I recently created a new website for a sports fan group I have belonged to for more than ten years. We are die-hard fans of everything related to Brigham Young University sports, especially football. We had been using a forum service, YUKU, for a lot of years and finally got tired of the poor service and goofy advertisements they slipped into our forum. We had to pay a fee not to see advertisements. Finally we got so fed up with it that we began to talk about looking for a new home for our forum. As we discussed it, I realized that it would be a pretty simple solution for us to buy a domain name and create our own website and forum. So, that’s what we did, using my web hosting account with Bluehost. So, I created byufans.net. It is a closed group, though, so membership is limited to the current members and those individuals who are personally invited by a member. Sorry.
Anyway, what does that have to do with Western Trail Rider? Well, the new website looks so good and works so well and is so easy to manage that I was quite impressed with myself (hehehe). But, when I switch over to my WTR site, well, it started looking a bit drab and old. Now, every time I look at WTR I think I need to update it.
So, I’m going to be looking at new themes and other apps and programs that might sort of dress up the site and make it more user-friendly and easier to manage. Once I decide what to do, I’ll let everybody know that it may be down for a few hours…that is, if everything goes well…or a few days, if I mess up. Now, nobody need suppose that I am a website developer or otherwise expert, or even knowledgeable, about websites and blogs. I just trip along until something looks pretty good and works ok. WordPress has made things pretty simple for guys like me. It is mostly a matter of figuring out what I like, then plug-and-play. Still, I seem to be able to mess things up pretty well, as I try mixing and matching different services on the site. The challenge is going to be ensuring that I don’t lose any of the photos, information, posts, and serviceability of the current site.
Also, I understand how each provider of an app or service can spend thousands of hours developing a simple app for dummies like me to “plug-and-play” and that they certainly deserve to be paid for their efforts. However, when a guy like me starts adding up the various fees and subscriptions and donations, the cost starts to reach a significant level per year, particularly when I am not making a penny on the website.
I created the website shortly after I started planning my big horse pack trip a few years ago. A number of folks suggested that I start a blog, so they could keep up with my planning, gear purchases and reviews, and other developments, as well as documentation of the trip itself. It occurred to me that I might just as well purchase a domain name, start a website of my own, and invite other horse and trail riding folks to blog along with me. The thought was that we, together, might create a website where like-minded people might come to find information about horse trails in the western U.S. and to get first-hand information from people who had actually ridden those trails. I’m not talking about state and national park trails – there are numerous websites for those places. I’m talking about the backtrails and places that are almost unknown except to riders from the local areas. Places folks hear about, but few ever see. I figured that eventually there might be enough bloggers on the site that a little advertising income might be generated, to pay for the website maintenance. That hasn’t developed, so I’m content with simply using the site as a place to document my horse adventures for a few faithful followers to enjoy.
Still, I’d like to make it an attractive and interesting website. So, I’ll be working on updating it over the coming couple of months.
Stay tuned to see what I come up with!
P.S. The invitation is still open for anybody who would like to start their own horse-related blog under the WTR banner or to link an existing blog through WTR. The only requirement is that it be related to horse trails in the western U.S. or some aspect of horse or mule packing. There is no charge and I maintain the site at no expense to you…unless you would like to help out. If you have interest, send me an email at tony.henrie@westerntrailrider.com.
On Day 9, Sunday April 19, Dad and I had spent the day in camp at the mouth of Whitetail Canyon. Feeling refreshed, both in body and spirit, and the horses and Clancy being well rested from a day of rest, we were ready for the trip across the desert to Safford, Arizona. Joshua Jensen and Al Smith, our capable guides through the Chiricahuas, had left us with a new supply of 200 pounds of Equidyne pelletized alfalfa for the passage across the desert. The saddle sores that had been starting to show on Daisy’s back were healing up after four days of being ponied bareback. We were in good shape. Our only concern now was being able to find water. We had about 80 miles across some very flat, dry desert country before we reached our next destination, Joshua’s place in Safford.
We had a good morning and it looked like for the first time we would be able to make an early start. Just as we were getting ready to mount, a fellow wanders into camp and we get to chatting. It was interesting conversation. The fellow was a local conservationist and birdwatcher. I neglected to take down his name and have forgotten it. It was he who had made the rock cairns we tried to follow on Saturday. Anyway, we talked too long and didn’t make it out of camp again until about 9:30am.
I was riding Lizzy, and, as usual, she set a pretty good pace for us. We left the mountains and joined Nolan Road and headed north, keeping just off the road to avoid vehicular traffic. Our goal was to reach San Simon, where we would cross under I-10 and find a place to make camp.
Somewhere along the route between Whitetail Canyon and San Simon on Nolan Road, we passed the 100-mile mark of our trip.
About half way to San Simon we found a water hole where we took a break and let the horses graze on some nice grass we found there, while Dad and I ate our lunch. For the entire trip our lunches consisted of a few bites of beef jerky, a Cliff Bar, raisins, and a bit of trail mix. We seldom stopped for lunch, usually eating a little at a time as we rode. As small as our lunches were, it was sufficient and we fared well. We were definitely hungry by the time we made camp in the evenings, though.
Dinner and Supper!
Our breakfasts and suppers consisted of dehydrated meals, made from ingredients mixed and matched from a food storage kit we bought from Walmart for the purpose. We had a variety of vegetable soup, creamed potato soup, corn chowder, and various combinations of those. Breakfasts included dehydrated eggs, the occasional packet of oatmeal, potato shreds, and some bacon bits. We cooked everything over a single coleman burner on a small propane can. Quite frankly, I don’t remember well what we ate most of the time. I’m sorry to say that some of the food wasn’t all that appetizing. Dad and I lost quite a bit of weight on the trip. I think the thing we missed most, in our suppers and breakfasts, was the fact that the dehydrated food kit included absolutely no meat! The imitation meat was also imitation tasty.
By nightfall, after 22.6 miles on the day, we made San Simon. We stopped by a ranch house, and finding nobody home, we helped ourselves to a spigot to water our horses and fill our canteens. We met a good friend of the rancher the following day, who happened to stop by for some friendly conversation, so we passed on our thanks for the use of the water spigot.
