Category Archives: Western Trails

Posts regarding trails I have ridden, plan to ride, or just hope to ride

Great Western Trail, Western Trails

Raspberry Creek Trail, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona

I visited Utah and New Mexico last month for college graduations of two of my kids. I also spent some time in Arizona with my parents. While I was in Arizona, Dad and I took a ride part-way down Raspberry Creek Trail. I have selected this trail as part of our Great Western Trail ride, planned for 2015. I had heard the trail was burned-out and eroded so badly that it was impassable. I wanted to see how bad it was. I have attached several photos of the ride in this post, but you can see the full album in the WTR Gallery.

Turns out the trail, at least the upper part of it, has been maintained by a rancher who has a range lease in the area. The trail was in great shape. The Wallow Fire, that burned through the area three years ago, didn’t do as much damage as I had been lead to believe on this trail.

There were several places that were obviously affected, but it looked like spot-fire burns and most places were simply thinned-out by the fire, rather than scalped. There were areas visible from the trail that received much worse damage than the trail itself received.

Strayhorse Camp parking area
Strayhorse Camp parking area

The trailhead is about 62 miles south of Eagar/Springerville, AZ and about 35 miles north of Morenci, on highway 191. Highway 191, in that area is closed during the winter, but opens as soon as the snow begins to recede. The elevation passes the 9,000 ft. mark around the Hannagan Meadow Lodge area up on top. Several great trails that lead down into the Blue Wilderness Area head there at Hannagan (Steeple Creek, Grant Creek, Foote Creek). A note of warning about Highway 191, is that it used to be designated Highway 666. The name was changed because folks felt 666 was inappropriate for a highway designation. If you think “Highway 666” is an inappropriate name for a highway, you haven’t driven this one. Rigs over 40′ are highly discouraged.

Looking out over southeastern AZ from US 191
Looking out over southeastern AZ from US 191

It is a two-lane highway that winds its way down the Mogollon Rim and drops several thousand feet in a matter of a few miles. Check your brakes before you leave Hannagan if you are coming from the top.

Back to the trail. The trailhead is at a designated camp area called “Strayhorse”. It is about 2.5 miles below the “Blue Lookout” scenic vista point, and about one mile below the famous “Arrow Tree”.

The famous "Arrow Tree" on US 191
The famous “Arrow Tree” on US 191

The trailhead has camping areas (although camping is unregulated in this area), enough parking area for several stock trailers (remember, trailers longer than 40′ are highly discouraged), toilet facilities, and a small corral. No water service. On the west side of the highway you will find the trailhead for Strayhorse Trail, which leads to other trails, such as Eagle Creek (up which our GWT ride will come), Salt House Creek, Chitty Canyon, Rim Trail, and several others.  One can ride trails from Strayhorse all the way to Morenci, or on up to Alpine, and further. On the east side of the highway, is the Raspberry Creek Trailhead, which drops 9.5 miles to the Blue River, just south of the Blue Wilderness Area. I “guesstimate” the elevation at the trailhead to be around 8,000ft. By the time you reach the Blue River you will be at around 4,000ft. I haven’t checked those figures by map or GPS, but they are in the ballpark.

Pipe corrals (no water) at Strayhorse Camp parking area
Pipe corrals (no water) at Strayhorse Camp parking area

From the Corral you head toward the restrooms and continue past them, and you’ll find the trail. At that point it looks like a two-track road, which it is.

Raspberry Creek Trailhead
Raspberry Creek Trailhead

Follow that for about a quarter mile, and you’ll come to the USFS sign for the trailhead. Just past that, you’ll see a small cabin and corrals with some livestock. That is the rancher’s headquarters for his range lease. If you see him, you might thank him for maintaining the trail. He has a bathtub water trough near the cabin, fed by a capped spring. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind folks watering there, but be courteous and conscientious of his ranch and livestock. There are some natural springs where you can also water your horses on the trail.

