After quite a bit of study and fingernail biting, I have decided to deviate a bit from the Arizona Trail/Great Western Trail for the first leg of my Mexico to Canada trip.
I have decided to start my trip at the Mexican Border a little east of Douglas, Arizona. There is a road there called “International Avenue” that follows the border. Just east of Douglas is the San Bernardino National Wildlife Preserve, where I believe I can start my trip. I’m sure I won’t be able to travel through the preserve, as it is likely to be fenced in, but I should be able to get fresh water there and start my trip a bit east of the preserve.
From there I will head north. It appears to be open range, so few or no fences. From Google Maps satellite view I can see there are water holes and ranches every so often, that I should be able to make it easily from one to the next. As long as I don’t miss too many, I should be fine. Departing in the early spring, there should be water in some of them and I can hit ranches as well. That close to the border, I should be able to find well-traveled foot paths between water holes (haha!). I’ll hit I-10 at San Simon, where I’ll be able to cross under it at a bridged wash.
I plan to go north by northeast to the Chiricahua mountains. As I get into the mountains from the southeast, I should be able to cut into the Sky Islands Traverse trail near it’s beginning. I will follow it north until I get near Mt. Graham, where I’ll turn east and pass south of Safford, picking up the Gila River and following it up to Morenci/Clifton.
I will continue past Morenci/Clifton, following the Gila River, until it forks, then follow the Blue River north to the Blue Wilderness Area. I’ll take a break at a friend’s place there on the Blue for a few days, before taking Foote Creek Trail northwest to Hannigan’s Meadow.
From Hannigan, I’ll do a combination of road-following, logging roads, and cross-country north to Eagar, where my folks live. I’ll take another break there to rest up the horses and resupply. I expect it will take me about three weeks to get this far.
I expect I’ll pick up a couple family members there to ride with me a while. I’ve invited them to ride with me to either Show Low or Snowflake, depending on whether I decide to take the General Crook Trail to Camp Verde, or the old Mormon Honeymoon trail northwest, passing north of Flagstaff.
Either way I go from Eagar, I’ll meet up with the Arizona Trail/Great Western Trail at the end of that leg.
Once I meet up with the AZT/GWT, I’ll follow it north, resupply at Flagstaff, then on to the Grand Canyon.
I’m looking forward to crossing the Grand Canyon more than any other single portion of the trip. My dad and I have talked about crossing the Grand Canyon on our own mounts since I was in high school. I’ve invited him to accompany me on this leg of the trip. In fact, he’s decided he wants to make as much of the trip as he physically can. He’ll be turning 81 about the time we reach the Grand Canyon.
That will get us through Arizona. I estimate it will be a little over 800 miles. The AZT measures 801 miles from the Mexican Border near Nogales, to the Utah state line near Jacob’s Lake.
Now that I’ve made those decisions, it will be a matter of collecting maps, researching the route more closely, making contacts, and finalizing the plans.
Proposed route in red. Alternate in blue
On the map, my proposed route is in red. The alternate route on the Mormon Honeymoon Trail is in blue. The Honeymoon Trail follows the Little Colorado River and much of it is on the Navajo Reservation, so that would require some special permissions. May not be able to do that route, but it would shorten the mileage a bit.
I’ve been busy remodeling the master bathroom in my house these past couple of weeks. Doesn’t leave much time for messing with the horse or working on the saddles. I’ve been trying to do some research on pack saddles, though, in the early morning and evening hours.
Since I’m going to have to put together two pack outfits for the trip, and likely have a third for a stand-by, I’m trying to decide whether to go with Decker-style pack saddles or the old standard Crossbuck packsaddles.
I have been using Crossbuck pack saddles and Utah-style paniers (big, open grocery sacks made of canvas and other tough materials), since I was in high school, so I had never even considered any other option for my Great Western Trail trip. As I started looking into suppliers for gear, though, I noticed that most of them seem to be carrying Decker-style pack saddles as their main fare and Crossbucks have taken second-seat. So, I have been asking around about the relative advantages and disadvantages of each.
