Well, sad as I am to say it, our pack trip has ended at Flagstaff, after about 197 miles of travel.
Temperatures are at record highs. Fire danger is extreme. There is no water in northern Arizona anywhere along the Arizona Trail.
Last Monday we made 23.8 miles and the last water we saw was near Marshall Lake at about mile 3-4. By the time we made Flagstaff we knew we were in trouble. The last 6 or so water holes we passed were bone dry. We finally had to call Gwen and Bruce Kahler, who hauled about 70 gallons out to us and met us where the AZ Trail meets Route 66. That supplied ourselves and our horses for that night and the next morning.
Gwen Kahler, our guide through the Flagstaff area
Gwen stayed and rode with us on Tuesday, as we finished the AZT Equine Bypass route through the mountains and around Flagstaff. We passed one running stream (only the second we had seen the whole trip) as we headed back up to higher elevations. We made Schultz Tank, which had water, by about 3pm. From there it was only about four more hours of riding to reach Gwen’s place, so we decided to make the push. We reached her place by about 7pm, making a 19.2 mile day.
On Wednesday, as we were running errands, re-supplying ourselves for the second half of the trip, I contacted the USFS to ask about conditions between Flag and the Grand Canyon National Park. The answer I got was disheartening. He said we would find water in the higher elevations just north of Flagstaff, but once we dropped down into the lower elevations on the AZT we would find none. That meant we would have about 95 miles of dry terrain with no water for ourselves or our stock.
Gwen got on the phone and started making calls and texts and was able to recruit help in hauling and locating water for us so that we could make our dates at the Grand Canyon. Gwen was going to ride with us to the South Rim, so she had a vested interest. It began to look as though we were going to make it at least that far.
Once at the Grand Canyon, we would have water, as the park has provisions for both potable water and stock troughs. However, once we left the North Rim campground, we would face another 100 miles, approximately, to the next reliable water source, the Paria Creek. As for feed, we had plenty of grass in the higher elevations, but there was very little once we dropped down into the Junipers. We could not pack more than enough feed for a day or two.
This is the driest year I can remember for Arizona. There are fires all over the state, we have already had to re-route around one major fire and were lucky enough to have passed through a couple more areas before they were restricted due to fires.
On Wednesday, the USFS announced open-flame prohibitions on the areas north of Flagstaff, through which we would be riding. We used a small single-burner stove for all our cooking needs, so that didn’t restrict us, but it shows just how dangerous the situation has become.
At the Kahler’s place we were able to find a large animal vet to come out and do the health checks on our horses and mule, so that we had current certificates to enter the Grand Canyon National Park with. We also found a farrier who was willing to come out and re-shoe all our stock on short notice. We were in the middle of getting that done on Thursday, when we got the phone call that was the last straw.
My mother had a very rare and serious reaction to a prescription medicine and had been hospitalized.
It was time to stop and take care of more important business. My sister and brother-in-law came up and picked us up at the Kahler’s place that evening. Dad and I drove back up and hauled the horses back to Eagar on Saturday.
Mom is doing better now and the emergency has passed. She was home before we got home. Dad and I got to thinking we might haul the horses to the Grand Canyon and do the ride there, since I already have the permits and reservations in place and paid for. Mom gave us the go-ahead, but looking at the forecast for the next week, it appears the Grand Canyon will be experiencing record high temperatures. This has been one of the hottest and driest springs on record for Arizona. I have already lost one horse on this trip. I am not willing to risk losing another to the extreme heat in the Grand Canyon, nor to risk Dad’s or my own health any further.
Fact is, this just isn’t the right year to be attempting this ride.
On our pack trip last year, everything worked like clock-work. Things simply fell into place. This year has been different. We have fought through every kind of complication. If something could go wrong, it did. It’s time to stop before something goes really wrong and somebody gets hurt. This trip has already cost me a very good horse. The warning signs have been getting louder as we go. It’s time to concede and head home.
On the Mogollon Rim. Thanks to the Bergs for the photo
Be assured, the trip has not been wasted; Dad and I had some very rewarding days and we passed through some beautiful country. We have been pleased with the AZT and impressed with the care and maintenance most of it has received. We have seen dozens of elk, deer, and antelope, and ridden trails most folks will never see. We have enjoyed the ride immensely. We have experienced something most fathers and sons will never experience.
We’re sorry we aren’t going to make it all the way, but we want to assure all those who have helped and encouraged us along the way, that this was not wasted time. It was all a good and rewarding experience for Dad and me. We are truly grateful for all the help and support we have received.
I will post photos and a trip log after I get home and get settled. The Internet service here in Eagar is not sufficient for me to upload photos. I expect it will be a couple weeks.
After making several drives and looking over our proposed route, as well as a lot of Internet research, here is what we know so far about our route and time frames for travel.
First of all, there are a couple of dates that are hard and cannot be changed. I have Backcountry Camping Permits for the Grand Canyon National Park for June 29 and 30, 2016 for four horses and two people. Those are very hard to come by, and I was very lucky to have landed it. Those dates are fixed. The second date is the Pioneer Day Parade at Panguitch, Utah. That will be on July 23, 2016. This will also coincide with the 64th class reunion of Panguitch High School’s Class of 1952, Dad’s graduating class. We cannot miss those dates.
So, with that in mind, here goes.
We originally planned to depart on Dad’s 82nd birthday. We had to postpone that one day, so I could see one of my grandkids…and my daughter of course., who will visit from Texas to see us off. So, we will start making tracks on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, from my pasture at 217 N. Poverty Flat Road, Eagar, AZ, 85925. Anybody who would like to start the ride with us should be there ready to ride by about 10:00am. There is plenty of parking for trucks and trailers.
We will follow Route 260 west until we start up into the mountains, at which time we will take Forest Road 1235 north for a short ways. We will depart that road when it turns northeasterly and head directly west, cross-country. We will then join FR 117, which we will follow until we come to FR 61. We will take that to FR 96, then on to FR187, until we arrive at Sky Hi Road, Pinetop, Arizona, at the trailhead for Maverick Trail in the White Mountain Offroad Trail Association trail system.
This trailhead may be reached by taking Route 260 in Pinetop to Buck Springs Road, then north about 1/2 mile to Sky Hi Road. Turn left and follow Sky Hi north for two miles, until you come to the trailhead on the left.
We will follow the Maverick trail 50 miles to Clay Springs. We hope to be re-supplied for horse feed there by a friend from Pinetop. We will then connect with the General George Crook National Recreation Trail, which we will follow westward to join the Arizona Trail (AZT). We expect to reach the AZT by about Tuesday, June 6. We estimate 150 miles for that leg of the trip. The Mogollon Rim Road generally parallels the Crook Trail, so anybody wanting to find us may do so at a number of points along that route.
We will then follow the AZT north to Flagstaff, about 105 miles, more or less, and re-supply at the home of Gwen Kahler. We should arrive there about June 16 or so. We will probably rest there a day to have our horses re-shod and to get new health certificates for the horses (they must be current within 30 days to enter the Grand Canyon National Park). Once we hit the trail again, Gwen will ride with us for a few days. She will guide us through the area, hopefully bypassing a section of the AZT that is currently in bad shape with blow-downs. Anybody wanting to find us along that leg of the route may do so at various points where the trail intersects a number of Forest Service roads or at Mormon Lake.
The distance from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 108 miles. That should take us about 6-7 days of travel. Add two rest days in there and we should arrive on or about June 27. We have an equine campsite reserved at Mather Campground at the South Rim from June 25 through July 2. We hope to be able to make up a little time en route, so we can arrive on June 25, to allow ourselves and the horses some time to rest before our crossing of the “big ditch”. We have some help who will be there to re-supply us and to keep some of our gear while we make the crossing. They will meet us on the North Rim after the crossing, to again re-supply us and get us reloaded to continue our trip.