The young jack that fell in love with Honey the mule
The young jack that fell in love with Honey the mule

As we passed the cabin, we noticed several horses, a mule, and a donkey hanging around the place. The donkey, a young jack, decided he was in love with Honey the mule, ridden by Dad, and fell in with us for the entire ride.

The trail was in excellent shape, with rocks placed to control runoff and erosion. The trail was well-planned and laid-out. As I mentioned, it drops close to 4,000ft in under 10 miles. There are switchbacks where needed and the the descents and climbs are reasonable. We crossed a number of runoff streams, that likely go dry most of the year, and passed several small springs along the trail. Not much grass to be had, but there is a little in certain areas you will pass. Not enough for daily feed for horses, so we plan to carry feed for our GWT trip as we pass through this area.

The trial is quite rocky. Shoes or boots recommended
The trial is quite rocky. Shoes or boots recommended

The trail is quite rocky, so unless your horses are kept on similar ground and their hooves are toughened up, shoes, or at least boots, are recommended. Barefoot horses will be tender by the time they reach the bottom.

For this ride, our purpose was only to check out the upper part of the trail, which I had been told was damaged by the recent fires. We rode about three miles down the trail, then back to the trailhead. Even that was a nice ride. Our mounts were tired by the time we finished the climb out.

On our ride back to the trailhead, we encountered a pretty good-sized Timber Rattler. He was about four feet long and every bit of three inches in diameter. He was sunning himself on the trail. I heard the warning rattle and felt my horse tense up, so once I located the snake, I got off and lifted him off the trail with a good, long, stick. Rattlers aren’t all that aggressive, and normally only strike when they are severely bothered. I consider them to be quite considerate critters. At least they give a warning and let you know where they are, and give you a chance to avoid trouble.

A fairly large Timber Rattler on Raspberry Creek Trail
A fairly large Timber Rattler on Raspberry Creek Trail

As for wildlife, you stand a good chance to see elk, mule deer, bear, desert bighorn sheep, mountain lions, coyotes, smaller varmints, and even Mexican Gray Wolves. We always carry a firearm when we ride the area, as much for protection from the lions and tigers…er wolves…and bears (oh my!), as for use in case a horse should go down. Our preference, not necessary. On a day ride, you’re not likely to have any problems, but if you decide to make it an over-nighter…well, you decide for yourself.

Weather was severe clear, as is common in Arizona. Protection from the sun is essential at this elevation. A wide-brim hat and neck scarf, and chapstick are recommended, as well as long-sleeved shirts. Carry at least a two-quart canteen. Always carry a jacket, even in the summer. If you should end up afoot overnight, you’ll be glad you have it. You’ll also need sun protection for your horses, if you have any with pink skin on their noses, ears, and eyes. Otherwise, they’ll definitely sunburn.

About as remote as you can get
About as remote as you can get

This part of Arizona is extremely remote. You are not likely to meet anyone on the trail, on foot or mounted. There is no store or fuel facility for over 30 miles from the trailhead. The closest hospital is in Morenci, about 35 miles or so south of the trailhead on Hwy 191. Cell coverage is spotty, but isn’t reliable until you get back up on top, near Alpine, or farther down near Morenci. Dad got a text message while we were at the trailhead, though.  Just sayin’.  Keep these things in mind while planning your trip.

Going from the top down to the Blue, you will find it a relaxing and enjoyable ride. The descents aren’t particularly difficult ones, and, like I said before, the trail is well designed. The switchbacks are well laid out. The portion of the trail we rode was well maintained and in excellent shape. This  trail would be appropriate for riders and horses with some experience on the trail, but we encountered nothing that we considered particularly challenging. That is not to say that farther down the trail, there might not be some obstacle. Our purpose for the ride was to check out the upper portion of the trail, which I had been led to believe was burned out and eroded to the point of being impassable.  We were surely pleased with what we found.