Finding no good place for a camp, we pulled off into a thicket that offered some concealment from the locals and made a dry camp. It was dusty, dirty, and full of thorny brush. We hit the hay early and departed early as well. Josh and Al stopped by in the morning on their way through town and helped us get loaded up and started. We then went back to the ranch where we watered the evening before and watered our stock. On our way back into town we ran into the fellow I mentioned above, Ron Mahan, who was able to give us some good directions for getting us into a wash, the San Pedro River, and under I-10 without having to concern ourselves with road traffic.
A nice pond in the desert
On this day we headed up the San Pedro River bed (otherwise known as a dry wash), which ran generally in our direction. We stuck to that for several miles, but knew we needed to find water for the horses. We struck a road heading east-west that Mr. Mahan had told us about. We followed it west about a mile and found two or three houses and a very nice pond. The pond had bass and panfish in good numbers. I suspect the locals had stocked the pond for their own fishing and eating pleasure. Strangely enough, our horses weren’t very thirsty. We left there and got back into our wash and continued northward.
As we were passing through a part of the wash that was thick with brush, I heard a muffled grunting and looked around to see what it was, knowing the area was prime for Javelina. I spotted a little pig no larger than a small puppy rooting and playing in the grass. We tried to get a picture of it, but the darn thing was so well camouflaged that when we saw the pictures we couldn’t find the little Javelina in it! The mother was nearby, so we let them be. An angry javelina is nothing to mess with. We moved on.
Shortly thereafter the wash became rather problematic to follow. It became deep, to where we could no locate ourselves with regard to the mountains and we could not see to find the next waterhole we were aiming for. It was also so choked with mesquite that it was tough, and painful, to get through in places. We climbed up out of the wash and began to head overland on higher ground. Once on top, we spotted in the distance what looked like a cottonwood tree, which often indicates a well or water hole, so we headed that way. It was, in fact, a cattle watering tank, but it hadn’t been maintained in a few years. It was choked with algae and moss. The horses drank from it, but not deeply. They didn’t like it.
Camp at Butte Well
By nightfall, we had again traveled about 18 miles. We camped that night at Butte Well, located just about a half-mile east of Orange Butte. There was a decent water trough for the horses, but nothing for us. Again, the water was full of green algae. At this camp we had to watch for cactus, because there was a low-growing species of prickly pear that you really had to watch out for. This area was very dry, with few trees even tall enough to tie the horses to. Again, not a very hospitable camp. This day, Clancy’s feet got pretty sore and I ended up with him on my saddle for several miles. The mileage we were making was getting to him. I ended up with him on my saddle quite a bit over the following few days. That night I checked his paws and found a mesquite thorn about 3/8″ long stuck all the way up in one pad.
The following morning I attempted to filter some of the water from the trough, with my Katadyn gravity-feed water filter, to fill our canteens. Lesson learned: Don’t try to filter filthy water! The algae plugged my filter before I had gotten a quart of drinkable water. That was a problem, since we didn’t have a spare filter. That meant we had no means of replenishing our drinking water until we reached Safford, another 40 or so miles farther along the trail. Well, we could have boiled water in a pinch, but that takes propane and time.
No, he’s not dead.
We got back on the trail the following morning and followed a two-track ranch road westward. About five miles farther along we came to a solar-powered well with running water. We were able to fill our canteens, but the water tasted salty. The horses were fine with it, though. We ended up doing a lot of cross-country bushwhacking that day. It was a long one. Around lunch time we located another waterhole that was apparently privately owned. There were a few improvements around it, such as a pathway and a small picnic area. We watered there then went a mile or so farther on, where we found some good grass. We let the horses graze for about an hour, while Dad and I ate lunch and rested.
We crossed the San Simon Fan area that day, which is a stretch where the government build low spreader dams to spread out the rain runoff to control erosion and spread the water over a wider area to benefit the local ecology. What it did, however, was to spread very fine silt over a very large area. Here’s a video that shows the area. It took us several hours to cross it. Here’s a video.
We made camp at Bailey Well that night, after having made a total of 21.2 miles. We had hoped to make Tanque, but would have arrived long after dark and we were completely bushed. We were tired!
Bailey Well was another solar-powered well, but we arrived after the sun was setting behind Mount Graham, so we obtained no water for our canteens. Horses were watered well, though. We ran out of drinking water the following morning, having just enough to make a breakfast.
The next day, Day 14, Friday , April 24, we headed north on a dirt road. Safford was about 20 miles away, so we hoped to make it all the way. We made Tanque around noon. We were lucky enough to find it a running well, so we were able to fill our canteens. The water tasted a bit better than the water we got from the previous well.
We followed dirt roads the rest of the way to Josh’s place, which was lucky for us, because it got us through the numerous cholla forests in the area. The cholla was flowering, so it was quite beautiful, but cholla is a true hazard for one traveling by horse. It is also commonly called “jumping cactus” because it grows in clumps, little balls of spines, that break off and stick when one brushes up against them. The plants propagate in this way, so the cactus grows in patches, or forests, as the case may be. We passed by several “cholla forests”.
Josh’s place
We made Josh’s place late that afternoon, after a day of 20.8 miles. It was good to release the horses into a corral and feed them hay. Josh and his family were not home for the weekend, but left us the use of the house. He also left us the use of his pickup, so we headed into town immediately after tending the horses, to look for a water filter for my Katadyne filter. No such luck, so I contacted Outfitter’s Supply in Columbia Falls, Montana, from whom I purchased the filter, and they overnight expressed two filters to me.
That evening, Josh’s neighbors, the Bodines, brought us a home-cooked meal of wild turkey. Their 14 year-old boy, Evan, had killed the turkey during the spring hunt. Jessica Bodine cooked it up with dumplings. It was heavenly!