Our crossing is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, June 29-30. We will descend the South Kaibab Trail about 7.4 miles and stay the first night at Bright Angel Campground. On Thursday we will cross the Colorado River and ascend the North Kaibab Trail about 14 miles to the North Rim Campground. On Friday, July 1, we will exit the Grand Canyon National Park and camp outside the park boundary. While no one will be able to cross the Grand Canyon with us, due to the camping restrictions, anyone can ride with us from Flagstaff to the South Rim or from the North Rim on northward.
We will have about another 65 miles, or thereabouts to the Arizona/Utah border, which we should make by July 5. We will cross US 89 about 34 miles east of Kanab, where the highway takes a north-south jog to cross through a hogback ridge. We should cross the highway on or about Wednesday, July 6. We will be due a rest day about then. We may be meeting several people there, who would like to ride with us for a few days, but we haven’t yet confirmed that. If they meet us there, they will re-supply us and provide water for us and the horses there.
After that, we plan to continue northward, crossing the ridge to the east and entering the Paria River drainage. We will follow that northward until we reach the entrance to a canyon on the west side that leads to Willis Creek. We will follow Willis Creek through the slot canyon and on up to the lower trail that enters Bryce Canyon. That should take us about a day and a half from US 89.
We’ll likely find a nice campsite and rest a day there at the trailhead for Willis Canyon, while we contact the Bryce Canyon National Park park service. Our hope is that we may be able to make arrangements with the park service to allow us to enter the park from the trail at the bottom, ride the canyon, then end up at the top to exit the park. If that works, we will leave the park, then cross the Paunsaugunt Plateau to the Losee Canyon trail and descend to Casto Road, which we will follow on in to Panguitch. The route from Willis to Panguitch should take us no more than four days, putting us in Panguitch some time around Saturday, July 16.
If we are not allowed to enter the park, we will turn south on the Grand View Trail and skirt outside the park, then ascend the plateau to Tropic Reservoir. From there we will continue as outlined above. Travel time may increase by one day, but probably not.
After having made 355 miles in 28 days last year, this seems pretty optimistic. However, if we deduct the rest days and the days we were delayed at Safford, we averaged about 17 miles per day. My estimates put our total mileage this year at about 620 miles. At 17 miles per day, that puts our travel days for this trip at about 36, not including rest days. That includes a “fudge-factor” of 25% for those portions of the route that are not on the AZT. The AZT is, in fact, measured and marked, so there is no guesswork for that portion. We will be on the AZT for exactly 320.5 miles. I estimate the route from Eagar to the AZT at about 150 miles, and the portion from the Arizona/Utah border to Panguitch at about 85, before fudge factors. If my estimates are correct, and if we average 15 miles per day, with two rest days per week, we should have about 60 days on the trail, putting us at Panguitch on about July 23. That estimate is the long estimate. The short estimate has us arriving the week before, on or about July 16. Hopefully, the reality will fall somewhere in the middle.
We’ll see how it goes. The dates shown above, with the exception of the fixed dates mentioned, are our travel goals. While we have planned for 15 miles per day with two rest days per week, we can make up time by increasing our mileage and by eliminating some mid-week rest days, as necessary. Our only concern is that the mileage for the first two legs of the trip, from Eagar to the AZT may be underestimated. If we find that to be the case, we will increase our daily mileage to ensure we make our dates at the Grand Canyon. We will have plenty of time to slow down and take it easy after that.
So, there it is. That’s the plan.
Again, the invitation is there for anybody who would like to ride with us for any amount of time. If it is just a day or two, you can simply show up and ride with us. We will be able to accommodate your sleeping bag, food, and clothing on our pack horses. If you wish to stay with us for longer than two days, however, you’ll have to bring your own pack animal and provisions.
You can keep track of our progress, just like last year, on the live map. Just click on the “Map” link on the main menu of westerntrailrider.com and it will come up. The map will constantly update, so it will show where we are in “real-time”. I’ll also be posting updates almost daily from my DeLorme InReach Explorer, via satellite, to my facebook personal account and Western Trail Rider page.
My cell phone number is 540-422-1990. You can call or text me, but most of the time we won’t have signal (smile).
Well, we’re getting down to the proverbial “brass tacks.”
In six days I will load up my horses and gear and head for Arizona. I have a number of things I still have to get done this week, but we’re about there.
Dad and I would like to re-open the same offer we made last year: Anyone who would like to ride with us for any portion of the ride is welcome to join up with us for a day, for several days, or any portion of the trip. The one condition is that if you plan to join us for more than a couple days, you will need your own pack animal and supplies.
Last year we had Joshua Jensen and Al Smith join up with us as we made our way through the Chiricahua Mountains and their help was indispensable to us. We would never have made it through the Chiricahuas without their guidance. They also made it possible for us to get through some nearly disastrous difficulties as we passed through the Safford, AZ area. We will be forever grateful to Al and Josh.
Thanks also to Jesus and Araceli, who gave us a place to stay and keep our horses at the Bar M Ranch on our first night, to the Pattons, who brought us a bale of hay at our camp on the Gila River, and to all the other folks who have pitched in to help us during our preparations and during the trip. Thanks also to my son, Nate, and to the Sniders, who both donated funds to help us out last year.
Thanks to Anna Halford, who made a horse pack trip across South America, for her kind donation to this year’s trip, and also to my best life-long friends, Dan and Jackie Graber for their donation to the cause. Jackie also hand made beaded hat bands for Dad and me to decorate our hats for the trip.
Also thanks to Aaron LeSueur and Dick and Jean Goodman for their help and support with our transportation needs last year. Thanks also to Dick and Jean for putting us up for a couple days as we passed through the Blue Wilderness Area.
This year, Gwen Kahler has offered her place near Flagstaff, Az as a stopover place for us. We will rest a couple days at her place, while we get new health certificates on the horses (so they will be current for our passage through the Grand Canyon National Park), have the horses re-shod, if necessary, and purchase a few supplies. Gwen will then ride with us for a few days, as we head on north toward the Grand Canyon. We appreciate her help very much and look forward to meeting her in person.
Kelly and Tina LeSueur (my sister) are planning to meet us at the Grand Canyon National Park, to assist us with resupply and logistics as we prepare for our passage through the Grand Canyon. Thanks very much for your help. Wish you were going with us.
Thanks to Cyndie Edelblute, my sister, who has cheered us on all the way.
For our ride this year, we will be departing on Dad’s 82nd birthday, May 23, 2016, from my pasture at 217 N. Poverty Flat Road, Eagar, AZ, 85925. We expect to start making tracks around 10:00 am. Anybody who would like to ride with us a few miles and give us a good sendoff is more than welcome.
From there we will head westward, through town, and head out on State Route 260 toward the White Mountains. We will generally follow that route until we find USFS 117, which we will follow past Green’s Peak, keeping north of the White Mountain Apache Reservation. We will make our way westward, following various Forest Service roads to get to Show Low. We will then follow the Rim Road past Show Low and eventually join the Mogollon Rim Trail/High Line Trail. We will follow that westward until we join the Arizona Trail near Washington Park. We will follow the Arizona Trail northward past Flagstaff, stopover at Gwen’s place, then head on to the Grand Canyon National Park.
We have reserved a campsite at Mather Campground, at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, from June 25 through July 2. We have GCNP Back Country Permits for two nights, June 29-30, for our passage through the Grand Canyon. We will descend the South Kaibab Trail, spend a night at Bright Angel Campground (equine camp), then ascend the North Kaibab Trail and spend a night at the North Rim Campground, before heading north on the Arizona Trail to the Utah border.
From the Utah border we will head north, crossing US 89 where it makes a big northerly jog east of Kanab. We will follow that canyon north until we join Paria River, which we will continue to follow northward until we get near Canonville. We will take Willis Creek westward toward Bryce Canyon. We hope to be able to cross through Bryce Canyon, if we can make arrangements with the park service once we arrive, however, failing that, we will take the Grand View Trail around the south end of Paunsaugunt Plateau and on around to Red Canyon. We will make our way over to Casto Road, which we will follow up to Panguitch, Utah.
Panguitch, where Dad was born and raised, is our goal for this year. We expect to arrive there about July 20 or so, just in time to ride in their Pioneer Day parade. Dad will also plan to attend the 64th Panguitch High School reunion for the class of 1952.
