I recently received an email from a friend who posed several questions to me about our pack trip gear and some other things. As I typed out my responses I realized this information might be useful to others. I decided to post it as a blog post (he requested his name not be used). I reconfigured the email to take less space here on the blog.

On 01/25/2016 4:46 pm, [my friend] wrote:

 Tony,

 Your blogs are great and I enjoy every one — many thanks. Kinda curious about your mustang plan, whether you’re calling upon WWMR in Loa or whether there’s time for you to buy one from the feds and soft break. That sounds tough given your 7/4 deadline, but I kind of suspect you’d prefer to DIY.

 I’ve been following your gear notes carefully. Here’s something that might interest you: Cavalry Bed Rolls by Ellis Canvas Tents out of Durango, CO.

 http://www.elliscanvastents.com/collections/bedrolls/products/cavalry-bedrolls

Their concept looks good, but I think the system can be simplified and improved. First, the foam mattress adds unnecessary bulk. A Therm-A-Rest offers as much or more padding but weighs less and goes flatter. Second, it would pair nicely with a simple wool surplus military blanket with sheet. This combo would roll up smaller than the foam and sleeping bag getup, and sleep comfy, too. Throw it open in the morning to air out while you’re eating and packing, then zip, roll as a unit, and lash on. Good for a variety of climates right down to cold.

Given any thought to your brand for your Eager acres/ranch?

[end of email]

Thanks for the email and the compliments on the blog posts. I’ll try to post at least one per week until I get through the “pack trip chronicles” and hope I can keep people interested.

I’ll answer your questions in order.

I made the decision last year that at least one of my Missouri Fox Trotters was not going to make the rest of the trip. My mare, Lizzy, got a lot of rub sores from the pack saddle rigging, due to her long-strided, swinging walk. Additionally, both my Fox Trotters began to lose significant weight on their backs toward the end of the trip, making their already prominent spines stand out even more, which caused both to get sore-backed and raised a calcium deposit on their backs. You can see it in the photo gallery below on Ranger.

 The only horse that came out of the first leg of the trip unscathed was Jimbo, my mustang.

That being the case, I decided that I would look around for mustangs to replace my Fox Trotters. At length I decided to take Ranger with us on the second leg of the trip and just replace Lizzy. So, I’m looking for one mustang. I have spoken with West Taylor, who is helping me watch for a good one. 

Yes, I would prefer to be able to pick one out from the BLM pens and break and train it myself, but I just don’t have the time to do it. Not only that, but I just don’t bounce as well as I used to, so I’m not excited about having to break a bucker at this time in my life. Training is another matter. I can do that…if I have time. There are plenty around that have been saddle broke and are being sold cheap (in fact, Jimbo was given to us free) by folks who thought they could handle a green mustang, but have since changed their minds, so I’m watching for a good one. Jimbo turned out not only to come to us without price, but in turn, has turned out to be priceless to us. He’s a good, solid, reliable horse. That’s just what I need when we start down into the Grand Canyon.

What I can’t afford is to have an unpredictable horse that might, at some unsuspecting moment, buck either myself or my dad off. There is simply no leeway for that. So, that’s why I have been talking to West Taylor. I don’t have time to be breaking a new mustang and he’s pretty good at what he does, exceptional, in fact.

So, we’ll see what happens. Fact is, I’m short one horse right now.

Your suggestions for the gear are all good. Those bedrolls do seem very convenient. We have looked at them, but at length decided to go the way we’ve always done. That is simply laying out a ground sheet, tossing our bedrolls on top, and using a canvas tarp over top of the beds. Here’s why: We use one of the canvas tarps that go over our horse’s packs as a ground sheet and another to cover us. The canvas is waterproof when in contact with water, but breathes, which keeps our sleeping bags dry (a plastic tarp causes moisture to gather from your own body moisture and makes a wet sleeping bag). We use air mattresses that create almost no bulk when packed and yet allow us to sleep much more comfortably than the roll-up foam mattresses. Foam is a better insulator than air, but our air mattresses are so thin that it’s not an issue.

Additionally, we don’t have to have a canvas bedroll that would just be one more piece of canvas to pack around, adding extra bulk and weight. We try to make as many gear items do at least double-duty as possible. The “cowboy bedroll” as they are called, can only do one thing, protect your bedding.

For those who are wondering, the canvas we use for our pack covers and bed ground and top sheets are 15-20 oz tight-weave canvas that has been treated with a waterproofer. The brown canvas tarps sold by Tractor Supply are excellent for this use. They breathe when dry, but when dampened, as with dew or rain, the weave tightens and becomes waterproof, but still breathes. It can wick water through if something is touching it, but that’s normally not a big issue. We have found that once the weave tightens up, the canvas stiffens and we can simply kick up under it and it will form sort of a dome over our sleeping bags, running the water off and keeping us dry. We just have to make sure the top sheet is wider than the ground sheet, so that water running off the top sheet runs onto the ground and not onto the ground sheet and under our beds. If we are expecting rain we also normally put up a plastic rainfly to protect us from the bulk of the rain water. This system has served us very well for many years. We have always preferred sleeping out, rather than in a tent.

As for the idea of using the cowboy bedroll with a simple wool army blanket and a sheet, that would be fine for summer at lower-to-mid elevations, but I found out last year that it can get mighty cold at 9,000+ feet, even in mid-summer. While we realize that the old cowboys often did with a lot less than that, you can bet every one of them would have jumped at the chance to trade their wool blanket for my sleeping bag on a cold night! I took my light summer bag last year to save on bulk and nearly froze when we were at elevation in the Chiricahuas. One night our canteens froze before we went to bed and I was nearly froze solid before morning! I Had to trade out my light bag for my heavy bag once we got to Dick’s place on the Blue River. I was much more comfortable after that.

Last question was about a brand for my place in Eagar, AZ. Yes, been thinking about it. My daughter Amy designed one a while back. I still haven’t decided. She designed a pretty nice logo, as well, which I plan to put on my horse trailer as soon as I get time/money to refurbish it. She also made me a few T-shirt transfers with the logo on it. I guess I should make a few T-shirts for the trip!

Thanks for your questions. Maybe this information will help someone else along the way in their packing experience.