The best part of the evening, though, were the showers at the end of the day! In order to not abuse the hospitality shown by Josh and his wife, Dad and I made our beds in the garage. We really didn’t want to get their house filthy. We availed ourselves, however, of their washer and dryer. It was wonderful to feel clean and have clean clothing again.
Dad on our mustang, Jimbo
On Saturday morning, the Bodines brought us a very tasty breakfast, Al came to put shoes on our mule, Honey. After he arrived, we headed for town to buy shoes and some other supplies. While we were driving around town, Al took us for a drive to sort of scout out a route past Safford. We located a power line that offered a decent route. While we were scouting, another of those little helps from heaven happened. We met Clay Gomez, who owns a ranch through which that power line runs. He owns the only gate in the fence for many miles. He was very cordial and gave us permission to pass through his gate. When we arrived there later that evening, he had left the gate unlocked for us.
Me on Ranger, with our string
By the time we arrived in Safford, we had traveled about 170 miles. Our mule, Honey, had been barefoot all that way. She started getting tender on Wednesday, so we had Al put shoes on her. We also re-stocked with the last of the Equidyne feed we had stashed with Josh before we started the trip. Our Katadyne filters arrived via UPS by 9:30am. Amazing! We got ourselves packed up and hit the road about 11:30am. We followed the power line route, as planned, and made good time. We passed through several fences, but none was locked. We ended up making it about 19.8 miles that afternoon and made camp on the Gila River, just north of a small town named San Jose.
The following day was Sunday, our rest day. We had a nice camp, with water, grass, a place to tie our horses, and a nice spot for our bedding. It was a good day to pass the Sabbath. We needed it, as the mileage we made over the past few days was starting to show on the horses. They needed a rest. So did Clancy. So did we.
Stay tuned for days 16 and 17 later this week, and some trail stories you are sure to enjoy.
Day six, for Dad and me, was both tough and wonderful. We had made our first fifty miles and all was well. Now we had entered the first range of mountains along our route: the Chiricahuas. We were excited to get off the dirt roads and onto some mountain trails.
Joshua Jensen and Al Smith had arrived the previous evening. Joshua had fixed us a meal of T-bone steak, cheese-covered potatoes, fetachini, and brownies, all made even better by sitting around a campfire in the mountains, enjoying the company of good friends. After a week on the trail, eating dehydrated meals with no spices but salt and pepper, that dinner was heavenly!
On this morning, we discussed and planned out our route before getting packed up. The original route I had planned had been exposed to a devastating fire several years before and was impassable and in places nonexistent. Good thing Joshua volunteered to join up with us. Joshua and Al, being intimately familiar with the Chiricahua trail system, mapped out a route for us that was both beautiful and exhilarating…and pretty tough in places. Whatever else the route might have been, it was unforgettable.
Al in front, Joshua following
The route we ended up taking through the mountains took us up the Monte Vista Trail out of the North Fork of Rucker Canyon, where we were camped, to hit the Crest Trail just on the north side of Monte Vista Peak, following it over Fly Peak (where we camped that night) and down to join USFS 42C at Rustler Park. We followed 42D to Pinery Canyon Road, where we turned west (my journal says east, but it was west) and followed it down to the North Fork of Pinery Creek . We then followed North Fork for a ways, then turned north on a trail to Hands Pass. From there our route took us past Barrel Spring and through Bloomberg Canyon (where we camped the following night) and into Whitetail Canyon. We attempted to turn west up Indian Creek Canyon from there, but gave up after about three miles, finding the trail impassable (non-existent) for horses. We ended up returning to Bloomberg Canyon, staying our Sunday rest day there, then left the Chiricahuas through Whitetail Canyon Road. We then hit Noland Road and followed alongside it north to San Simon.
Now that you have our route through the Chiricahua mountains in mind, let me tell you about our companions and their mighty steeds. Both Joshua and Al ride mules. I have always had an interest in mules, but this was my first extensive experience with them on mountain trails.
Joshua is a tall, young US Border Patrol Officer in his late twenties or early thirties. He rides for their mounted patrol out of the Safford District. He’s a nice, clean-cut man and a pleasure to be around. A fine horseman and experienced packer, he has converted over to mules. He has two of them. Treasure is an experienced molly out of a thoroughbred mare. She stood about 17 hands, was almost totally black, except for a few highlights around her flanks and legs, had very fine legs and excellent conformation. She was also a bit ornery. Riding behind her, I had to watch that my horse didn’t get too close. His other mule, Tigger, was shorter and younger, about 4 years old as I recall, about 15 hands or so, dun-dish or roan-ish in color, with zebra-striped legs. A very pretty molly, she was also slow as Christmas. She just didn’t care to keep up with the rest of us. Joshua had recently acquired her and was still working with her training. While his taller, older molly had a very nice walk and could really eat up distance, the slower one held her back.
Al, on the other hand, rode a dark molly, about 15-1/2 hands or a little better, that was a real handful. She was very skittish around anyone but Al. She could really walk out, though. I mean, even my Fox Trotters had a hard time keeping up with her. Now you have to see this in your mind’s eye as I describe Al and his mule. Al stands all of about 5′-5 or 6″, and weighs in at around a buck-40 or so. He has a full beard, almost as full and nice as Santa Claus’ beard, but a little more gray than white. He has a grin that just makes you want to smile all the time and a quick whit that always kept us wondering what he was going to say next. He is retired out of the Arizona State Prison system (employee – not inmate!). He now spends most of his time riding his mule. When Al was up on top of that mule, the two became one. Now, as I say that, you must understand my meaning. Al and his mule operated as a single unit, but, quite truthfully, Dad and I never quite knew who was in charge, the mule or Al. After much consideration, we came to the conclusion that it was simply a cooperative system – sometimes Al was in charge and sometimes the mule was in charge. Whatever it was, it was an amazing thing to behold.
What an experience it was traveling with these two men and their mules. As you will see, Joshua and Al were, together and individually, another of those gifts from Heaven that happened to us so often on this trip.