As for mileage and time frames, we estimate 150 miles from Eagar to the junction with the Arizona Trail, another 220 miles from there to the Grand Canyon South Rim, 34 miles from there to the GCNP border, and about 66 more miles to the Arizona/Utah border. We estimate about another 150 miles from there to Panguitch, making a total of about 620 miles. We expect the trip to take us about eight to nine weeks, traveling about 15 miles per day and five days per week.
We expect to make the Show Low area in three days. We should make the Arizona Trail junction about June 5. We should make Gwen Kahler’s place at Flagstaff by about June 16. We have reserved an equine camp space at Mather Campground, as I said, from June 25 through July 2. We hope to arrive there about June 25, giving us a bit of a buffer and respite before making the canyon passage on June 29-30. Those dates at GCNP are the only hard dates for the entire trip. From there we expect to make Bryce Canyon by about July 14 and Panguitch by about July 20. Except for the portion of the trip on the Arizona Trail, for which the mileage is actually measured, we have added a 25% buffer to our mileage estimates.
Last year, we had planned to attempt to make it from the US/Mexico border to Eagar, AZ as a “shake-out” trip, and, if all was well when we made Eagar, to continue on to Panguitch. By the time we made Eagar, however, we knew we would not be making the second leg of the trip. We started the trip later than we wanted, because of some unavoidable delays, then pushed harder than we wanted, in order to try to make up time. Regardless, we ended up averaging only 15 miles per day. We did 355 miles in 28 days, traveling 6 days per week. The trail was about 50 miles longer and took a week longer than we had estimated.
This year we feel a lot better prepared for the trip in a lot of ways. We feel we have a better selection of horses for the trip and we have pared down our gear selection to what we absolutely know we will need. We will have only four horses with us this time, rather than six, so handling the stock will be much less of a chore. Most of all, we feel we have a much better feel for planning our travel mileage and time. Most of our trail will be on the Arizona Trail, rather than making our own trail, so we are much better able to plan for mileage, camps, water, etc. There is little worry about crossing private property and our planning is much more accurate.
This year we plan on averaging 15 miles per day and traveling five days per week, rather than 6. We have planned for a mid-week rest day, in addition to our regular Sunday rest, which should keep our horses in better shape and make the trip easier on Dad and me physically. It will also make it so we can make up time, if necessary, by omitting the mid-week rest day on occasion.
We expect to find much better grazing for the horses through most of this year’s route, as compared to last year’s passage through the low desert areas of southern Arizona. We also expect most of this year’s route to be much easier traveling. Most of the trail will be better maintained than what we traveled last year, as well, which should help, and there will be fewer extreme changes in elevation. Last fall and winter the weather provided some much-needed moisture throughout northern Arizona and southern Utah, so we expect water to be less of a concern for us. We are starting later in the year, which will be hotter, but will also provide better availability of grass for our horses, which will allow us to carry less feed with us.
As we did last year, we will be posting regular updates on the website and facebook during the trip via satellite. Our followers will be able to keep track of our progress by clicking on the “Map” link on the main menu of the website.
Overall, we believe the hardest part of our trip is behind us. This leg of our big pack trip is the trip Dad and I have talked about for more than forty years. The “Crown Jewel” of this trip will be our crossing through the Grand Canyon on our own horses. This is something we have talked dreamed about since I was in high school. We almost attempted the trip 34 years ago, but life got in the way. We are finally going to be able to do it. We both feel it is somewhat of a miracle in both our lives that we are both in a position to be able to do this while we are both healthy and strong – together.
I am thankful for a father who raised me up with a love of the pioneer life, horses, and all that goes with that. I am grateful for a true pioneer heritage, forefathers who crossed the plains in wagons and settled much of the western United States. I am thankful for my wonderful mother, who actually brought horses into our family when I was young. I am grateful for my excellent wife, who has supported and helped me in preparing for and making this trip. What a marvelous thing it is that all these things have come together at this time to allow Dad and me to make this trip.
This is our chance to join with our pioneer heritage, to live some of their life, experience some of what they experienced, to be, at least in a small part, what they were.
Sorry it’s been a while since I made my last post about the trip from the US/Mexico border to Eagar, Az, leg 1 of the Mexico-to-Canada trip. This post is about days 7-9 of the pack trip, which took place in the Chiricahua Mountains, mostly just outside the Chiricahua National Monument. Joshua Jensen and Al Smith and their mules were our guides.
When we left off on Day 6, we had made camp on the east side of the top of Fly Peak, it was very cold, and our drinking water froze by the time we hit the sack.
On Friday morning, day 7 of our pack trip, April 17, we got up and went through the usual routine of feeding and brushing horses, breakfast, packing up, loading up, then getting started. Dad and I had taken our horses over to the spring earlier for a good drink before saddling up. While we were there at the spring with our six animals, a couple horses got tangled up and Dad got a good knock from a horse’s head. No harm done. I led my horses out of the way while Dad watered his, then we both led them all the quarter-mile back to camp.
After mounting up, we all started off up the trail. We hadn’t gone but a hundred yards or so, when Dad suddenly realized he didn’t have his glasses on. After going over everything we had done that morning in our minds, we arrived at the conclusion that Dad had lost his glasses on the trail back at the spring, when he got knocked by the fussing horses. I held all the horses while Dad headed down the trail to the spring to see if he could find them. A few silent prayers and about 20 minutes later and Dad was back with his glasses. He had found them on the trail, right where all of our five horses and a mule had passed after drinking at the spring. It was nothing short of miraculous that none of the animals had stepped on them.
Hand’s Pass
So, that was a good start for the day. We needed one, because the next couple of miles were pretty tough. We had to cut our way through deadfall after deadfall and make our way around those we couldn’t cut out. After that it got easier. The trail was better and we made good time. At Rustler Park we joined USFS 42D and followed it several miles. Along that road we sort of let the horses have their head. I was riding Lizzy for the day and she loves to walk out. My GPS said we traveled along at up to 6 miles per hour for a while. Not bad for our little pack string. We turned east on Pinery Road and followed it to the North Fork of the Pinery River.
As we wound our way down Pinery Road, suddenly Dad and I heard a clatter of hooves behind us. We moved to the side just in time to have Al on his mule pass us at a full gallop! As he passed, Al yelled for us not to worry and to just keep on like we were. We wondered what had gotten into him, but just passed it off as a matter of Al’s way of training his mule. About two miles farther on we caught up with Al and learned the truth. The chinstrap on his bridle had broken and he had no control of the mule at all, so he just hung on until the mule decided he’d had enough fun for the day. After that, all was well. Like I’ve said before, one never knew who was in charge at any one time with that pair. Theirs was sort of a cooperative partnership; sometimes one was in charge, sometimes the other. It was a lot of fun to watch them work.
Hand’s Pass
At North Fork, we turned north and followed a two-track to Hand’s Pass. The last couple miles up to the pass were steep. It was a tough climb for the horses. Once over the pass we descended into Bloomberg Canyon and followed it down past the mouth to Whitetail Canyon. We camped alongside Indian Creek there in the canyon bottom.
For the day we made 17 miles, which was excellent, considering the first couple miles that day of cutting through the deadfalls. I didn’t get many pictures that day, because all my batteries were exhausted. We had been in thick brush and trees for two days and I hadn’t been able to get enough sunshine to charge anything. My GPS was still at about 50%, so it was ok, but about everything else was dead. During the latter part of the day I was able to tie a solar panel to the back of my saddle and got a 31% charge in my iphone.
Solar panel tied behind the saddle
On Saturday, day 8, after our obligatory morning oblations, we headed into the mouth of Whitetail Canyon (I think). We started up a trail that hadn’t been maintained in many years, but the trail was marked with rock cairns along the way. Josh had ridden up part of the trail during one of his scouting forays before the pack trip and believed we could make it through the canyon to hit another trail that would take us farther north and exit the mountains at the far north end of the Chiricahuas. As it turned out, we made it up the canyon about 2.5 miles before we just couldn’t go any further. The trail had long before petered out and the canyon narrowed to a mere slit in the rock that was simply too dangerous for us to attempt. We had to backtrack and ended up making camp about a half mile or so farther east down Whitetail Canyon than our camp the night before.