I have never ridden Raspberry Creek Trail top to bottom, so I can’t say what might be found further down than we rode. My experience on other trails in the area, most of which are no longer maintained by the USFS, is that they are often blocked by fallen trees. Most of the time one can cross over or maneuver past them. Once one gets to lower elevations, the pines thin out and give way to Juniper and Pinon. From that point the trails are normally in pretty good shape. I felt like our ride got us down below that point and that the trail on down to the bottom would likely be in good, or at least passable, condition.  

The road from Alpine, AZ to Blue, down in the bottom of the Blue River drainage, is almost always in good condition, although only a narrow gravel road, it is sufficient for a pickup and a stock trailer up to about 35 feet. From Alpine to the Raspberry Creek Trailhead at the bottom, would be about 30 miles or so. There is another road to the bottom called Red Hills Trail, that intersects Highway 191 at Beaverhead, however I would not take that road with more than a 4-horse trailer and very good brakes. If arrangements could be made to have someone with a trailer meet you at the bottom of Raspberry Creek Trail, it would make an excellent day ride. Otherwise you will be riding about 9.5 miles to the Blue River, then about that back out by another trail, such as Steeple Mesa, K-P Mesa, or Grant Creek Trail. That would make an excellent two or three-day pack trip that would bring you out on top at Hannagan Meadow.

Most of the trails in and around The Blue Wilderness Area, as well as the nearby Gila Wilderness Area, are old ones, many having been around for more than 150 years. Most are still marked by blazes on the trees every 100 feet or so, which have survived the years remarkably well. For many years the trails were used and maintained by ranchers to move cattle through their range leases. Over the past 30 years or so, however, the USFS and BLM have placed such severe restrictions on the ranchers, that there is insufficient traffic on the trails to maintain them, and the USFS and BLM have neither the budgets nor inclination to do so. Even though there is little foot or livestock travel on the trails nowadays, most of them are still well marked, except in areas where fires have burned out the marked trees. However, if these trails are not used and maintained by people like ourselves, they will eventually disappear altogether.

If you would like to give Raspberry Creek Trail, or any of the trails in the White Mountains or Blue Wilderness Area a try, hit me with an email and I’ll get you in contact with people in the area who would be more than happy to provide you with current information on trail conditions, places to stay, temporary corrals, feed suppliers, etc.

Plan a ride to the Raspberry Creek Trail. It’s the Arizona wilderness at its best.

Looking west toward the Blue River from Raspberry Creek Trail
Looking west toward the Blue River from Raspberry Creek Trail
Great Western Trail, Western Trails

Roughed out my route through the bottom third of the state of Utah…

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After much consideration, and with advice from friends who have been there and done that, I have roughed out what I think will be my route through southern Utah up to Panguitch. It will go something like this:

After coming up out of the Grand Canyon, we’ll follow the Arizona Trail up to the AZ/UT border, with one small deviation. I think we’ll probably stop at Jacob’s Lake for a hot meal and whatever else we can get there. It looks like we’ll have plenty of water and grass for the stock, but a soda pop might sound pretty good about then.

A few miles north, the trail turns northeasterly and eventually intersects House Rock Valley Road at the AZ/UT border, or thereabouts. We’ll follow that road north to US 89, cross under the highway at the culvert, then continue north about another 8-10 miles, until we pick up Paria River. We’ll follow Paria River northwest to Sheep Creek, and follow that until it intersects with Willis Creek.

Pictures Jon Tanner has posted of Willis Creek, indicate that we’ll likely have to remove the packs from the pack horses to get them through a couple narrow passages in the canyon, but it’s just too intriguing to pass up.

We’ll follow Willis Creek up until it meets The Grandview Trail (GVT) near the eastern border of Bryce Canyon National Park. BCNP doesn’t allow horse packing or camping with horses in the park, and they have very tight restrictions on dogs, so we’ll be staying outside the park boundaries. The GVT will take us through country similar to Bryce and we’ll be able to see much of Bryce Canyon from not too much of a distance, so we won’t completely miss out on it.