After a good breakfast, we were loaded up and heading up the trail by 9:15am. As Daisy, the Quarter Horse had started showing signs of saddle sores on her withers, we decided to cut our gear and leave one pack saddle in Joshua’s trailer and pony Daisy bareback for a few days to let her heal up. We would retrieve the gear and a few more bags of feed when we exited the mountains at Joshua and Al’s end point.
We started up Monte Vista Trail. It started out as a pretty easy trail, but soon entered a series of switchbacks and a steady climb. We ascended more than 3,000 feet in a matter of about four-and-a-half miles. Most of the trail was well maintained, but there were several deadfalls we had to go around.
Ascending Monte Vista Peak looking south
As we climbed higher, the views began to open up a bit, allowing us to catch sight of where we had been the previous days. It was quite the sense of achievement I felt, looking back over the hills, seeing in the far distance the areas we had come through. It was a strange sense I felt, which eventually became a familiar and welcome feeling. It was the emotion connected with the thought that I had been over there – not just that I had been there at one time or another, but that I had just come from over there on my horse, with my dad. It was a special feeling that is hard to describe, and it was entirely new to me as I looked out over those mountains, hills, and deserts.
Nearing the top of the shale slide
As we neared the summit of Monte Vista Peak, we crossed and ascended a looooong sidehill that dropped off about half-a-mile below us. This mountainside was pure shale and very little vegetation grew on it. The shale was ankle deep when you stepped off the trail and a horse that stepped off the trail would soon find himself sliding downhill with a lot of the hillside sliding with him, and there just wasn’t anything to stop you until you hit the bottom. I found out just how dangerous this could be as we neared the top of this long slide and had our second near-disaster of the trip.
I had turned on my GoPro camera, on my chest-mount, to record some of this ascent (while it was quite impressive in person, the video doesn’t quite do it justice, as is almost always the case). However, the immensity of the scenery distracted me and I forgot I had turned it on. So, on a westerly tack on the switchback, I pulled my iphone out of my pocket to take a few photos. As I messed around with my phone, I lost the lead rope on Ranger, my lead pack horse (I was riding Lizzy). I couldn’t coax Ranger to come up to me to grab his lead rope, so I dismounted and started back toward him on foot.
For some strange reason, Ranger, who was packed with 200 pounds of horse feed, turned away from me and stepped downhill off the trail. As he did so, he immediately sank to his hocks in the shale and began to slide. I rushed to grab the lead rope, hoping to get his head turned back uphill before he dragged Daisy, tied behind him, down the hillside with him. I was able to catch the end of the lead rope and get Ranger’s head turned, but by this time he was fifteen feet below the trail and sliding still. The mare had also left the trail and was floundering, but she had no packs or weight on her. I began to slide behind Ranger, but finally got his head around and got him facing back uphill. At this point Ranger turned and began struggling to get his footing, with me pulling his lead rope. The weight of the heavy packs on his back settled back and started to pull him over backwards. I watched in horror as his front hooves came out of the shale and lifted into the air, realizing that if I didn’t get his front feet back on the ground, he was a goner, and possibly the mare with him. He would have rolled until he hit the bottom, half-a-mile below us.
Pulling with all my weight, and setting my feet into the deep shale, I was able to counter the weight of the packs enough, and Ranger was strong enough, that he regained his balance and began to charge up the very steep hillside. I turned and scrambled up, using hands and feet, finally reaching the trail just ahead of Ranger and the mare.
It was an exciting few moments, but once again, we survived with no serious repercussions. It was another good “journal material” experience with no sad ending.
The good part was that I had forgotten about my GoPro video camera! It was running the whole time and picked up the whole incident, together with a long segment of the trail. You can see it here.
The view from the top of Monte Vista Peak looking west
Another mile or so saw us to the top of Monte Vista Peak. We stopped at the Ranger lookout tower there and let the horses rest and graze while we ate lunch. What a beautiful view from there. At 9223′ elevation, we could see in all four directions for what seemed like forever.
Just off the north side of Monte Vista Peak, we joined the Crest Trail. A forest fire had burned through the area a number of years before, a finger of which had nearly reached the top of the peak. The fire left much of the timber on the north side of the mountain dead. Much of the dead-standing timber had fallen, making travel on the trail a slow and difficult process. In the first mile we spent more time cutting and moving logs than we did traveling. It was in this area that the axe and limb saw I packed on my saddle paid for themselves. I wish I had gotten more photos in this area, but I was pretty busy hacking away at logs and trying to shift them out of the trail. Once we passed Raspberry Peak, however, things got easier and we made better time. We actually got out on the “crest” of the mountain range, which was like riding its spine. We had a spectacular view off both the eastern and western sides of the Chiricahua mountains at the same time.
Coming off the Painted Rock descent
At one point we came to a spectacular descent, at a place called Painted Rock. This descent on the Crest Trail comes down between two jagged, rock promontories (Painted Rock), descending several hundred feet in just a few lateral yards. The cut was so narrow and steep that part of our pack train was heading east on one switchback while I, in the middle, was on a western tack and tail-end Charlie (Dad) was on the eastern tack above me. I will never forget coming down through that cut. Absolutely thrilling!
Sadly, my GoPro ran out of battery about ten minutes before we arrived at the cut. I tried to get as much of it as I could with my iphone, but only caught just the lower part of it. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the iphone video just doesn’t have the capability to show what that short segment of trail is really like. You can see it here.
Along this part of the Crest Trail, we got a steady west wind, blowing at 20-30 miles per hour, and it was cold! You might recall that I had lost my coat a while back and was clad only in a heavy wool shirt over my clothing. Surprisingly, that heavy wool shirt cut the wind pretty well an I stayed reasonably warm as we continued moving northward along the crest. As we approached Fly Peak, though, it was getting on toward evening and I was getting cold.
We crossed over onto the east side of Fly Peak, following a fork off the main trail, which got us out of the heavy winds. We came upon a small improved (capped) spring on the trail, which I believe may be Booger Spring, not sure. We watered the stock there and continued another couple hundred yards and made camp there on the eastern side of Fly Peak. The elevation was near 9300′.