I will say this about the day’s experience: We learned a lot about our little string. Bushwhacking our way up that canyon bottom was some of the toughest trail I have ever been on and our horses handled it very well. I was riding Ranger for the day, and found him to be extremely sure-footed and willing. At one point we had Dad and Josh stay with the pack string, while Al and I went on ahead to scout the trail, to see whether the rest could make it. Al’s mule, I’m pretty sure, is part mountain goat, and he would go through places with ease that I would normally have tried to go around. However, Ranger followed right behind the mule, doing everything the mule did. In fact, there were places Al went around that Ranger went right on through. I was quite impressed and proud of Ranger.
Dad and I set up camp for the evening there in the mouth of Whitetail Canyon, not more than a mile from several houses and what would be our exit from the Chiricahuas. Josh and Al moved on down the canyon and were able to get a ride back to their truck and trailer, parked where we met in Rucker Canyon.
Camp at Whitetail Canyon
Dad and I enjoyed a nice evening, though we were pretty tired and a bit frustrated at having traveled more than seven miles that day and only making about two miles of actual progress.
The next day was Sunday, so we spent our rest day there in camp in Whitetail Canyon. There was a dry stream bed nearby that had a few small ponds of water in it. We washed laundry in one and I bathed in another. It certainly was refreshing. We had a day of full sun, so I set out my solar panels and was able to get full charges in all our batteries. I took a look at our maps and the topo on my iphone (DeLorme map app) and took a good look at the trail we tried the day before. From what I could tell, we had made it to within 1,000 feet of the trail we were trying to reach. So close and yet so far, as they say. At the trailhead we followed, we had passed a sign that read, “Horse Trail 1 mile.” We must have missed the that trail, if it even exists anymore, because we went in and out of that canyon and never found it.
Washing in a puddle
That afternoon, Josh and Al showed up and brought the gear we had left in their trailer back at Rucker Canyon, including the pack saddle for Daisy (you might recall we had been ponying Daisy bareback the past several days to allow a saddle sore to heal up). They also brought another four sacks of Equidyne for the horses. That was to last us for the next several days until we reached Safford. They left us then and headed back to civilization and their jobs. We sure enjoyed the time we traveled with them and and appreciated their guidance through the mountains. We never would have made it without their help.
Cochise Peak
So, my next post will cover days 10-14, Monday April 20 through Friday April 24 as we crossed the desert from the Chiricahuas to Safford, AZ.
Over the past several months, a number of friends and followers of my blog have asked how they might contribute to helping Dad and me get underway on the second leg of our Mexico-to-Canada horse pack trip. I have always been pretty much a “do-it-yourself” kind of guy, having been raised by a father who was that way, so asking for assistance is sometimes difficult. However, we have been the grateful recipients of help in many ways, including support on the trail, guides, farriers, transportation, gear, stopover points, and also a bit of financial help.
Over the years, I have enjoyed the good feelings I get when I have had opportunity to share in another’s success by helping in any way I can. Sometimes the only way I can help is by a small financial contribution. While time is always more valuable than money, good causes are always worthy of help and sometimes there is no other way for me to contribute positively than to donate financially. Well, maybe it’s our turn to be on the receiving end.
This adventure of ours has been far more expensive than I had anticipated. I have had to draw from family savings because the expenses have exceeded the income I have been able to bring in from my current post-retirement work. I purchased almost all our gear last year, including a well-used 4-horse trailer. Our total expenses for last year’s trip exceeded $23,000.
This year I purchased about $1,500 worth of gear as well as a new horse for the trip, as I had to replace my Fox Trotter mare, who is game, but proved not to be the right horse for the trip. Many of the expenses for this year’s trip have been unanticipated. Last month, on the return from our tune-up trip to Moab, Utah, I blew the engine in my truck. The rebuild and other repairs associated with getting the truck ready for this year’s trip have run in excess of $10,000 over the past two months. Since I bought the horse trailer I have blown four tires on the rear axle. Two were brand new tires. Last week I took the trailer in to have it checked, to see what might be the cause. The problem was diagnosed as a slightly bent rear axle. Having a new axle installed, along with having the front bearings repacked and the brakes and backing plates replaced, ran me $2170. The trailer is still at the shop with further adjustments being made. Hopefully, this will fix the problem of having to buy a new set of trailer tires every other trip. Last week I replaced four tires on my truck. There went another $1,000.
My plan for the year was to be able to cover all our expenses for gear, vehicle, fuel, etc, and have $5,000 in my trip account before I started. All the above unanticipated expenses have shot that plan all to heck and I’m back into family savings. My good wife, bless her heart, is still supportive of our trip.
Recently we received good news that much of our horse feed would be donated by an anonymous donor. Friends and family are donating time. Still to come are expenses for fuel for the trip, including fuel for our support help, horse feed, people feed, and other expenses we will incur once we actually start making tracks.
For those of you who have been following the blog and enjoying our father and son adventure through my writing and who have been asking how you may help, I have created a “Donate” button on the website. It connects to my PayPal account. You will find a “Donate” menu item on the main menu. It will take you to the page with the PayPal Donate button. For those who wish it, I will keep the donations confidential. For those who don’t mind, I will create a list of contributors to post on the website after the ride this year is done.
Today I have been thinking about the horses we’ll be taking on the big ride. This year we’ve decided to take only two pack horses. We feel like there will be more feed along most of the way this year, due to the different terrain and elevations we will be riding through, so we won’t have to pack as much feed as we did last year. Also, we found that handling six horses was a real chore for us. We finished the last week of last year’s trip with four horses and found it much easier on us. We’ve also cut down the amount of camp gear we will have this year. We took a lot of “just in case” stuff that we won’t have this year.
As I’ve said before, I’ll be taking Ranger, my Fox Trotter Paint, Jimbo, my free mustang, and Reno, the new QH Paint I recently bought. Dad will bring his QH gelding, Little Black.
I’ll also be hauling Lizzy, my Fox Trotter mare, down there, but leaving her in Eagar, AZ as a spare…just in case. I’m actually sorry I can’t take her on the ride. She is the best trail horse I have, but I learned last year that she just isn’t the right horse for a pack trip like this. She has a very slick and light coat of hair in the summer and it just doesn’t give her the protection from abrasion that she needs. Last year she got rub sores everywhere she was touched by a strap on the pack saddle rigging. I think it’s her long-strided, swinging walk that does it. Ironically, it’s that walk that I love on the trail. She really loves to be out and going. Other horses have to trot (or Fox Trot) to keep up with her walk. She is a horse I trust implicitly on the trail.
The horse I plan to have my saddle on most of the time during the 620-mile, 8-9 week pack trip this year is Ranger, my good old buddy. Ranger is a grade Fox Trotter gelding about 8 years old this year. I’ve had him about a year-and-a-half now. He was with us on last year’s leg of the big pack trip. He and I have bonded. Now, when I say “bonded” I am fully aware that normally means the rider has bonded with the horse – not necessarily vice-versa. My experience tells me that most horses don’t “love” their owners nearly as much as their owners “love” their equine companion. My experience also tells me that once in a while there comes along a horse that breaks the mold. I put Ranger in that latter category. I think Ranger is bonding with me more and more, as time and experience together unfolds. I consider him as much a trail “bud” as I do my faithful dog, Clancy.
Now, Ranger isn’t the prettiest of horses. I always wanted to have a horse that when we passed by, folks would look and say, “Now, there’s a good looking horse!” Ranger isn’t that horse. He might even be considered by some to be homely. Ranger stands about 16 hands, has a very deep chest and long legs. Seems like his ribs always show, regardless of how much he’s fed, even when he has a hay belly. He has a short, straight back and tall withers. He has what cowboys commonly call, “cat hips” because he always looks gaunt, like he’s about half-starved. His neck is maybe a little long, in proportion to his back, his hind quarters are sloped and smallish, he has a narrow chest, a big head, and he’s turkey-toed. He reminds me of the tall, skinny basketball player who can’t seem to put on any weight, yet is strong and athletic.
