Thursday, July 26, 2012

Vacation time

G had to go to a conference in Vegas this week, so I took the opportunity to take Dixie and Cersei on a vacation. We went to Clark Fork horse campground, in Stanislaus National Forest - it's just to the north of Yosemite, so very similar terrain. I asked around and got a few good ideas for where to go, but honestly I ended up kind of looking at the map and saying "yes, that's how far I want to drive."

All the pics and video are from MY NEW WEE CAMERA, bought for TEVIS NEXT WEEKEND. I'm gonna go do the social media volunteering thing again, and I'm so excited!

Unbelievably blue sky:
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Getting there was pretty easy. It's 200 miles from SF, so it's a pretty easy haul. I stopped at a Tractor Supply in Sonora and asked about that certified weed-free hay, but they were out (and don't carry straight grass anyway) so Dixie had a neverending buffet of EGM Stable Mix, which she loves. Nobody checked, but she loves Stable Mix so it's an easy enough rule to follow.

Road in camp:
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The campground was easy enough to find, and I had it all to myself. There's two (or three?) people campgrounds and one horse campground, all near each other. There was a huge crowd of kids and adults - I think it was an organized event - at the campground across the river, and a few campers in the people campground next to mine. I wasn't ~all alone~ in the wilderness, but I had all the solitude I wanted.

Campsite:
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I was a little worried that Dixie would be unhappy all alone, with no other horses nearby, but I figured if she hated it we'd leave after the first night. She was surprisingly ok. Pretty alert when deer came through, and she watched for me when I'd disappear out of site to the toilet, but she spent her free time dozing and eating. She rolled in the night the second night, but I made myself listen to the weird noises before I went exploding out of the tent to see what was going on.

Wednesday we dinked around most of the day. I think I went six miles in five hours. We went from grassy spot to grassy spot down a short trail, then back to camp, then back out across the Clark Fork river. I tried to keep us out of the way of the kids and parents, but I couldn't find a good way around the other campground, so I leashed up Cersei and led the horse and dog through camp to the north.

We crossed a paved road into a clearing where the FS had been logging, and wandered through it further north. Eventually we found a stream and crossed that and ended up in a meadow - cue ominous music - with COWS!

OH GOD WHAT
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Those black shapes? Bovine monsters.
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Dixie never lets a Defcon 2 state interfere with grass consumption.
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Then we went back through the logged area to the west, to try to find Arnot Creek, which had a proper trail on the other side. We found the creek, but there was no decent way down.



We followed the creek south back to the road and got across it again. It was low traffic, but the traffic that did go by was absolutely flying. I knew from the map that if we crossed the creek on the paved bridge, the trail I was kinda looking for was just to the west of the bridge, but I didn't want to get halfway across it holding a dog and pony and have some crazed minivan driver mow us down. So we worked our way back east along the Clark Fork.



I didn't really want to go back into the kid camp, and I didn't want to try that paved road again, so eventually I found the best spot and took Dixie across the river again. I didn't film that one - I had to get off to lead her down a nasty slope to the river, then I'd have to lead her up the far side through some downed trees, so I just waded through.

She was such a rockstar. She crossed the creeks and rivers maybe five times that day, and she'd never crossed that type of river before in her life - fast moving water over fist-sized rocks. She's turned into such a point-and-shoot horse.

Anyway, she waited pretty patiently for me to break some pointy branches and clear a path up the other side, then she surged on past me to get up the hill so I grabbed her tail and let her tow me up. Yes, I tailed my horse with no preparation at all. I don't think she "knows how to tail" or anything, but at least I know she's fine with the theory.

(I think it's just an endurance thing - we call it tailing when we get off, send the horse up the hill at a walk, and grab the horse's tail for a "power assist" to walk up the hill behind. Ideally, she'd wait for me to get behind her, then go on voice command, then woah on voice command. All we did was the "tow the human up the hill" part.)

Back at camp, I changed into my clean jeans and sandals and spent the afternoon writing and walking Dixie out to graze. Cersei snored nonstop, except for when I'd get up and unhook the horse, when she'd spring to life and charge out with us.

Last night, Cersei was too tired and sore to sleep on her perfectly nice Thermarest camping dog bed, and she insisted on the comfort of my cot. Somehow we worked it out to where I had my legs bent and she got to sleep on my feet and in the bend of my knees. Also, she stepped on my Kindle and broke it. Dogs are the best pets. DOGS ARE THE BEST PETS. Keep repeating this until it's true. ;)

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I had one more meandering walk this morning, down the short dead-end trail out of camp, then we headed back to the city. The house is too quiet, but I'm pretty Zen anyway. :)



Dixie really is the horse of my dreams now. It took a lot of work, on both of our parts, but I wouldn't sell her for any amount of money. So laid back, such a super athlete. We can go do hard fifty mile rides or we can go off totally alone into the wilderness. What more could I possibly want?