My journal entry ends with this commentary:
[Begin journal entry]
We made 10.6 miles and camped on the east side of Fly Peak. It was a nice camp area with a capped spring about 1/4 mile before it on the trail. Being on the east side of the peak, we were out of the wind, but it was very cold.
That night most of our water froze. I didn’t sleep well, because I brought my light sleeping bag. It has proven inadequate, even for this part of the trail. I’ll need to have someone take my heavier bag to [a friend’s] place so I can pick it up when we get there.
We had no mishaps, despite the rough trail, except that one with Ranger on the hillside. The horses are starting to work well together.
[End journal entry]
Yessiree! It was cold that night and I didn’t get much sleep, but then, there we were, at 9300′, in the heart of the mountains with good people and good horses. It doesn’t get much better than that and it would take a lot more than the cold to dampen our spirits on this trip. Besides, my dog Clancy snuggled against me all night and helped keep the cold at bay.
During the day, we discovered that Dad had left one of his two-quart canteens back at the lookout tower on top of Monte Vista Peak. That was to become a real concern for us further along.
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.
Thought I’d take a few minutes this morning to type up a gear report on one of the pieces of gear we took that truly proved its worth and durability on our 355 mile horse pack trip through the rough country of southeastern Arizona: Our Goal Zero solar chargers.
As you might recall from a previous post, I bought two solar chargers made by Goal Zero – a Guide 10 and a Nomad 13. The Nomad is the larger of the two panels, producing up to 13 watts of electricity, while the Guide 10 produces up to 10.
Goal Zero Guide 10
The reason I bought the Guide 10 to supplement the Nomad was that it comes with a rechargeable battery pack of four AA batteries that can be used as an emergency power source to recharge our other electronic devices when no sunshine is available.
Tough covers and clear plastic protecting the solar cells
When I first purchased the chargers I was quite concerned about their durability. They are flat-panel solar panels covered by a tough nylon-canvas material with a clear plastic cover over the solar cells. They both have a zippered pocket on the back, where cords and adapters may be stored. I am pleased to report that these panels have survived the first leg of our trip. 355 miles of the toughest terrain I have ever ridden over.
As I felt I needed to keep these panels accessible at all times, as well as the need to protect them from damage, I kept them in my saddle bags for the entire ride. My original intent was to strap them to the top of our pack saddles, so we could charge batteries and devices as we traveled. However, after our first day out, I let that idea die. We passed under so many low branches of mesquite, ironwood, juniper, ocotillo, and cactus, that I’m pretty sure they would have sustained damage had I tied them to our pack saddles.
My solar panels set out to charge my iphone
What I ended up doing for most of the trip was to set the panels out each morning and evening to catch as much sunshine as possible. Often, we made camp after the sun was low on the horizon, so I didn’t get a lot of charging done in the evenings, but I generally got several hours of good charging time each morning as we broke camp. My solar panels were the last thing to be packed before mounting up.
About the second week, we had a spell when there just wasn’t enough sunshine to keep our batteries charged, partly due to our traveling through trees in the Chiricahuas. I ended up one day with all my GoPro camera batteries discharged, my iphone dead, and my DeLorme Explorer GPS almost dead. Out of necessity I tied the Nomad 13 to the back of my saddle as we traveled in open country from the Chiricahuas to San Simon, AZ. The canvas cases for both units have small loops along outer borders which serve very well for tying them by saddle strings over my coat behind my saddle. While it did not charge very efficiently, due to not being able to always have it directly facing the sun, it was enough to get my iphone up to about a 30% charge after several hours. After that, whenever we traveled in open country I tied the Nomad to the back of my saddle and connected something to it, be it my iphone or the Guide 10 battery pack. In that way we were able to keep the most critical devices with at least a minimum charge the whole trip.
Another benefit of having both the Nomad and the Guide 10 was that the two can be connected together, or “daisy-chained”, by connecting the built-in cables, to increase their charging capacity. This greatly decreased the amount of time needed to completely recharge a device or top one off. When I set the panels out each morning or evening, they were daisy chained and I took pains to make sure the panels were situated to take maximum advantage of what sunshine was available. I found that even on cloudy days, there was sufficient sunshine to produce a trickle of electricity to get some charging done.
Guide 10 battery pack
The item I always gave priority to keep at full charge was the battery pack. The battery pack contained four rechargeable AA batteries and had sufficient depth to bring my iphone 6 from dead to about 95% charge in a matter of about 3 hours. At that point the battery pack would be completely dead. I would make sure it was brought to full charge the following morning. My reasoning for this was that my iphone was the second most important electronic device in our inventory. It communicated with my DeLorme Explorer and provided viewable topographical maps by which we guided ourselves much of the time. Since we didn’t get all the paper maps we should have, we were very reliant on the iphone to keep us going the right direction, particularly at forks in the trails. It also served as a camera for still shots and the occasional short video when I didn’t have the GoPro out and ready. The battery pack gave us some insurance against days without sun and was used a number of times to keep the iphone alive until it could be charged by the solar panels.
Indicator light, USB output, two power inputs, LED flashlight function on the battery pack
One end of the battery pack has a well organized set of power inputs and outputs, as well as an indicator light and LED flashlight function. The USB power output allowed us to use the regular USB charging cords for charging all our devices. The inputs allow charging from the solar panels via a built-in cord or from a 110V wall outlet via a USB charger. When the battery pack is discharged, the indicator light shows solid red. As it charges it shows a blinking red light, which changes to a slow-blinking green, then a faster-blinking green, then finally a solid green when fully charged. The same indicators show as it discharges while charging a device. There is an on/off switch on the left side which also turns the LED flashlight on and off. While I never needed the LED flashlight, I can see where it might come in handy on occasion. The pack also comes with an adapter to recharge AAA batteries. The reserve power of the battery pack was a very important asset for us on the pack trip. In fact, I am considering purchasing a second battery pack.
The most important device we had was, of course, the DeLorme InReach Explorer, however the settings I had in place on it kept it going for up to five days before hitting the critical 20% charge level. Not only that, but it would come back to full charge within about two hours, when connected to both panels in direct sunlight. So, one good morning would have the GPS set to go for nearly a week.