Crossbuck pack saddle and rigging
The Crossbuck pack saddle has been around for a long time. I haven’t been able to come across anything that tells just how long they have been around, but suffice it to say that when one imagines an old miner with his pack donkey, in the pre-Gold Rush days, wandering around the west, dodging indians and avoiding civilization, he had a Crossbuck pack saddle on his pack animal. The Crossbuck gets its name from its configuration: Crossed wooden “crutches”, normally made of oak or some other hardwood, attached to the saddle bars, traditionally made of Cottonwood, for the horse’s back. The crossed bars looked a lot like a “sawbuck”, which is a fixture made for cutting wood, consisting of two logs or wood beams, bolted or tied together crosswise, across which the wood to be cut was laid to hold it in place.
Modern Crossbucks are solidly glued and/or bolted or riveted to the saddle bars. They are normally rigged for double-cinches and use breast straps and breeching to keep them in place on the animal. An over-sized saddle pad, normally made of mohair or wool felt covered by canvas is used to protect the pack animal’s back. Modern Crossbuck pack saddle bars are carved to fit the animal much like modern riding saddles, however, when one looks at an antique pack saddle, one can easily imagine a sore-backed pack animal. Many antique Crossbuck pack saddles simply had wide, short, flat boards for saddle bars. The rigging of a Crossbuck pack saddle hasn’t evolved much over the years. It is essentially the same as it was 150 years ago.
In the late 1800s, came along the Decker-style pack saddle, which was developed to more easily haul odd-shaped loads while protecting the pack animal. Decker pack saddles were not named for the inventor, S. C. McDaniels, an old Arapajo packer from around the turn of the 20th century, but for several brothers named Decker, who saw the utility of the new style pack saddle and applied for a patent, which, apparently, was never granted. The name Decker stuck, however, and the saddle has had that name since the early 1900s¹.
The Decker-style pack saddle, rather than using wooden crossbucks, has steel bows, arches, or hoops (take your pick as to what to call them) to which the saddle bars are attached. Modern Deckers may have saddle bars made of wood or polymers, and they may be fixed or “self-adjusting”, or able to move to self-adjust to the shape of the pack animal’s back. Deckers have several hoop configurations, to satisfy varying needs of packers.
The original Decker hoops were simply arched hoops connecting the two saddle bars. The straps from the paniers (the bags that hold the loads) are buckled through the hoops, or are attached using Decker hooks.
A Decker saddle uses an oversized saddle pad, similar to the Crossbuck saddle, however, in addition, the Decker saddle uses an Arapajo, or Half-Breed (apparently in honor of McDaniels, who is said to have been part Arapajo), which is a padded canvas pad that lays over the pack saddle, protecting the pack animal, the saddle, and the saddle pad, from the chafing of the loaded packs. The Half-Breed has slits in it, through which the hoops of the saddle protrude, allowing the paniers to be attached over top of it. The Half-Breed also has side boards installed in pockets in the lower sides of if, which help distribute the load across the pack animal’s sides and further protecting it from the chafing of the load.
Many packers also utilize a “Quarter-Breed”, which is a piece of canvas, which lays over the Half-Breed, to protect it from wear and keeping it clean. Since the Quarter-Breed is simply made of canvas, it is easily and cheaply replaced.
Decker pack saddle and rigging
The rigging of a Decker pack saddle is more adjustable than that of a Crossbuck saddle. Most Decker pack saddles I have come across have buckle adjustment available for every strap on it. A Crossbuck saddle’s rigging has few adjustments, outside of the tightening of the double cinches. The Decker’s rigging can be adjusted to move the cinch farther back, or forward, as well as use a single or double cinch. In fact, most of the Decker saddles I have seen come standard with a single cinch. Decker-style rigging appears to be more easily repairable, since it attaches to the pack saddle via D-rings, rather than being riveted or screwed to the saddle, as Crossbuck rigging normally is.
