By Patty Wilber
I finally made it to the back country on a horse this year! The Volunteers for the Outdoors coordinated a fencing project to help protect some endangered Arizona willows in the San Pedro Wilderness. This was the back-end of that project. Back Country Horsemen, Pecos Chapter, packed out some old fence, tools, and other gear.
In August, our members packed in T-posts, rolls of barbed wire, and fencing panels–very exciting and a bit tricky–but I was at a horse show, so missed that fun!
For this project, we drove to the Los Pinos trailhead. There is a locked gate that restricts access across some private land. I think one can get the gate code from the Forest Service. We had the code, but when we got to the gate, the lock we were expecting to see was gone! Fortunately, the gate was dummy-locked, so we could get through. We also took the lock with us so we would not get locked in! Getting stuck at that gate with a horse trailer would be unfortunate because it’d be a trick to turn around!
After the gate, the road becomes narrow and rutty. I was glad we had the smaller trailer and that the road was dry! Also, that I was not driving.
The trailhead is set up for horses and has designated trailer parking spots and horse corrals, though those are not in great shape. There are plenty of places to highline. But we were just there for the day.
I took Gette! She has been horse-show-girl with me all year, so it was nice to ride her on a project. She is wearing a fly sheet to hopefully keep her coat in some semblance of show-ready for the Appaloosa Worlds at the end of next month.
Gette and I ponied LT the 3 ish miles to the fence site. The trail climbed nearly 2000 feet, and we reached an elevation of over 10,000 feet. I love New Mexico!
Gette ponying LT
This trail follows a live stream, and we crossed it several times. We have been so dry this year that flowing water seems miraculous. Gette hasn’t been a huge fan of water crossings, and hasn’t done any this year, but she barely hesitated, and also drank well. The only crossing that gave her pause was a raised culvert with water gurgling through it. She had to look at that one, and there were a few attempts before she went over. (On the way back, she had no reservations.)
We ate lunch at the top and checked out the new fence–perfectly straight and done by eyeball! Impressive!
Gayle at the new fence.
Then we packed up. LT typically worries about where the other horses are and spends a lot of energy keeping a keen eye on everything. On this day, we did keep Penny with her, but LT was unusually quiet. She didn’t even twitch when they loaded an awkward piece of folded fence on her. I honestly think she prefers being a trail pony to her previous job as an amazing reined cow horse. (Her barn name, LT, is short for Like Totally Awesome.)
Jim on Penny, ponying LT. Check out the folded fence she carried!
Milford started out carrying the other load, but he started limping partway down, so we switched the load to William, Sue’s mount. Sue is a strong hiker and walked down, leading Milford.
Gayle, Sue, Richard, and Jim loading Milford,
Richard got this shot of Jim near the bottom of the trail. I’m looking crooked in the background.
Jim on Penny leading LT.
It was a fun day on a trail I hadn’t ridden before, and our ponies were all very good! I am looking forward to a few more days in the backcountry with BCH this year, and also for Jim’s elk hunt (because of course he drew and I didn’t. He has drawn something like seven out of 10 years, and I have drawn once. And he drew lifetime oryx, too, 2 years ago!)
Happy trails!