I made sure all our devices were turned off each night and not turned back on until needed the following day. By doing so, and by ensuring that I set the two chargers out each morning, along with the additional charging time on the back of my saddle, the two solar chargers kept all our devices with at least a minimum charge the entire trip, except that one day when I let things get discharged. That one day taught me to become more diligent and organized in keeping things charged and utilizing the sun when it was shining. Additionally, as we took a rest day every Sunday, the solar panels were set out all day and adjusted periodically to maximize their effectiveness in the sunshine, while charging all our devices to maximum capacity (that is, when the sun was actually shining).
As for durability, while stored in my saddlebags, along with a number of other items – flashlights, binoculars, odds and ends, etc – these two solar charges survived multiple instances of my saddle horse laying down and attempting to roll over. I can’t think of many more effective ways to prove the durability of these little panels. After the trial they have been through, I am satisfied that I will have them for many, many more miles into the future.
wear spots on the plastic solar cell protectors
The only thing I have found that would improve the durability and effectiveness of the Goal Zero solar chargers, in my opinion, would be to have a piece of flanel cloth, or similar material, cut to the size of the panels to keep between the clear plastic panels when the units are closed. I found that the clear plastic face of my units became scratched and had a somewhat fogged appearance in places, from the dust that got between them and scratched the surfaces while closed. I’m sure that decreases their efficiency, although I don’t know how much. This little improvement is something I will do for future use. I intend to recommend this as an improvement to the manufacturer.
My overall evaluation of the Nomad 13 and the Guide 10, used both individually and together, and I think I can honestly say they received a baptism by fire, so to speak, is that I consider them to be one of the most critical items of gear we had on the trip. That is not to say they were necessary for our survival, but they were absolutely necessary for the successful outcome of our trip. They proved themselves to be very durable under the most harsh conditions, surviving some pretty rough treatment and kept our critical electronic devices with at least a minimal charge throughout our month-long trip, thus ensuring we had the ability to contact the outside world at any time and that we were able to photographically document much of our trek for our followers.
Overall grade: A+
Goal Zero Guide 10
GOALZERO Nomad 13
Goal Zero Nomad 13 and Guide 10
Adapter cables, AA battery pack, and AAA adapter
Charging cables built-in
Tough covers and clear plastic protecting the solar cells
Guide 10 battery pack
Indicator light, USB output, two power inputs, LED flashlight function on the battery pack
It took us longer than we planned, and my estimated mileage was slightly off, but the first leg of our Mexico-to-Canada horse pack trip is complete.
We departed Eagar, Arizona on Friday, April 10, with the help of family and friends who drove trucks and hauled trailers stuffed with horses and gear. We arrived at our designated starting point just before dark that evening. Dad and I stayed with the horses and my four-horse trailer for the night. One of our drivers headed home, while the others, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, got a room in Douglas. They returned the following morning to help us get packed up and started and to haul my truck and trailer back to Eagar.
The following morning, Saturday, April 11, Dad and I arose about sunup and began by feeding the horses and getting our gear out of the trailer and getting it sorted for packing. A couple of US Border Patrol Agents stopped by to visit. They had their horses an we invited them to ride with us a ways. They accepted the invitation, but before we were ready to start making tracks, they got called away to monitor a group of Mexican citizens that appeared to be preparing to illegally cross the border.
We started at the US/Mexico border about 18 miles east of Douglas, Arizona, near where Silver Creek crosses the border. It also happens to be where the monument to the Mormon Battalion stands.
Departure at the Monument for the Mormon Battalion
For those who don’t know the history of the Mormon Battalion, during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the whole membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons, were making their exodus from Missouri and points east to the Salt Lake Valley, which was then in Mexican territory. Certain individuals in the US Government feared the Mormons were fleeing the United States, due to the persecution they had experienced in Missouri and the lack of any help or redress from the US Government, and that they would become Mexican citizens and fight against the US. The US Government sent forces to stop the Mormons from leaving the US, but once they actually met with representatives of the church, their fears were assuaged. Brigham Young called for volunteers to join the US forces to help fight against Mexico and drive them from the territories later claimed by the US, including most of the current southwestern United States. More than 500 volunteers joined what became known as the Mormon Battalion, leaving their families and friends to make their way west, trusting to the Lord and the other members of the church to care for them.
The Mormon Battalion trekked from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego, California without a single hostile engagement, as Mexican forces fled southward. The battalion raised the first American flag over Tucson, Arizona, opened a southern route for future wagon trains bringing immigrants to New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and was instrumental in the settlement of much of the southwest of the United States of America. Former members of the Mormon Battalion were among the first discoverers of gold in California, which initiated the famous California gold rush.
There are several monuments in the southwest to the Mormon Battalion, and being Mormons ourselves, we felt fortunate to have started our trek at one of these historic sites.
I will mention here our gratitude to the US Border Patrol out of Douglas and Safford, for their assistance in getting permission from several ranchers for us to cross their range. Their help in selecting routes, obtaining permissions, and even guiding us through the Chiricahua Mountains was invaluable to us and to the success of our endeavor. During the first several days of our trip we were visited by their officers several times and were always provided with good information and help for our trip. They also kept us posted on any groups of illegal aliens and suspected drug traffickers they were monitoring, and helped us select routes that kept us out of harm’s way. I will provide more detailed information about their help in future posts.
Our route took us north from the US/Mex border, following Silver Creek to the Bar-M Ranch, where we turned more northeast, crossing US Highway 80 just west of Boss Ranch Road. We followed Boss Ranch Road, crossing Boss Ranch by permission of the owner, making camp in Half Moon Valley. From there we tracked northeastward, up past High Lonesome Spring to Texas Canyon Road. We followed Texas Canyon Road to Rucker Canyon Road ,which we followed northeast to North Fork.