Crossbuck pack saddle tree
Crossbuck paniers, at least the ones I am acquainted with, have hanger straps that are simply leather or nylon loops sewn into the top edge of the panier. These loops are hung over the crossbuck to suspend the packs. Often there is no adjustment. They just hang where they are. You can adjust the way they hang a little by the way your diamond hitch is tied, but for the most part “they is what they is”, as they say.
Decker-style paniers are more versatile. They may have hanger straps, like the Crossbuck paniers, but they have buckles in them, so as to be able to unbuckle them and pass them through the Decker hoops. They can also be used on Crossbuck saddles, in the same way Crossbuck paniers are used, except that you can loosen or tighten the hanger straps to adjust the way the packs hang. This is useful in balancing a load, when necessary. Decker paniers can also be made, or fitted with, “Decker hooks”, which are brass, bronze, or steel hooks, made to hook onto the Decker saddle hoops. Decker hooks can greatly simplify the loading of a pack animal, particularly single-handed.
Decker hook
Decker saddles also lend themselves, depending on the hoop configuration, better than Crossbucks for “top packs.” While I have always simply loaded stuff on top of my Crossbucks, thrown a canvas tarp over the top, and tied it all into place with a diamond hitch, there are available a number of different styles of top packs, made specifically to load on top of the pack animal and the paniers. Top packs made for Crossbuck saddles are generally configured in an “H” pattern, allowing for the crossbucks. Top packs for Decker saddles are rectangular or square and have no need for the “H” shape, in most configurations, and therefore can have more space in them. Never having used one, I can imagine that it would be somewhat easier to pack and load a square pack than an “H” pack.
As for panier shape and configuration, Decker saddles are easily adaptable for a number of odd-shaped loads, from railroad ties, to hay bales, to regular Utah paniers. I have read of Decker saddles having shelves attached to them to facilitate the packing of lumber and other long, straight goods. While Crossbucks have been used to pack odd-shaped loads, over the years, the Deckers have proven to be more easily adapted and therefore more efficient. The original Decker brothers are said to have amazed many experienced packers with their efficiency in packing hundreds of tons of goods into the back country of Idaho in the early 1900s.
Packing lumber
Packing a machine gun
Now for costs. From my research, it appears a fully outfitted Decker-style saddle will run roughly $100 more than a similarly outfitted Crossbuck. The added expense is in the Half Breed and some extra leather in the rigging, with the option of adding a Quarter-Breed, if one wishes. I have recently (as of January 2013) found Decker pack saddle outfits from the low $500 to the mid $600 range, not including freight charges, if any. A fully rigged (minus cinches) Crossbuck will average about $500, give or take $40 or so. Some sellers throw in a saddle pad with either type, which is nice and effectively lowers the price of the pack saddle outfit.
Now, before I close this post, there has, actually, been some innovation in pack saddles in the past several years. In my research, I came across the record of a patent application from 2003, by a man named Summerfield. He applied to patent a new style of pack saddle that seems to capture all the good of the Decker and Crossbuck saddles and combine them into one. The new saddle, in fact, has crossbucks, but they are made of metal, each having an eye at the top of the crossbuck, to which Decker hooks or ropes can be attached, as well as being configured to allow Crossbuck-style paniers to be hung over the crossbucks.
The Summerfield saddle bars are wider than either the Decker or Crossbuck bars, and are carved to precisely follow the contours of the horse. The saddle rides on an over-sized saddle pad that has pockets on the sides to hold the saddle bars. The pockets have a closure at the top that captures the bars and holds the saddle pad securely in place. The bars appear to be attached to the crossbucks in a manner that allows them to be adjustable, however, they do not appear to be “self-adjusting.” The saddle can be easily configured for either a double or single cinch, just as the Decker can. It appears a Half-Breed and Quarter-Breed could be fitted to the saddle, as well.
I can see where the Summerfield saddle and the Crossbuck might have one failing in common, that the Decker does not share. I have read on two different sites where the author has said that in the event of a “rollover” wreck of a pack animal, the Decker-style pack saddle is much more likely to survive in usable condition than a Crossbuck pack saddle. Due to the configuration of the Summerfield saddle, I would think it might suffer damage from such a wreck.