The GVT follows the Paunsaugunt Plateau’s edge from BCNP, around the southern point, then back up northerly to Red Canyon, through which Route 12 passes coming down off the plateau. We’ll follow Rt 12 west to Casto Road and follow that on north to Panguitch.

Panguitch will be one of the major rest and resupply stops for us. My dad was born and raised in Panguitch. He and I talked for many years about making a horse trip from Tucson, AZ, then later from Eagar, AZ to Panguitch, but we were never able to put it together. Now that I have the opportunity, I couldn’t miss the chance to incorporate that segment into my Mexico to Canada ride. I am hoping that Dad can make the ride with me from Eagar, through the Grand Canyon, and up to Panguitch. He’ll be turning 81 shortly after our arrival there.

I’m deep into planning the next segment of the trip, from Panguitch to Strawberry Reservoir. I have a few details to figure out, but I should be able to post a rough draft of that segment within a few days.

One thing I have learned as I have planned my routes, is that looking at topographical maps on a computer is a frustrating and uncertain thing. Looks like I’ll be spending a fortune on maps before I make the trip. Not only that, but there are so many trails and optional routes in Utah, that I would not want to travel through it without actual paper maps with me. Besides, I have no doubt we will alter our routes here and there, as we go.

You see, I have this terrible illness. It’s called “What’s over there-itis.” Sometimes I just have to see “what’s over there”!

Roughed-out route in blue, route under consideration in orange
Roughed-out route in blue, route under consideration in orange

Click on the map to get a larger image.

🙂

Good Stories, Western Trails

A great memory from a trail ride a long time ago…

A post on the facebook page for Horse Trails and Camping Across America, just sparked a memory for me from my youth. It is one of my most cherished memories and has had a strong impact on my life.

When I was sixteen years old, my father took my younger brother and me on a deer hunting trip into the Blue Wilderness Area of eastern Arizona. Since we were living in Tucson, Arizona at the time, it was quite an expedition for us. We packed up our cabover camper and our 6-horse stock trailer and three horses and headed out.

The drive took nearly all day long, and we arrived at Alpine, Arizona late in the afternoon. We took Red Hills Trail down into the Blue, toward the Blue River, stopping about 3/4 mile above the river at a level spot large enough for our rig to park. We set up camp there and spent the next couple days riding out from there.

My dad took my brother with him and I spent most of my time hunting alone. I would ride the horse to a likely looking spot, tie her to a tree, and hunt on foot. My dad had taught me how to “Navajo” to sneak up on unsuspecting deer, so I spent a lot of time sneaking around trying to be quiet. Didn’t see a thing, of course. On the second evening, Dad killed a deer, but it was too late in the day to get it out. He hung it in a tree and left it overnight. The following morning, he and I rode back in to get it.

We rode our Quarter Horses, and led a Half-Arab greenbroke fillie to pack the deer out. We had no idea how she would react to the smell of blood. When we arrived at the deer, we blindfolded the fillie. I held her while Dad worked on getting the deer up on the saddle and button-holed to the horn (we had no pack saddles or paniers at that time). The fillie stood still and caused no problems. Then my dad started tying the front and hind legs of the deer forward, near the front quarters of the fillie. She turned her head around and started sniffing the deer’s bloody hooves. We stood on-guard, not knowing what to expect. She sniffed a few seconds, then took a big old bite out of one of the deer’s feet! The next thing we know, she’s sniffing my dad’s bloody hands (bloody from getting the deer tied onto the saddle), and she takes a bite out of his hand! Well, we stopped worrying about things and removed the blindfold. We figure we had a carnivorous horse on our hands.