Heading up North Fork Trail in the Chiricahuas
At North Fork we met with Joshua Jensen and Al Smith, who acted as our guides through the roughest part of the Chiricahuas and rode with us for three days. They took us up North Fork to the USFS lookout tower on Monte Vista Peak, then across the Crest Trail, and finally into Whitetail Canyon, through which we departed the Chiricahua Mountains. Both Josh and Al left us at Whitetail Canyon and Dad and I made our way northward to San Simon, where we crossed Interstate 10, passing underneath it traveling along San Simon Wash. We followed San Simon Wash northward toward Safford, until we had to leave it to find water for our horses. We ended up on a ranch road which took us past stock watering wells spaced about five miles, or so, apart and which led generally in the direction we needed to go. Thanks to Ron Mahan, of San Simon, for his help in selecting a favorable route through that dry desert area.
Nearing Safford, Az
We made Safford on Thursday, April 23, which was about 3 days or so behind our planned schedule. We stopped at Joshua Jensen’s place, which he and his wife were gracious enough to allow us to use as a rest stop and re-supply station. While there we had Al Smith shoe our mule. Josh allowed us to use his pickup, so we headed into town for supplies. We also used the assistance of Al Smith to scout a suitable and safe route northward from Safford. With his help, as well as advice from the local Bureau of Land Management agents at the Safford office, we decided to avoid the problems and dangers of following the Gila and San Francisco Rivers, both of which are known to be choked with willows and are notoriously dangerous for livestock, due to quicksands. We determined to take a route that passed south of the Gila, skirting the Gila Box, passing south of Clifton by way of a power line service road and connecting with the Black Hills Scenic Byway. We crossed Highway 191 south of Clifton, then passed through Verde Lee and Loma Linda, finally hitting Rattlesnake Road, which took us into the mountains east of Clifton.
Rattlesnake Road eventually gave way to a USFS road which led up Rattlesnake Canyon to Rattlesnake Gap. This trail was, without any doubt, the steepest climb and roughest mile I have ever taken a horse over. It is one heck of a trail. Once over the top, though, it was a nice ride. I’ll detail that one later as well. I took a bit of video footage of it.
From Rattlesnake Gap, we followed the two-track ranch road, designated as USFS #215, I believe, which joined USFS #212 about 16 miles later, near Martinez Ranch, on the San Francisco River. We then followed the San Francisco west about two miles to the confluence of it and the Blue River, where we turned north to follow the Blue. The topo map showed that the canyon walls of the Blue, for the first two miles were pretty near sheer and quite narrow and that there would be no leaving the river bottom in that space. Not wanting to get trapped in a river bottom choked with willows, we took an old ranch trail out of the bottom up onto Sunflower Mesa. This turned out to be quite fortuitous, as we ended up finding a cowboy camp with a running spring, corral, and even a tent at Pat Corral on Pat Mesa. As it was Friday evening, the hands apparently had gone into town for the weekend. We spent a very comfortable camp night there. We left them a note, thanking them for the use of their camp. They responded through facebook, inviting us back for a visit. I hope we can make it one day. Thanks, Ruth Brockman and the crew from the Turkey Creek Ranch.
The following day we continued north on Pat Mesa, until we reached Pigeon Creek. There we were trying to make a choice whether to continue on the two-track we were following, which was rough and steep, or to go down Pigeon Creek to the Blue and follow the Blue up to Juan Miller Road. The route through the Blue would save us up to four miles, while the road was more sure. We decided to take the sure route and stick with the road.
As we came up out of Pigeon Creek, we met a hiker. As we talked, suddenly the both of us realized we had been in communication nearly 18 months earlier, through the Internet, about routes through this area. Brett Tucker owns the Grand Enchantment Trail website. He is a long-distance hiker who has documented a number of foot trails in New Mexico and Arizona. What a serendipitous coincidence that we would meet on this trail at this point. After talking a few minutes, Brett convinced us to head back down Pigeon Creek to the Blue and follow the Blue on up to Juan Miller Road. We did that, and soon found ourselves starting the most spectacular part of our ride. Thanks again, Brett.
The ride up the Blue was not an easy trail, because we were essentially making our own trail as we went. We found the occasional cow trail, but for the most part we were making our own way. However, surprisingly, the river bottom was neither choked, nor narrow. We had to do very little “brush-busting” to make our way through and the mile-and-a-bit to Juan Miller Road melted away pretty quickly.
Once we hit Juan Miller Road, the only east-west thoroughfare through this part of Arizona, we headed west to hit a four-wheel-drive-only two-track that follows the hills above the Blue northward for about three miles or so, to the Fritz Ranch, an abandoned historic ranch now owned by the USFS. From there we joined Blue Trail #101, which, if it actually existed, would have been a nice ride. However, the trail has not been maintained in many years and following it was impossible most of the time. It was more like following cow trails, and, in fact, probably was exactly that. Again, the river bottom was wide and we had to do little brush-busting. The trail was a little rough on the horses, due to having to follow the river bed at times, where the river rocks made footing uneven and tricky, but at least it was rather level.
About a half mile up the Blue from Fritz Ranch, we made camp Saturday evening and there we stayed for our Sunday rest. It was a nice camp, plenty of grass for the horses, and good water for us as well. We learned to cherish our Sunday rests. They were very important, not only for ourselves, but especially for our stock.
The following Monday we continued up the Blue, enjoying some spectacular scenery along the way. We made 26 miles that day and reached our rest station at the cabin of Dick and Jean Goodman, near the old Blue Post Office, long after dark. Dick and Jean treated us to some excellent rest and even better food. Dick made arrangements for our horses in the corrals of a neighbor. We rested again on Tuesday, which was sorely needed after the previous day’s ride.
Coming out of the Blue on Red Hills Road
On Wednesday we headed north again, on the Red Hills Road. We contemplated taking the Red Hills Trail, but after the Wallow Fire a few short years ago, the best information we had indicated the trails from the Blue to the top were un pretty poor condition, and we didn’t want to have to spend time hacking our way to the top, about 4,500 feet above the river bottom.
We reached the top in the late afternoon and made camp near a set of corrals just south of Beaverhead on highway 191. A friend had left us a bale of hay at the corrals, which was a welcome supplement to our horse feed, after such a hard climb. Thanks Jimmy Joy.