Having said all that, I have been unable to locate a dealer who carries the Summerfield pack saddle, as yet.
So, I guess the matter comes down to this: Tradition? Do it like my father before me…and with me…or practicality? While I still have leanings toward the Crossbuck (I just like old-style stuff), the practicality and versatility of the Decker-style saddles is winning me over.
Now, being retired, and not being, by any stretch of the imagination, wealthy, I must also consider costs. I have been in this mode for many years, due to a Chief Executive Officer in my home who is an excellent money manager, my good wife (she is the reason I can be retired at all), which has led me, in many instances, to attempt to build things I want. So I am contemplating whether I want to try to build a Decker-style saddle.
I have all the tools necessary. I have the know-how to use all the tools. The Decker-style saddle is quite simple. Much simpler to build than a Crossbuck, if one has the tools to do so. I have the leather working tools to make the rigging as well. The one fly in the ointment, so to speak, is the canvas Half-Breed. I would need to find a supplier who could provide two or three…not two or three hundred…over-sized 1″ thick mohair or wool felt saddle pads measuring about 32″ by 60″ or so. Dad has the sewing machine, back in Arizona. Good excuse to go see him.
So, here we go again. Another project for me to try my hand at. I’m looking forward to it already. I’ll keep you posted.
1. Information regarding the origins of the Decker saddle were taken from information on the Outfitters Supply website. Many thanks to Outfitters Supply for such an informative and well-executed website.
2. Many of the photographs on this post were taken from outfitterssupply.com website. Others were from Google Images searches.
I just had a marvelous time looking through the Outfitters Supply website! I opened an account on the site and filled my “Wish List” with more than $1,000 worth of ….er..um..equipment and supplies…for my GWT trip. You should take a look, if you are into horse/mule packing.
Crossbuck Pack Saddle with no rigging for $89. That’s probably cheaper than I could make one for, if I value my time at all. I expect I’ll be making an order fairly soon.
Canvas saddle bags
Crossbuck pack saddle tree
They also list a set of canvas saddlebags, that are very similar to a set my dad has that have lasted through more than 40 years of trail riding and packing, for $50.
All in all, guys, this is a great place to go for all your horse and mule packing needs, whether you are just getting into horse camping and packing, or a seasoned professional guide or outfitter. It’s all there.
On top of that, the site has several how-to articles about horse/mule packing and related topics that are well-worth reading.
Had a bit of a lazy day today. It was cold outside and not conducive to going out and getting anything done. Or maybe I was just lazy. I finally got up the gumption to go out to the workshop and piddle around. I lit a good fire in my Virginian iron stove and looked around for something I could accomplish with not too much effort. Funny how just accomplishing something…anything…can make you feel pretty good. So, when I’m like this I just look for some little thing I can get done. Sometimes it leads me to get something else done, and before you know it I’ve ruined a perfectly good lazy day and gotten some work done.
So, anyway, there I was in my shop, when I spied the farrier’s hoof stand I welded up last week. Needed paint. Well, it was too cold to paint.
My home made hoof stand
Better wait until it’s warmer…maybe April, or May.
Aw, hell. I’ll just set it on the stove and let it get warmed up, and then I’ll paint it.
So it began. I warmed up the stand, then warmed up a can of Rustoleum primer and a can of paint, and painted my hoof stand. I left it sitting by the stove to dry. Looks pretty good. It’ll make folks think I know what I’m doing while I trim my horses’ hooves.
Then I picked up a rifle and revolver that I had fun shooting a few times on New Year’s Day, and spent a few pleasant minutes cleaning them. It was kind of…I don’t know, meaningful in some way, I guess, that the rifle was a new, modern Ruger Model 77 in .17HMR, and the revolver was a copy of an old 1873 Colt .45 in a cowboy holster I made myself. The old and the new. There’s probably some great, very impressive word, with deep meaning for that… but I can’t think of it.