Ranger, long, tall, lanky
Ranger
Me, Ranger, and Reno, south of Moab, Utah
Lizzy with her new pasture mate and trail partner, Ranger
Ranger and I at Antelope Island, 01/01/2015
And Ranger is strong! He is athletic! He has the smoothest movement of any horse I have ever ridden. I’m not just talking about his gaits, but his movement. Ranger moves smoothly in everything he does. Even when he’s acting up, which he occasionally does, it is smooth. I love that. When he moves into his Fox Trot, he can really cover ground. He’s not as fast in it as some horses I’ve seen, but he moves right along. He has a good flat-footed walk that equates well in speed with a Quarter Horse’s jog, and a lope that is like sitting in a rocking chair. I truly enjoy riding this guy.
But, I think the thing I like most about Ranger is his willingness to go just about anywhere and do anything I ask. That’s not to say I don’t have to convince him now and again. He is not totally without caution, but once convinced, he simply goes. He is the most sure-footed horse I have ever had the pleasure to ride…unless it’s Lizzy. Last year, in the Chiricahua National Monument, as we crossed those rough mountains, we ended up trying a trail that hadn’t been maintained in a number of years. As we got up into Whitetail Canyon, the trail sort of peter’d out and we were bushwhacking – four mules and five horses, four of which were under packsaddles, four under riding saddle, and one being ponied.
One of our guides was on a mule that I’m pretty sure was part billy goat. You never quite knew who was in charge of that team, the rider, Al Smith, or the mule. It seemed to be sort of a cooperative arrangement – sometimes Al was in charge and sometimes he just held on for dear life. It was a marvel to watch them work. Anyway, to get back to Ranger, finally the trail became so bad that Al and I left Dad and Joshua with the pack animals and we went on ahead to make sure we could get all the stock through the next part of the canyon. I’m here to tell you Al’s mule would move right on through the roughest terrain, up, down, over ledges, it just didn’t matter. That’s where I began to learn a lot I hadn’t previously known about Ranger. My boy stayed right behind that mule and did everything he did without any hesitation whatsoever. He even went through some places Al steered around. I learned then that Ranger was a horse I could trust in the rough stuff to get me where I needed to go and back.
Last month I took Ranger on a ride back into the old Robber’s Roost area of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch fame. We descended into Horseshoe Canyon by the original trail used by the Wild Bunch. Stories tell us that when posses arrived at the head of that trail, they started thinking about their wives and kids back in town and just turned around right there. I am here to tell you they made the right choice! That was one heck of a descent into the canyon! That was a trail on which you only take horses you really trust.
Fortunately, I had my GoPro camera in a hat-mount and had the presence of mind to turn it on before we started down. You’ll see that video in my next post. After viewing that clip, you’ll see what I mean about Ranger’s willingness and sure-footedness and why I enjoy riding him. You’ll also see Lizzy doing her thing, as she was carrying my little sister on that trip.
I am very much looking forward to riding Ranger through the Grand Canyon in June.
Jimbo, the mustang that was given to us last year, free of charge, just in time for the ride, turned out to be a Godsend for us. He’s not a BLM mustang, so he doesn’t have the BLM brand, but he’s a real mustang nonetheless. Probably from the Navajo or Jicarilla Apache Reservation. He’s a 8 year-old gelding mustang, bay in color. He has nice, hard, round, black hooves that are nearly as tough as horseshoes. He stands about 14 hands and has a good, solid build. Nothing wrong with him at all.
The first few days on the trail last year he was a real headache, because he was so skittish that you couldn’t even scratch your own head without him taking off and breaking loose. However, he never ran away, thankfully, and within a couple days he settled down and became a very steady saddle and pack horse for us. In fact, by the time we finished last year’s ride – 355 miles in 28 days, over some of the roughest terrain on God’s green earth – he was the only horse we had on the trip that came out completely unscathed. Not a single scratch on him. I guess his natural skittishness, common in former wild mustangs, served him well. He always stayed out of trouble. When the other horses started milling around, he simply backed away and wanted nothing to do with it. Good, solid horse. We were glad to have him along. He’ll be with us on this trip. He’s the one Dad likes to ride. He’s the one I trust the most with my 82 year-old dad.
JImbo, my “free” mustang.
My Utah Meat Bag paniers hung from a Phillips Formfitter pack saddle
Decker-style pack saddle with mantied cargo
Jimbo, Behind the Rocks
Reno is the newcomer to the herd. I bought him in February from a family in Heber, UT. He’s a grade paint, whose sire is APHA registered, but whose dam I know nothing about. He stands about 14-2 hands and he’ll be four years old in June. He’s solidly built, has nice, round hooves (front ones are solid black and hard), nice broad chest and shoulders, nice QH rump and hind quarters. He’s a bit beefier in build than the others. He was sort of raised like a puppy, so while he loves people, almost preferring people to horses, he’s a little disrespectful and undisciplined. I’m working on that and he’s turning out to be a good, solid horse. He has proven to have a very level-headed attitude and is not prone to panicking in difficult situations. I am liking him more and more the longer I have him and the more I use him. He has one of those “in-your-pockets” type of personality, that I rather enjoy, without being pushy. He does well on the trails and is learning quickly to watch where he puts his feet. He stumbles occasionally, but is learning quickly, due to the rough terrain I’ve been training him in.
Reno, as advertised
Reno, Behind the Rocks, Moab, Utah
Last week I took him to a place called Swinging Bridge, south of Price in the San Rafael Swell area of Utah. I used that ride to train Reno how to handle packs, since he’d never been packed before. I put our new set of hard paniers on him and loaded each side with a 40 pound bag of alfalfa pellets. We had a bit of a rodeo when we first started out, as the sounds the hard paniers make – being made of hard plastic – scared him. We went round and round a few times. He settled down pretty quickly, though, and showed no disposition to buck.
Reno, in training with our hard paniers
We went through some pretty rough stuff, including rocks, trees, willow thickets, river crossings, and very steep grades. By the time we were done with the 16-mile ride, he had figured out how to walk around things with those hard paniers. At one point he got “pinched” between two rocks where the paniers wouldn’t fit. He tried to bull his way through a couple times, then just stopped and waited while I unbuckled one panier and lifted it over one rock as he made his way forward. No panic at all. It was a very good training day for him.
It was a good test for the durability of those Trail Max bear-resistant paniers as well, and I can report, with no reservations, that they are, in fact, very durable! Mine can now be considered “broke-in” and bear the scars and marks to prove it. They are tough! I think they’ll be an excellent addition to our gear for the big ride.
Dad will be bringing his little gelding, Black. Black is an unregistered QH, grandson of Doc O’Lena. Being of cutter stock, he’s on the small side, only standing around 13 hands, maybe a bit more. He was bred and raised by my cousin, Steve Hatch, of St. George, Ut and given to my mother as a gift. She can’t ride anymore, so he’s been Dad’s horse for many years. He’s carried Dad on more rides than I can count and through some of the roughest terrain on earth. Dad trusts that little horse implicitly, and that’s important for a man who’s past 81 years old. Little Black is very strongly built, has excellent conformation, strong legs, and very hard hooves. He’s coming on to about 16 years of age, as far as we can figure, so this will be his last major ride. This is the horse Dad will ride through the Grand Canyon, on the South Kaibab and North Kaibab Trails. He’s a gutsy, strong, level-headed little horse and he’ll carry Dad well.
Coming off the Painted Rock descent
Joel Tanner and Cody Winn, USBP Agents at Boss Ranch Road
Dad on Little Black
So, we think we have a good remuda for the big pack trip. We’ve been getting them into condition and we’re about ready to ride.
I’ll depart Salem, Utah on May 16 with a fully loaded truck and trailer and head for Eagar, Arizona, which will be our starting point this year. We’ll do our last-minute preparations there and start making tracks on Dad’s 82nd birthday, May 23, 2016.