This was one of the nicest camps we made during the trip and we celebrated with a campfire, one of three we made during the entire trip (all our cooking was done on a single-burner propane stove). Our elevation was about 8,500 feet, as I recall. The following morning I was treated to watch about 8 elk pass calmly through the woods near our camp.
Camp at the corrals on Highway 191
From that camp, we followed USFS #26 Road for about 10 miles, where it dead-ended into #24 Road. We followed #24 north to #25J, where we took that road as a means of getting off #24, which is one of the main roads through the White Mountains of Arizona. We found a nice camp with a spring near by for the horses. The night was cold at over 9,000 feet, and we got rained on during the night. In the morning there was ice on our tarps. Still it was one of the nicest camps of our trip, meriting a campfire for the evening rest.
Out on top, White Mountains
The following day we made the remaining 22.5 miles into Eagar, arriving in the early evening before dark. We had pushed hard during the day, to outrun the weather moving in. We heard thunder and had a bit of snow fall on us. At over 9,000 feet elevation, cold weather is nothing to mess with. Our horses were tired as we made our way down into Eagar. We turned them loose in my 20 acre pasture for a well-deserved rest and headed to my parents’ home.
The first leg of the trip was over. By my GPS we traveled 355.2 miles. It took us 28 days – four weeks to the day.
Now for decision time.
This first leg of our Mexico-to-Canada pack trip was designed to be a “shake-out” for us. Our plan was to take our rest here in Eagar, evaluate ourselves, our horses, and our gear, then make decisions and adjustments for the rest of the trip. We hoped to continue our trip after a few days’ rest.
We learned a lot during this first 355 miles. We learned that we had grossly overestimated our travel miles per day and underestimated the miles of our route. We now know that 15 miles per day is a realistic figure to plan on. As for our route going forward, much of our travel will be on the Arizona Trail, which is fully documented for mileage, somewhat maintained, and planned out, and the roughest part of our trip is now behind us. However, we are currently more than seven days behind our projected schedule, which means our plans for crossing the Grand Canyon are not going to work out. I’m going to have to cancel the reservations at Mather Campground and reschedule.
We learned that my traveling companion, Clancy, my Blue Heeler, simply cannot make the miles. He’s good for a day or two, but he simply cannot make multiple days of 15-20 miles. I ended up having to carry him on my horse several days, which caused sore backs on my Fox Trotters. We ended up sending him home with my mother from Dick’s place on the Blue. Clancy will have to miss out on the rest of the trip.
We learned that at least two of our horses are not the right horses for this kind of pack trip. The Quarter Horse mare I borowed got saddle sores right off and no matter how lightly we loaded her, we could not get her over them. She’s going to have some healing to do. My Fox Trotter mare, Lizzy, has a very fast walk and she loves to really move out, which I love, but her motion as she walks causes our pack saddle rigging to rub sores on her. Once her back got sore while she was under my riding saddle, we couldn’t even pack her lightly, because the pack saddle rigging would rub her raw in places. We sent the two mares to my pasture in Eagar from Dick’s place on the Blue. Thanks Kelly LeSueur, for coming to pick them up.
We learned that with four pack horses, there simply isn’t any way for us to break camp in the morning in less than 4 hours, costing us a lot of miles on the trail each day and a lot of extra work. While it was necessary for us to haul feed with us (we hauled up to 400 pounds of pelletized feed at a time) in the low desert areas of southern Arizona, once we got up into the higher latitudes and elevations, there was plenty of grass for the horses. We hope we can continue the trip with four horses, rather than six.
We had a couple of near disastrous wrecks during our trip, one of which eventually resulted in one of our best horses turning up with a limp the last 1/2 mile going into Eagar. Additionally, my two Fox Trotters have lost weight in their backs, which makes their already prominent spines contact the underside of my riding saddle, where the skirts are laced together under the cantle. They both currently have sore backs. The two animals who have come through entirely unscathed are my mustang, Jimbo, and the mule, Honey. Both have trimmed down and look like true athletes, solid and strong. These two are the only animals ready to start the second leg of our trip at this time.
As for ourselves, Dad and I both feel healthier, if a bit tired, now, than when we started. Both of us lost quite a bit of weight, and our muscles have begun to “leg-up” and become stronger. We have come through this with no injuries, no rubs, no health problems of any kind. Just tired. Nothing a rest won’t cure. You might recall that I am 56 years of age and Dad turns 81 in about 12 days. I am amazed at Dad’s condition and resilience. He says he’ll be ready for the second leg of the trip next year.
Lastly, this trip has cost me nearly $20,000 so far. Help and sponsorships I was hoping for didn’t come through. I am simply out of money.
All of the above factors, and others yet unmentioned, have brought us to the decision to stop here at Eagar, Arizona for this year and continue the trip next year.
This will allow us to make the necessary adjustments we have identified, such as acquiring a couple of horses that will be better suited for the trip, making a few minor changes in our gear, make better plans and reservations for crossing the Grand Canyon, and allow me to go back to work to pay off money I have borrowed for this trip as well as to put together a money reserve for next year’s trip. I have already purchased most of the gear we will need, so the funds required will be quite a bit less than for this leg of the trip, but I may still need to look for another horse or two. This is the wise course for us. This is what we need to do if we want to eventually complete this trek from Mexico to Canada.
Our thanks go out to all who have supported us, particularly those who have actually put out their time, efforts, and money to help us. We are grateful for all the prayers that have gone up in our behalf. We can say unequivocally that we received continual help from above, even miraculous help at times, and we thank the Lord for this.
I maintained a journal during the trip, so stay tuned for future posts with much more detailed information about our trip, out experiences, and reviews of the gear we used. I have a lot of video footage as well as a multitude of photographs, however the Internet connection at my parents’ home is somewhat slow. I may have to wait until I get home to Utah to get them uploaded.
What a trip! What an experience! Can’t wait for next year! The hardest part of the trip is now done.
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