So, what next? Well, there’s that block of wood I glued up last week for a pony saddle cantle. It needs to be cut out and carved to shape. I guess I can do that.
So I put it on the workbench and marked out the pattern. Then I carried it over to the band saw and eyeballed, checked, rechecked, then checked again, to make sure I had the angles right, then told myself, “What the heck? If I screw it up, I’ll just glue up another one!”
So, to cutting I went. It actually turned out pretty well. Sanded off the rough edges on the belt sander I have mounted upside-down on my workbench, and it looks pretty good. Now I need to carve out the concavity of the seat with an angle grinder with a carbide carving blade…which I don’t have. I’ll have to pick one up tomorrow.
So, what next? Hmmm. Yep, there’s the cantle for the old “cactus saddle”, the Visalia I showed in my previous post. I still need to glue up the Poplar pieces for that.
Visalia cantle glued up
There we go. All clamped up and curing. It will be ready to cut and carve tomorrow.
I was so satisfied with myself that I sat in my soft chair by the warm stove, made an entry in my personal journal, and had a bite of chocolate.
Here’s where things stand up to now with regard to my long ride in 2015.
The plan is for my buddy, Dale, and me to make the ride from March to about mid July, or whenever we get to Canada, 2015. I had figured the mileage would be between 2,000 and 2,500 miles. The mileage by road is about 1500 miles, as I recall, according to Google Maps. The Great Western Trail website, greatwesterntrail.org, says the trail includes 4455 miles of trails, however that includes the mileage for all the trails in the GWT trail system, not just one direct route. Some sites indicate the mileage to be approximately 3,000 miles, but I have not yet found any indication of how they came to that number. As far as I can tell, nobody has ridden the entire trail from Mexico to Canada in one shot. I have found mention of several individuals who have ridden from either Canada to Mexico or Mexico to Canada, but through California, Oregon, Washington State, on the Pacific Rim Trail and not on the GWT.
The website for The Arizona Trail, which is the Arizona portion of the GWT, has a much better website. It has precisely detailed maps of the entire trail, including GPS data points, and information regarding trail conditions, regulations, etc.. They show the Arizona Trail to be 800 miles from Mexico to Utah. As a grand finale, of sorts, it passes through the Grand Canyon and ends near Jacob’s Lake at the Utah border.
There is a group of four young men, including Ben Masters, who are currently gathering funds to make the trip in 2013. You can find them under the name “Unbranded” on Kickstarter here. They are doing the ride to benefit the preservation of the American Mustang, a worthy cause, and to promote wilderness preservation. They will actually be riding and packing mustangs purchased at auction from the Bureau of Land Management and trained by themselves. They are currently seeking contributions for funding and are hoping to make a documentary film of it. Look them up and lend a hand. I am looking forward to monitoring their progress to help with the planning of my own trip. I have made contact with Ben via email. He was very cordial and free with his help and advice. I plan to keep in contact with him and pick his brain and learn from his experience as much as possible.
I am currently in the early stages of gathering equipment for the trip. I am going to need a lot of new equipment, since my stuff has worn out over the past 40 years or so, less from use than from storage, while I moved around the country with my career. I am going to need a new saddle, at least two pack saddles, all associated tack, new camp gear, and even new horses.
Right now I have a 7-8 year-old Quarter Horse mare I’m working with to see whether she has the makings of an excellent trail horse. So far she’s doing fine. I bought her about 18 months ago as a green-broke and have been slowly bringing her up. Since I retired in March, I have been able to work with her regularly and have been able to get her training pretty much up to speed.
Problem is that there isn’t anywhere to ride out here in Virginia that even closely approximates the trails I’ll be riding on the GWT. I plan to get her out into the Shenandoah National Park several times this year to put some miles on her. I’ve read there are over 180 miles of trails there, however, overnight camping with horses, it says in the regulations, “is allowed, but discouraged.” Now what does that mean? Do you set up camp and the park rangers come by to give you a hard time? One rule says that if you can see your horse’s hoof prints on the trail, then you can’t ride on that trail and you must stay on the improved gravel trails. What?!
