from the campground to Beatty’s Cabin (80+ trees) which took two days, and from the campground to Baldy Lake (40+) trees with one crew on one day.
Jessica and Jim, followed by Abby and Taryn Climbing out of Jack’s Creek. Photo by Rene Herber and downloaded from the Pecos BCH Facebook site.
We had both hikers and riders which can speed things up since the hikers can pull the small stuff off the trail more easily than a horse person can, but horses can go farther faster and carry a lot of tools.
Me on LT and Jessica on Trigger on the Sound of Music Meadow (our name for it) at the junction of 257 and 25 out of Jack’s Creek. This was Trigger’s first camping trip and first water crossings under saddle. He was really steady and after he figured out the water, he looked like an old hand!
The 2013 Jaroso burn scar on the way to Baldy Lake was impassable to stock before we got there. We helped and got help from Joseph Gonzales who was packing in. We got him through! Our new Katana Boy saws are amazing and we never even pulled the two-man saw out!
We spend a lot of time in the 2013 Jaroso burn scar. There are still a large number of dead trees to fall in the coming years!
Our next projects may include working north on the Crest Trail from Spruce in the Manzanos, which we have never done, and Stewart Lake and Cave Creek in the Pecos. We also have a few pack trips planned to haul supplies for foot crews!
These BCH projects are among my favorite activities, and our horses seem to like them as well!
Happy Friday!
Cometa looks great!