I know many of my readers are cat fans, or at least fans of Banders. Banders was very glad to see me - he loves me with all his soul. The Kitten was way too cool to come up to see me; she waited til I called her before she sauntered out of hiding. They were both quite displeased with the dry rations and empty house they'd been left with. Woe, woe is cat.

25 comments:

  1. I've read your blog for a long time but never commented. Just had to say that I love your writing style and reading about your adventures with Dixie. She has come such a long way and you are inspirational in your resolve to stick with her and work through everything. And you've been rewarded with shaping an excellent horse with all your work! Beautiful video on this post. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. What a great vacation...and I'm *so* glad that Dixie has turned into a point-and-shoot for you. Take a bow, Funder--she certainly didn't come to you in that condition!

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  3. Saweeet, gotta love a new camera and a different horsey adventure. I'm crewing Tevis, see ya there!

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  4. I do remember that country fondly...another lifetime.
    Cersei seems like a super trail dog--she doesn't get too far ahead of you, but isn't underfoot, either. Sandy would disappear the minute anything moved in the woods. :-(

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  6. Wait a minute... you're not going to tell us what kind of snazzy little camera you got!?

    Funny that tailing came up in this post. Just the other day I was wondering if you had done that with her. Not sure why, maybe because I was looking down the steep hill that I'm always afraid to ride (or at least what amounts to a hill around here, not terribly high but it is pretty steep)

    When I watched the stream crossing vid on fb tonight I was thinking "Man oh man, what a difference to those first Dixie posts on Funder's blog" :D

    And is it just me or is Cers getting a bit 'soft' in city life? She looked a little "fluffier" in that pic (fluffy re Gabriel Iglesias not as in fur)

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  7. It's so wonderful to read about your journey with Dixie. And so NICE to see that is has all paid off. The gift of the 'perfect' horse is worth all the hardships of training!
    Sounds loads of fun. I'd love to do that.

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  8. It looks idyllic. I can almost smell the pine needles.

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  9. You and Dixie are my heroes!

    (What were the first words out of your mouth after the unfortunate Kindle incident?) ;D

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  10. Sounds like a great little mini-vacation. You and Dixie are an awesome team - camping out alone, or 50+ miles! Poor Cersei not sleeping on her dog bed - I can imagine having a lab sleeping on your legs all night wasn't the most comfortable thing! lol Too bad about your kindle - that kinda sucks! :-(

    Good ol' Banders - cats just crack me up. :-)

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  11. She sure does look around at stuff doesn't she (Dixie that is) I love it! Rosie just kinda 'trudges along' and Bonnie does the "Stop/spin/stand 'n blow' thing at every horse eating leaf/bloulder or even water.

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  12. DOGS ARE THE BEST PETS. I'm saying it, do you believe it yet? ;-) Silly cats.

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  13. Love the fact that a high "cow alert" does not trump the eating :) Totally reminds me of a horse I used to have named Elmo...

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  14. oh, sigh, I miss the forest!!!
    glad you had a great camping trip!
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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  15. what an awful life for a kitty. I don't free feed mine. They get rations every morning and evening. Ask them any day and they'll declare animal abuse!

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  16. Dixie is a rock star... but you made her that! Sounds like a great relaxing time. Woe is cat may be my new saying, exactly how they act!

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  17. So glad you had a good time. I've camped in that country many times with my horses--its lovely. We just got back from our own horse camping trip to the eastern Sierra--it was wonderful, too. I'll post some photos once I recover from the unpacking. But the horses were rockstars--including on some tricky rock. Isn't it rewarding when they come through for you? Yay for Dixie the intrepid!

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  18. Makes me miss being able to take our dog on rides. She's gotten a little old to last more than an hour. Dixie's endurance experiences seem to have turned her into a great camper also. Super news! Tailing up is really cool. I used it during my pre-bionic state. Glad to hear you are exploring.
    Bionic Cowgirl

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  19. "Dixie really is the horse of my dreams now."

    Isn't it awesome to get to that place? No one said it would be easy but it is so worth it in the end.

    Looks like a great place for vacationing.

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  20. Sounds like a really nice time away for both you and Dixie. It looks like an awesome place to go camping.

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  21. Just beautiful! Nothing like a good vacation! Love the video's & photos too!

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  22. What a great way to spend your time. I feel zen just reading about it...would love to camp with my horse some day, either alone or in good company.

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  23. Sounds like pretty much the perfect vacation. *sigh*

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