So you see. While there are places to ride out here in Virginia, it’s truly a different experience than out on the western trails.
I will need to purchase at least two pack animals in the coming year and get them trained up and ready. I’ll need to get them out on some long, multi-day trails to get the kinks worked out of them. I will also need to train them as saddle horses. No sense in having horses you can’t ride.
I plan to build my own saddle and pack saddles. This is something I have wanted to learn to do for many years. I particularly love antique saddles. I love to see a brass horn and a tall shovel cantle. While I was visiting my parents in Arizona during November, my dad gave me an old saddle he has had in his workshop for many years. He can’t even recall where he got it. He called it his “cactus saddle”. It didn’t look like much. The only leather left on it was the pommel cover. The rawhide on the tree had been cut away in places, as repairs were made to the tree. I stripped off the leather and rawhide and took the tree completely apart and found the cantle and fork broken and the bars badly damaged. The brass horn is a little bent, but not bad. I found the remnants of rawhide braid around the base of the horn, evidence that the brass horn was hidden under braided rawhide. I was surprised to find hidden under the rawhide on the top of the seat-side of the cantle, a label that said “Visalia”. I expect this saddle was once a Walker Visalia saddle, which would have been very collectable.
My antique Visalia saddle tree
17″ swells and a brass horn
Five inch shovel cantle
Original Visalia label under the rawhide
repaired cantle, duplicate in process
It may have once looked like this
I have since repaired the cantle and fork and am in the process of repairing the bars. Since old saddles don’t fit modern horses very well (we like our horses big and fat, while horses back in “the day” were generally trim and fit), so I recut the angles on the fork to give the bars a more modern angle, of about 90 degrees. I also re-cut the cantle angles to make it fit the new bar angle. It now has what might be considered “semi-Quarter Horse” bars.
I temporarily assembled the tree with the new bar angle and tested the fit on my mare, who has low withers and a broad, flat back. It still fit a little narrow for her. I have the use of a 22 year-old Quarter Horse, who looks more like about 16, so I tried it on him. The tree with the new bar angles fits him like a custom-made saddle.
So, now the plan is to duplicate the saddle tree and cut the bar angle on the duplicate to fit my mare, then build both saddles. I will have a saddle to fit my mare with full-Quarter Horse bars, or thereabouts, and another saddle to fit horses with taller withers and narrower, sloped backs. The saddle I build for my mare will be the saddle I ride on my trip.
Incidentally, I am also rebuilding a pony saddle in the same way. The original belonged to my brother-in-law, but was in less than restorable condition. I have disassembled it and am in the process of duplicating the tree. I will build the pony saddles before I start my saddle. I hope it gives me the necessary experience to do a decent job on a good work saddle for myself. It certainly won’t be a show saddle, but functionality and a look that won’t embarrass me are what I’m aiming for.
Sometime in the next month I will order leather and start the saddle projects. I will also make myself a set or two of good leather saddle bags. I actually prefer canvas saddle bags, but I haven’t been able to find a good pair recently. Everybody seems to have gone to nylon and cordura. I’ll try a leather set and see how I like them.
My dad has a couple of pack saddles he would let me use for my trip, but I think I’ll go ahead and build a set for myself. I have always used the crossbuck style packsaddles, so I expect that’s what I’ll stick with. I have no opinion as to whether the crossbuck style or the Decker style is better, I just like the crossbuck style. It’s just what I grew up with, I guess. I’ll use Dad’s pack saddles for patterns for both the trees and rigging.
I still have just over two years to get all this done, but I expect to get the saddle gear done this year, so I can start using it and getting all the kinks worked out of the horses. If any of the horses were to prove too much of a knothead for the trip (remember, I’ll be going through the Grand Canyon and they’ll have to go through a tunnel and cross that long suspension bridge at the bottom!), I’ll have to have time to sell it and get another and get it worked out before the trip.