Anyone who would like to join in and ride with us to see us off there at Eagar, is more than welcome. We’ll be starting at my place at the north end of Poverty Flat Road, Eagar, AZ about 9:00am.
Anyone who would like to join up with us at any place along our route and ride with us for a few days may contact me at tony.henrie@westerntrailrider.com, so we can coordinate details.
The upcoming ride has been much on my mind these past several weeks. Only three weeks left to get everything ready, and stuff is piling up.
My truck is just about back to premium condition. Still have one oil leak to get fixed. I’ll take it back in after next week, when I can spare it for a few days. Otherwise, it’s running well and I’m quite pleased. I’ll have four new tires put on it next week as well. I’ve put over $10,000 into it in the past year, most in the past month. I had the engine rebuilt, new injectors installed, new A/C system installed, new upgraded steering package, new tires, new parking brakes…sheesh!
Just about have the truck and trailer back into shape
Additionally, I have blown four rear tires on my trailer in the past year, two of them brand new tires. I decided this week to take it in to a shop and have it checked out. Turns out the rear axle is bent. Not enough to cause abnormal tire wear, but enough to overheat the tires when loaded heavily. They’re replacing it today with torsion half-axles. That should fix the tire issue. Blowing a tire with a fully loaded trailer while driving down the freeway at 70+ miles per hour is a melancholy situation. Another $1700 spent, but at least I won’t be having to buy tires every other time I load up and haul.
Reno, in training with our hard paniers
I’ve only had to spend about $1500 this year for gear, though, which has helped. Most of my gear was purchased last year. As you have probably read in my past posts, this year we decided to try a set of hard paniers, so I bought a set of bear-resistant paniers from Outfitter Supply. That was a major purchase. Outside that most of my purchases were smaller items that needed replacing from last year’s ride.
I still need to buy our food and horse feed. I’m talking to a couple places regarding sponsorships or at least a discount on these items. I can use all the help I can get.
Time is flying by. I’m already into scramble mode. May 16, my departure date from Utah, is coming up fast!
Last month Dad and I took a trip down to the Moab, Utah area for a tune-up ride, in preparation for the second leg of our Mexico-to-Canada trip this year. We loaded all four of my horses, three of which will be used on the trip, and hauled from my place in Salem, Utah to Moab. The drive down took us about four hours.
The trip from Salem to Moab is actually an enjoyable drive, for the most part, coming up Spanish Fork Canyon, over Soldier Summit, down Price Canyon, then across some of the most barren desert country in the United States. Once you start heading into the Moab area, though, the scenery becomes spectacular, filled with red sandstone cliffs. You can even see from the highway several prominent natural arches off to the east in Arches National Park.
Blew a trailer tire
About 20 or so miles north of Moab, we blew a tire on the trailer. Luckily it was right before a nice pullout, where we changed the tire to the spare and limped on into Moab. We bought a couple new trailer tires at Chip’s Grand Tire Pros and they had us back on the road in a jiffy.
We traveled on south of Moab to about five miles, to a 4WD designated trail named “Back of the Rocks”. It is located on the north side of highway 191, south of Moab, just as the highway goes up the hill and turns westerly. There is a sign at the road entrance, but it’s not much. If you get to the Kane Springs area you have gone too far. Sorry I didn’t get a mile marker number.
This trail runs northward up on top of the cliff you passed as you drove south out of Moab. It is an easy ride that even a novice can handle, however there are some pretty spectacular views from up there. The trail runs about 2.5 miles or so and ends, so it’s a ride in and out on the same trail in a couple hours. Keep in mind that it is a multi-use trail, so you can expect to pass a number of off-road vehicles, hikers, bikers, and equines on your way.
Here are a few pictures from Back of the Rocks:
Jimbo, Behind the Rocks
Ranger, my Fox Trotter gelding
After riding Back of the Rocks, we loaded back up and headed on south about another 30 miles to Lisbon Valley. We set up camp behind a big red rock my nephews call Turtle Rock. It is located on the east side of Highway 191 at about mile marker 197.25. There is a gate there and a ranch road that leads over behind the rock, where there are corrals. There is no water, so you have to haul your own. Good campsite, though.
The following morning we rode back into the red canyons north and east of camp. I decided to ride my new horse, Reno, who is young and needs some training. Dad rode Jimbo, our mustang. About 3/4 of a mile northeast, down into the dry wash area north of camp, we discovered a cattle watering trough with plenty of fresh, clean water for the horses. From there we made our own trails, as we explored the canyons and hills. We followed one canyon to its end, where we found a little water for the horses. We stopped there to have lunch and rest ourselves and the horses a bit. Later, we followed up a canyon with a creek in the bottom until we figured we had better start back to camp. We did 8.3 miles that day, according to my GPS.
The following day, we headed eastward to explore. It was a little easier riding than the canyons northward. We found a natural arch and climbed our horses up on top of a big, round, sandstone rock. We had an enjoyable day, Dad and I. We wandered around for several hours, putting the horses through a little training, going up and down ledges, over trees, through gulleys, and generally giving them a good workout.
On the way back toward camp, while walking through a dry river bottom with little vegetation and nothing to be concerned about, Ranger, who was ridden by Dad, stepped into a prairie dog hole and sunk up above his knee. He tried to catch himself with his other front, but it too sank, as the fine red sand simply gave way beneath him. Ranger went down onto his forehead, rolling Dad off onto the ground from nearly ground level. Ranger then went on over onto his back, then quickly got back to his feet. Lizzy got excited and began to buck. First time she’s ever bucked with me. She didn’t really have her heart in it, so I rode her out and she calmed down after a short romp. Dad was ok and Ranger was standing head down with his bridle headstall pulled down over his eyes. After a quick check to make sure we still had all our gear and body parts, we remounted and continued our ride.
Here are some pics of the second and third days of riding:
Moab area, March 2016
Lisbon Valley area, about 35 miles south of Moab
Back at camp we picked up the other two horses and ponied them out to the water trough. We then rode them over to the highway, where there is a large culvert that allows livestock to pass under the highway. I figured this was a good training exercise for the horses. We will have to pass through a narrow tunnel in the bottom of the Grand Canyon on the South Kaibab trail, so I wanted the horses to have at least a little experience with tunnels. The culvert was about 12 feet in diameter and ran for probably 200 feet or so. After a little convincing the first time through, the horses slowly got accustomed to the sounds and darkness. We took them through the tunnel several times until they no longer hesitated, before returning to camp.
We then broke camp and headed home, arriving in the late afternoon, concluding a great couple days of riding and training.
I’m sitting here at midnight and can’t seem to get my mind to slow down. I have a thousand thoughts running through my head about the upcoming adventure. There’s a lot to be done in the next thirty days.
Today I received the last piece of horse gear I’m going to buy for the trip. I bought, through Outfitter Supply, a Five Star 1″ wool felt saddle pad with a spine relief cut-out. I like the look of it and have high hopes it will save my Fox Trotter’s back when he starts losing weight during the trip. On the first leg last year, both my Fox Trotters lost weight in the latter part of the trip, causing their spine to contact the underside of the saddle. They both got a sore spot that turned to a calcium deposit from pressure on their spine from the saddle cantle area late in the trip. Hopefully, this saddle pad with the spine relief will alleviate that problem.
Five Star spine-relief saddle pad
I have had a pretty tough schedule this past month, earning money to finance the trip and trying to get in some good rides to start “legging-up” my horses, as well as getting my truck and trailer into road-worthy shape. On the way home from my trip with Dad to Moab a few weeks ago, I blew the engine in my truck. I just got it back this evening with a rebuilt engine, new A/C system, and new injectors. Hopefully it’s ready to go. I actually got it back over a week ago, but it had an oil leak, then on the way home from the trip to Swinging Bridge last week the radiator fan stopped working and I nearly ruined my new engine. I took it back to my mechanic, who got everything squared away and I got it back this evening, hopefully for good.