We started back toward the camp with dad leading the fillie and me bringing up the rear. Since we had no trail to follow, we just picked our way back. We eventually found ourselves facing a bluff, with no way around without having to go a long way around. You really couldn’t see much farther than a few feet anyway, because it was so thick with trees and brush, so picking a trail was essentially picking the best way through what was right in front of you. So, we started picking our way up this sandstone bluff. At one point the horses had to jump up a step about eighteen inches or so, then immediately jump up another one about the same height. Dad’s 16+ hand Quarter Horse handled it without problems, but when the fillie made her try, that’s when trouble started.

The fillie made the first step, but when she made her try for the second one, the deer on her back settled to the rear and pulled her over backwards. Over back she went, off the first step, and continued rolling head-over-heels down the steep bank for another thirty feet or so, ending up on her back with her feet uphill and her head against a tree. She was scared and shaking and wouldn’t move to try to get herself up.

We parked our horses where they were, tying them off to whatever we could find, and jumped down to help the poor fillie. We cut the deer off her, then got her saddle cinch loosened. We got the saddle off and checked her all over. Luckily, there were no serious injuries. In fact, she wasn’t all that beat-up, but she was so scared she wouldn’t try to get up. We ended up tying a rope around her neck and snubbing it off to a tree to give her something to brace against. We got her legs turned downhill, and she finally got up. After letting her rest and calm down for a few minutes, we saddled her up, tied the deer back on, and made our way on up the bluff and back to camp without further incident.

The last day of our hunt, Dad had a treat for us. He left my brother and me with the horses, while he drove the truck and trailer up to the top of the Blue. Then he hitch-hiked back down to us, so we could ride the horses up out of the Blue on a primitive trail. We were excited. Then Dad got back and we started saddling up. Turned out we had forgotten our bridles. They were still in the trailer.  Oh well, we just made-do with halters.

The trail was, I believe, called Red Hills Trail, like the road. I doubt you can find it anymore. It was not maintained even then. You could see the trail for the most part, but often you had to look for the old blazes on trees every 50-100 feet. We ascended from about 4,500 feet to around 9,000 feet in about seven or eight miles. It was a tough trail, and pretty scary in a few places, for kids like my brother and me, but we trusted Dad and the horses seemed to take it all in stride.

We arrived at a place that leveled out for a bit at around lunchtime. I remember it because there were juniper trees there that must have been several hundred years old. Some were as much as six feet in diameter. There was grass for the horses and a beautiful vista that spread out before us. Dad pulled out a large can of Van Camp’s Pork and Beans for lunch. Then we noticed we had forgotten to bring spoons as well. Not to worry! Dad pulled out his trusty Buck pocket knife and whittled out a wooden spoon for us. We sat there in the sunshine, eating pork and beans with a wooden spoon, listening to the horses quietly munching grass in the background, and the world was right, just for a while.

I don’t remember much about the rest of the ride, except that we were a couple of tired, but proud boys when we arrived at the trailer that evening. None of us have ever forgotten that meal with the wooden spoon. It has become a tradition in my family to eat pork and beans (and other canned foods) with a hand-carved wooden spoon on campouts and pack trips, in honor of that lunch meal on the side of a mountain in the fall of 1975.

That trail ride was the beginning of my love of horse packing.

Thanks, Dad.

Western Trails

Rancher rode from sea to shining sea in 7 months

A Rancher from Oregon rode across the country in 7 months in 2008

Just found a link to a blog about a rancher who rode a horse across the country, west to east, starting in Oregon and ending in North Carolina, in 7 months. I haven’t read the whole blog, but it looks like he followed highways and had a road crew working for him, rather than packing. Great ride! Long trip!

Great Western Trail, Tack and Gear, Western Trails

What has been decided so far…

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 thePenny 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.

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.

Great Western Trail, Tack and Gear, Western Trails

How to keep your toes warm…

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.

goldbondfootpowderBelieve 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
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
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.

2013-01-22 11.15.15
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 Men’s waterproof boots with 10″ uppers
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

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.