Lots to do. I get excited just thinking about it.
Ben Masters and friends, good luck to you in your endeavor. I just sent you a small donation. I’ll keep up on your progress.
How many times have you been out riding in the winter and had your toes get so cold they hurt? Let me tell you a couple of tidbits that won’t make you feel like you’re in Hawaii, but will help you keep your “tootsies” a little warmer in the winter.
Most people simply add socks until their feet just barely fit into their favorite riding boots. While that may seem like the logical thing, in practice, it doesn’t work very well.
Let’s first start with the part that gets cold…your toes. Make sure your feet are dry. You might consider using foot powder around your toes before you put your socks on.
Believe it or not, your feet sweat, even when they are cold. Keeping them dry is key to keeping them warm.
Moving on to socks. Until a few years ago, I thought the best arrangement for the cold, was a pair of cotton athletic socks, or even two pairs, under a pair of thick wool socks. Nice, huh? Thick, comfortable. I always ran into the problem, though, like I mentioned above, of fitting into my boots. My feet were usually so cramped in my boots, that my feet likely got cold from lack of circulation!
What I didn’t know then, was that cotton socks, while comfortable, absorb and hold moisture next to your feet, right where you don’t want it. A few years ago, I invited my wife to go with me on a deer hunt. We were going to horse pack into the Blue Wilderness Area in eastern Arizona, set up a base camp, and stay several days. I wanted to make everything just right for her, so that in the future I might get her out to do it again. Linda gets cold feet. So, I did some research on how to keep your feet warm. What I found out surprised me.
The recommendation was, and I have found it to be true, to wear a thin pair of polypropylene or nylon socks next to your skin. These socks provide little warmth, but neither do they absorb moisture. They actually act as a moisture barrier of sorts. Moisture from your feet passes through the poly material and gets trapped in the outer layer of sock. In recent years I have found it hard to find polypropylene socks. You have to get them at a specialty shop. Even some well-stocked outdoor sports stores don’t have them. As an alternative, I have found that mens’ nylon dress socks are thinner, but do almost as well. You can still find them in the “old men’s’” section at clothing stores.
Left to right: Wool boot sock, poly liner sock, cotton athletic sock
The next layer of your sock combination depends a little on your shoes or boots and the weather. If the weather is such that you are going to wear your regular riding boots or shoes, then a thick pair of wool socks might not fit. In that case, you can go with your cotton athletic socks. In extreme cold, however, cotton socks always come off second-best to wool. A good, thick pair of wool, or wool-blend socks over your thin poly socks will hold warmth around your feet, while wicking away moisture, as it passes through the poly socks. It works much the same way as plastic diapers do on a baby — thin liner and thick absorbent inner material. Wool has special properties, as well, that allow it to stay bulky and full, and therefore hold warmth, even when damp or wet. While other materials, such as synthetics, or cottons, may feel soft and comfortable, neither has both the ability to absorb moisture and stay bulky as well as wool products. Cotton absorbs moisture and compacts, synthetics remain bulky, but do not absorb moisture.
Which leads us to our next topic: Insulation. One of the problems with wearing a bunch of bulky socks, is that when you stuff your feet into your boots, all that bulkiness gets compacted, losing much of its insulation value. Wearing a thin pair of “liner” socks, such as the poly socks described above, under your bulky wool socks, helps with this, as opposed to wearing two pairs of bulky socks. Buy a pair of riding boots for winter wear, that are at least a half-size larger than what you normally wear, so you can wear a pair of bulky woolen socks without making the boot fit tightly. You might consider buying boots with an insulating liner in them, such as “Thinsulate” which is one brand name of footwear insulation used by Cabelas.