In the next month I will need to accomplish the following, while keeping up my work and other duties as well:
Buy 4 new tires for my pickup
Get horses shod
Get health inspections on the horses for their travel to Arizona
Pay ahead on my DeLorme Explorer account (my GPS unit)
Contact news outlets regarding our pack trip
Purchase horse and people feed for the trip
Get the trailer brakes adjusted and bearings repacked and check front axle
Put pockets on Dad’s chinks
Make a rifle scabbard
Finish documenting the first leg of the trip on the blog!!!
Replace latigo and billets on my saddle
Replace saddle string on my saddle
Check on my hotel reservations in Panguitch
Get our trip support arranged arranged for
Yep. Lots to get done.
I’m going to do my best to get the rest of last year’s ride fully documented on the blog before we start the second leg on May 23 this year, so stay tuned.
Those of you who have been following my blog awhile know that I did quite a bit of research on various configurations of pack saddles before finally settling on the Decker-style Phillips Formfitter pack saddles, from Outfitters Pack Station, for our Mexico-to-Canada horse pack trip. As Dad already had two crossbuck pack saddles, we ended up using my two Deckers with manties and Dad’s two crossbucks with Utah-style paniers. It’s time for my comparison and evaluation.
Crossbuck pack saddle tree
To provide a little background, crossbuck pack saddles, sometimes called sawbuck pack saddles, have been used in North America for at least a couple hundred years. They consist of two crossed wooden “crutches”, similar to the way a sawbuck is built, which is where the name comes from (a sawbuck is two crossed beams over which a log is laid to be cut with a saw). Paniers, which are large bags or hard-sided boxes, are hung by straps from the crossbucks. Traditionally, soft paniers, often called “Utah Paniers” were used. These paniers are often covered with a tarp, which is tied in place with a diamond hitch, which improves the water-resistance of the pack and holds items tied on top of the packs.
While hard-sided paniers are available and quite utilitarian, we decided to go the traditional route. That’s what Dad and I have always used and we saw no reason to change. However, during our passage through the Chiricahua mountains, one of the riders who joined us for a few days packed hard paniers on his mule and I was much impressed. In camp, these hard paniers could be converted into seats or tables. I expect I’ll eventually get a set of these and give up on my traditional bent. Also, there are bear-resistant hard paniers available from a number of suppliers, for those areas where they may be required.
Sometime around the turn of the 20th century, a new-style of pack saddle was invented, which is now commonly called the Decker-style pack saddle. The Decker pack saddle, characterized by metal bows, or arches, to which loads are strapped, has proven its usefulness over the past century, due to its versatility. One can hang about any kind of load imaginable from a Decker-style pack saddle with a little ingenuity. This style of pack saddle eventually became the standard in the northwestern United States, while the crossbuck has remained king in the southwestern U.S.. Why this is so, I think I discovered during our pack trip and I will discuss that in another post.
Our mustang, Jimbo, with the mantied load on a Phillips Formfitter pack saddle
For the kind of loads we carried on our pack trip, manties are used to contain the cargo, which are then tied to the Decker pack saddle. Manties are heavy canvas tarps, normally measuring about 7 X 8 feet, in which the cargo is wrapped and tied into a pack. One manty pack is tied to each side of the pack saddle to balance the load. Manties of uneven size and/or weight may be balanced by adjusting the way they are tied to the saddle. While top packs may be tied to these pack saddles, it is not commonly done, however the manties may be tied as large or small as required. The pack saddles I finally settled on have arches that are made to handle not only manties, but also Utah Paniers.
Phillips Formfitter
The Phillips Formfitter pack saddle also has other features that attracted me, such as the adjustable-angle saddle bars and the fleece pads attached to the bars. My reasoning for this selection was that the adjustable bars would answer the problem of the different conformations of the several horses on which we intended to use them. Our remuda consisted of two Missouri Fox Trotters, two Quarter Horses, one mustang, and one mule, ranging from 16 hands to 13, all with very different backs among them.
My concerns with regard to this pack saddle were limited to two things: Would the adjustable saddle bars be able to hold the pack loads in place like a solid pack saddle would? And, would the narrow saddle bars, configured similar to a riding saddle’s bars, sufficiently distribute the loads on the horses’ backs, so as to avoid pressure points and saddle sores?
Before the trip, I discussed these and other concerns about the pack saddles with Wade, at Outfitters Pack Station. We also discussed whether double cinchas, such as are commonly used on crossbuck pack saddles, might be better for our trip. I decided to go with the single cincha, since that is the configuration I have seen on most Decker-style pack saddles. I figured that if they proved insufficient, I could order the double cincha rigs at the end of the first leg of our trip. On the Phillips Formfitter, the cincha rigging is changeable by simply unbuckling one and replacing it with the other. Wade also gave me some advice on setting up the rigging to ride properly on the pack animal.
During the first 200 miles or so of our trip, we knew we would be packing feed for the horses, since there is little feed available for grazing along our route in the lower desert areas of Arizona. We decided on Equidine pellets in 50 pound sacks, as it would be easy to pack in manties and to balance as a load. We started our trip with 400 pounds of feed, split among two pack horses, packed in manties on my Phillips Formfitter pack saddles. With the help of friends, we were able to re-supply with feed as needed. The rest of our gear was packed in paniers on Dad’s crossbucks. Our plan was to have two animals under riding saddle, two packed heavy, and two packed light, then rotate every day or so to keep all the horses adequately rested. We also planned for two rest days per week. On the first day, all the animals were packed pretty heavy, but the feed went down at a rate of nearly 120 pounds per day, so the packs lightened up quickly.
I set my pack saddles up according to Wade’s advice, however, both Dad and I felt the 3/4″ wool felt pack saddle pads we had were insufficient for the loads we were packing on the horses. We decided to place a regular saddle pad over top of the pack saddle pad for extra protection for the pack animals’ backs. As it turned out, that was a mistake with the Phillips Formfitter.
The first day we made approximately 10 miles. In that distance we had to re-settle the decker pack saddles several times. I was beginning to believe I had made a serious mistake in not ordering the double cinchas. By the end of the second day, in which we made over 16 miles, we had stopped and re-settled the Decker pack saddles a number of times. It seemed they would start to turn every several miles, regardless of how well balanced and tied the load was, or how tight the cinch was. We had no such problems with the crossbuck pack saddles, which were padded in the same way.
Saddle sore on the QH Daisy
By the end of the second day, our large, heavy-built Quarter Horse mare had developed a saddle sore high on her withers. After looking at the location of the saddle sore and considering how often we had to re-settle her Decker pack saddle, we determined that we had over-padded the pack saddles, causing them to “woggle” on the horses’ backs. After that, we packed the Phillips Formfitter saddles without the additional saddle pads and had no further problems with the saddles turning or with saddle sores on any of the other horses. After that point, the Formfitter pack saddles stayed in place with the single cincha and performed very satisfactorily. Lesson learned: Do not over-pad with these pack saddles.
Incidentally, we continued to double-pad the crossbuck pack saddles on the mule and one Quarter Horse and had no trouble with the saddles turning or saddle sores.
I was very pleased with the quality and adjustability of the rigging on the Phillips Formfitter pack saddles. I was able to make the saddles fit properly on my 16-hand, tall-withered, short-backed, tall-spined, deep-chested, bony-hind quartered, Missouri Fox Trotter gelding, as well as the 15-hand, long-torso, flat-backed, broad-chested, wide-rumped, Quarter Horse. As for the mustang, he was fairly in-between the other two and we had no trouble at all with fitting the pack saddles to his conformation.
The one horse that had problems with the Phillips Form Fitter rigging was my 4 year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare. This mare, Lizzy, has a walk to die for under saddle, but it is that same walk that makes her unsuitable as a pack horse. Her long-strided, swinging walking motion caused her to get rub sores from both the breast strap and the breeching, despite the fact that Wade makes those straps with the edges rolled with a light, soft leather. I found Lizzy also got rub sores from my riding saddle breast strap, so it wasn’t the pack saddle rigging at fault, but simply that my mare has such movement in her strides that she simply gets rub sores. Consequently, Lizzy spent more time than anticipated under my riding saddle with the breast strap stowed in the packs. My other Fox Trotter, Ranger, had no such problems and ended up under the pack saddle more than planned.