Hathorne Explorer Packer Boots, by White
Personally, I prefer boots with no insulation. I recently bought a pair of Hathorn Explorer packer boots, in preparation for my Great Western Trail trip (I figured I had better buy them early and have them well-broken in before the trip). These boots are made of very heavy leather (they are made by White, which is well-known for making high quality Logger and Fire-fighter boots), but they are not insulated. This allows me to decide how warm my feet need to be and to choose my sock combination accordingly. Additionally, I purposely bought boots that were a half-size too large for me. At the same time, I bought a pair of high-quality insoles for them. The insoles make it so I can wear the boots all year round. I wear them with a pair of regular boot socks in warm weather, with the insoles in place, and I remove the insoles to wear them with my cold-weather combination of socks in the winter. The extra room, without the insole, makes it so my socks do not get compacted, while still allowing my boots to fit comfortably snug. The main point with boot fit for cold weather is this: Leave room for your “dogies” to breathe! If your feet are tight in your boots, they will be as cold as if you wore regular warm weather socks.
A little about moisture control. We’ve discussed moisture from inside the boot…from your foot. The rest of the moisture comes from outside the boot. There are a lot of theories about waterproofing footwear, and the best I have found is called “Gore-tex.” Of course that is a brand name and there are other names for very similar materials, but I like Gore-tex. Gore-tex is a revolutionary synthetic material that is breathable, yet waterproof. Almost as good as wool! You can now buy everything from footwear to hats that are lined or made of Gore-tex. It is good stuff. However, if you are like me, and your champagne taste is tempered by a root-beer budget, Leather is the way to go for most situations. Leather boots cannot be made absolutely waterproof without a Gore-tex lining. But, you can make them very water-resistant.
For those who want water-resistance and to keep their leather in top condition, there are oils, such as mink oil, manufactured under various brands, as well as other kinds of “shoe grease” that will soak into the leather and make it very near impervious to water. However, these types of leather treatments are essentially liquids themselves, and tend to get cold in cold weather. They are not the best choice for damp winter weather, in my opinion.
Left to right: Kiwi Dubbin Shoe Grease, Kiwi Mink Oil, Kiwi Wet-Pruf Wax Water Repellant
I recommend a good quality boot or shoe waterproofing wax treatment. I have used a waterproofing wax made by Kiwi with satisfactory results. I have found that the wax application must be repeated several times each winter, as the wax does not soak into the leather like the oils do, but rather fills the pores of the leather on the surface, and therefore gets scraped off with wear. As it is not a liquid itself, and therefore is not wet to begin with, it does not seem to get cold like the oils do, and my feet stay dry and warmer.
For winter riding in which one is expected to encounter extreme wet conditions for an extended period, I recommend boots with a rubber foot, such as the ones in the picture, from the Cabela’s catalog.
Cabela’s 10″ top waterproof boots
As I said before, no leather boot will stay dry for an extended period in wet conditions, unless it is lined with Gore-tex, in my experience. However, I find leather boots to be more comfortable than rubber-footed boots, so I will elect to go with leather in most circumstances.
One last tidbit has to do with boot soles. I always prefer to ride with smooth, leather-soled and heeled western riding boots. Not only do they make me feel and look like John Wayne (as long as you’re looking at my feet only), but they are actually safer to ride in than rubber-soled boots or riding shoes. They easily slip into and out of the stirrup, which greatly eases getting on…and unloading in a hurry, when necessary. Leather soles, however, get wet when used on wet surfaces. The moisture will eventually get through to your socks and your feet. Rubber soles are completely waterproof, so I recommend them for winter riding. Rubber-soled riding boots tend to grab the leather tread most stirrups are made with, and keep the boot from slipping in or out. A rubber lugged sole, such as you see on some western-style boots, can actually be unsafe for riding. The lugged sole can become locked in place in the stirrup if the foot
My Hathornes with a Vibram sole
And my Tony Llamas with a leather sole
Cabela’s Men’s waterproof boots with 10″ uppers
is placed at any angle other than normal. When deciding on a winter riding boot, consider the type and size of your stirrups. Your riding boot should slip easily into and out of the stirrup. You may find you need to invest in a pair of winter riding stirrups, for comfort and safety, along with your winter riding boots.
So there you have it, the gospel according to Tony, for keeping your toes warm during winter riding.
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