On the Fox Trotters, we had to set the spider way up on the croop to avoid rub sores
The one piece of rigging on the Phillips Formfitter saddles that caused problems on both Fox Trotters, was the spider, which is the piece that holds the breeching in place on the croop of the horse. It should ride about half-way between the point of the croop and the horse’s tail. This piece had rubbed deep sores on both my Fox Trotters’ rumps before I noticed it. I had to adjust the spiders so that they rode right on top of the horses’ croop to alleviate the problem. When adjusted as it is supposed to ride, the motion and conformation of the Fox Trotters caused the front edge of the spider to dig into the hair and subsequently the flesh of the horses. I think this problem could be remedied with a slight re-design of the spider. The spider is made with two layers of heavy leather with fairly sharp edges. I think a fleece pad under the spider, a different shape, or possibly rolled edges like the breast strap and breeching have, would fix the problem. I must say, however, that the only horses that experienced this problem were the Fox Trotters. The Quarter Horse and the mustang had no problem with the spider, or any other part of the rigging, as-is. I intend to design a removable fleece pad for my saddles, for use with my Fox Trotters.
The Packer’s Field Manual, by Bob Hoverson
I used the book “Packer’s Field Manual,” by Bob Hoverson, as a guide for setting up and using my Decker pack saddles. I found his book to be quite complete and useful. I learned to tie up manties quickly and well, using the knots and hitches he shows in the book. I set up each pack saddle with two “sling ropes” of about 28 feet length attached to the front saddle arch with a loop. Each rope runs through the rear hoops and is looped around each pack in a way that suspends it solidly from the saddle arches. The packs are weighed and balanced using a pack scale before loading, however, if one pack ends up slightly larger or heavier, balance can be achieved by setting the heavy pack a little higher on the saddle, thus changing its center of balance and making the load to ride balanced.
Decker-style pack saddles differ from traditional crossbucks not only in the way they are made, but also in the way they are equipped. While our crossbucks were pretty bare and light on rigging, the Phillips Formfitters were heavy on rigging. They also, as do all Decker-style saddles, use a protective canvas and wood shield, known as a “halfbreed” or “Arapajo”, apparently named for one of the men who originally designed and used this type of pack saddle. The halfbreed is a canvas layer that fits over top of the Decker pack saddle and has sideboards of 1 X 4 pine that protect the horse’s sides from the packs and spread the load. This is particularly important when packing items such as lumber, fence posts, or gravel. By the time we finished the first leg of the trip (355 miles), both Fox Trotters and one Quarter Horse were starting to show the beginnings of saddle sores where the side boards rode against their sides from the heavy loads of the feed sacks. The mustang, on the other hand, showed not a single mark…anywhere.
The Phillips Formfitter pack saddle is made with a leather skirt covering the saddle bars, with wool fleece on the underside. This fleece is intended to increase the padding and keep the saddle in place better. In comparison, our crossbuck pack saddles are simply made of wood. For the most part we had no trouble with the Phillips Formfitter staying in place…at least once we learned not to over-pad them, however, on our mustang we had a problem with the saddle pad crawling out from under the pack saddle. We had to stop and reset his saddle at least twice during the trip to move the saddle pad forward. We did not experience this on any other horse.
One of our crossbucks on Honey
Again, our crossbuck pack saddles were very sparse on rigging. Just a strap for the breast strap and a couple more for the breeching. They were simple to place, rig, load, and remove. They caused no saddle sores on any of the animals, and never threatened to turn and dump a load, despite our mule’s propensity to roll every time we stopped for a rest. We used the crossbucks on both of the two Quarter Horses and the mustang with similar results. Having said that, I must also add that the heaviest load we ever put on the crossbuck pack saddles was about 170 pounds and they often carried under 150, whereas our Phillips Formfitters were often loaded with up to 200 pounds of feed.
One problem we had with Dad’s old pack saddles was the fact that they are both in dire need of having all the leather replaced. Still, they made it through our trip with only one broken strap – a breast strap, which we repaired with a piece of nylon webbing we found along the trail.
Over the 28 days, Dad and I tried to streamline our morning camp-breaking ritual a number of ways, but we found that with four pack animals, and having to pack our camp and make up four manty packs and four paniers, we simply could not do it in less than about four hours. We discovered that packing the paniers was a simple matter of placing things in the bags in a fairly even manner, then weighing each panier with the pack scale and adjusting as necessary, normally a matter of removing an item from the heavy panier and placing it in the light one. Making up manties, on the other hand, was a matter of building two manties at one time, so that we could estimate that each would be fairly equal in size and weight, then wrapping each one and tying it up. Then, after they were completely done, weighing them to make sure the two packs were within one pound or so of each other. If they were significantly different in weight, they were unpacked, adjusted, and repacked. It was easy to balance them when a pack consisted of one or two bags of feed, but when they contained items of camp gear, after the feed was used, then it was a pain. Additionally, tying up the manties is very hard on the hands. The canvas and rope chafed and rubbed my hands to the degree that it became quite painful for about the first two weeks of the trip, until my hands toughened up.
The one thing we found handy about the manties was that we used the canvas tarps as a ground sheet and bed cover (we prefer sleeping out in the open and did not take a tent). By the end of the trip we had decided that for our kind of pack trips, mantying was simply an unnecessary chore. I can see how they would be the way to go for an outfitter with odd-sized items to pack, but for us, it just isn’t practical.
Utah-style paniers on a Phillips Formfitter pack saddle
For the last three days of the trip we decided that we would go with two pack animals and send one crossbuck pack saddle and one Phillips Formfitter home with our two mares. We also decided that mantying packs was a tedious task we could do without. We finished our trip using four paniers, two of which hung on either side of a Phillips Formfitter pack saddle.
In the final analysis, after 355 miles and 28 days on the trail, we learned that while Decker-style packing is very versatile, making up four manties every morning was terribly time-consuming, tedious, and very hard on the hands. Yes, Decker-style packing is versatile, but panier-style packing is much easier and takes less time and effort to pack, unpack, and load on the pack animal. Even with a cover and diamond hitch, the paniers were easier to pack than the manties. Hard paniers would be an even simpler option.
As for my Phillips Formfitter pack saddles, I am pleased with them and they performed well – once we learned the lesson about over-padding them. They are very well made, both with regard to materials and workmanship. However, I cannot say they out-performed the old traditional crossbuck pack saddles. Though, had we loaded up the crossbucks with the weights with which we loaded the Formfitters at times, things might have been different.
I will continue to use the Phillips Formfitter pack saddles due to their adjustability and versatility, but I will use them with paniers unless it is absolutely necessary to use manties. They will go with us when we start again next spring. While we had two horses that experienced saddle sores and rub sores, I cannot blame that on the pack saddles and do not believe they are at fault. These saddles allow me to choose between panier packing, with both soft and hard paniers, or to go with manties for odd-shaped loads.
For the type of horse packing Dad and I do, panier packing will remain our standard. Consequently, as far as utility is concerned, it is a wash between the Decker and Crossbuck pack saddles. While the Deckers are definitely more versatile in the ways they can be packed, we will be using them for handling paniers, which the crossbucks are specifically made for and do very well. Knowing what I know now, I would choose a standard crossbuck pack saddle over a standard Decker pack saddle for the kind of packing I do.
As far as the Phillips Formfitters are concerned, the quality of workmanship and materials, and the adjustability of the rigging and saddle bars are important to me and I remain pleased with them. I will use them pretty much as I would use a crossbuck pack saddle in the future, but will still have the added versatility when needed. In my opinion, the price tag of $699 for a fully outfitted Phillips Formfitter pack saddle is an excellent value when compared with prices for other brands and styles of pack saddles similarly outfitted. I expect mine will cover many miles on my pack animals before I hang up my spurs.
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