I have engaged Fifth Mission Marketing to revamp the website.
In the near future we will be remaking the Western Trail Rider website. For about the past year I have been having trouble keeping the website functioning. When I set it up, back in 2012, I had plenty of time on my hands, having recently retired, so I was able to spend the time to create the website using all open-source software, including WordPress for the blog, Coppermine for the member photo gallery, and PHPBB3 for the forums. I was able to tie all three programs together using WP United, which allowed a single log-in to enter each of the aforementioned programs on the website. Then, during the fall of last year, while I was moving, the website came under fire from spammers. While I wasn’t paying attention the site received more than 5,000 spam member registrations on the forums, which I had to delete manually, almost one-by-one, because PHPBB3 didn’t have a function for bulk member deletions. There was so much good information on the forums already that I didn’t want to simply trash it all. I cleaned it all up, but still couldn’t seem to keep spam operators from registering on the site. I just didn’t have the time to monitor it every day to keep up with them.
Then came along several major updates to WordPress, which broke the functionality of WP United, so the programs no longer talked to each other. WP United is no longer supported, so it’s broke for good. Then came updates to the other two programs, by which time I was lost and none of the programs were functioning properly. I hired Fifth Mission to get the website functioning just in time for Dad and I to embark on the first leg of our Mexico-to-Canada horse pack trip last spring. It worked for a little while, but another major update from WordPress while I was out broke things again. Well, I was frustrated and sort of gave up on it for a while, besides, I was fully engaged in building up a new business.
Now that I’m back in gear and working on planning and preparations for next year’s second leg of the pack trip, I’m also working on getting the website back in gear.
Here’s the plan: Fifth Mission will be hosting my website. They will redesign it using a new WordPress theme, adding several new and “high-speed-low-drag” functionalities to the site. The new theme incorporates a photo management function, which will replace Coppermine as the member gallery. There will be a map, sort of like what you see on Google Maps, with small icons on it that are clickable by members. When you click on the icon, you will go to a page that holds photos, comments, and writeups on a particular trail located under that icon on the map. This will take the place of the forums. We are still working out details of how to conduct other discussions, such as gear, trail tactics and strategy, etc., in a forum-style format, but there will be something.
The downside is that all the current website members and followers are going to have to register again. Sorry about that, but in order to keep the spammers off, we are going to have to start from scratch and rebuild everything. This time it will be all under one program and with one company hosting it and watching over me and the website. When there is an update, everything will be compatible and will keep on working. I am optimistic that in this way I will be able to keep things up and running.
So, in the not-too-distant future, look for some major changes on the website.
Stay tuned for new updates on my preparations for the second leg of the big ride.
It’s been since June that I last posted on the blog. No real excuse. I’ve been pretty busy, working off the debt I incurred on the first leg of the trip. I’ve been working more than I anticipated, which I guess is good, but it has turned my focus and energies away from horses and pack trips for the past several months. This afternoon I decided it was time to get going again and get things planned and preparations started. So, this afternoon I spent some time going over the proposed route from Eagar, Arizona to Panguitch, Utah.
Last spring, Dad and I departed the US/Mexico Border, about 20 miles east of Douglas, Arizona, and headed north on April 11, 2015. We spent 28 days making our own route, following ranch roads, county roads, highways, and overgrown and unmaintained mountain trails, on our way northward to Eagar, Arizona, where my parents reside. According to my DeLorme Explorer GPS unit, we made 355 miles on that leg.
We had intended to go on with the second leg of the trip, from Eagar, through the Grand Canyon, and on to Panguitch, Utah, after a short rest and resupply there at Eagar, but by the time we got there we knew we were done. We learned a lot about ourselves, our gear, and our horses on that first leg and we knew we had to make some adjustments before we started the second leg. Wisdom dictated that we stop for the year and start again next spring.
This leg of the trip will start at Dad’s place in Eagar. We will make our way to Show Low, Arizona, about 50 miles west, via US Route 60. The highway is a very direct route and it will help us avoid fences. The right-of-way is quite wide and traffic is fairly light most of the time. There is grass along the highway, whereas it’s tough to find otherwise, so it will help us supplement the horses’ feed. Additionally, we’ll need some logistical help along this route, due to the scarcity of pasture and water, so it will be pretty easy to find us and get supplies to us, making it easier on our help.
I expect we’ll make our way right down the main drag in Show Low, from one end of town to the other. On the west side of town, we’ll continue following US 60 south until we hit the Mogollon Rim Road. We’ll follow that westward, following the Mogollon Rim for about another 130 miles, until we reach the Arizona Trail. That marks the last of our own navigation until we reach the Utah border.
From there, the Arizona Trail is very well documented. The AZT website, of which I am a contributing member, offers all the information one could hope for, including GPS verified mileage, waypoints, water sources, elevations, and even trail stewards, whose names and contact information are posted in connection to their respective trail sections. So, all the guess work is done from there to the Utah Border. Another 220.5 miles will bring us to the border of the Grand Canyon National Park.
Crossing through the Grand Canyon is the “crown jewel” of this trip. This is something Dad and I have dreamed about since we first started talking about it, over 40 years ago. Since the mileage works out to 34 miles from border to border of the park, and since there are camping and horse use restrictions in the park to deal with, there are timing and logistical details that still need to be worked out. We will definitely need to stay a night in the canyon, and possibly one other night in the park. Besides, how could we possibly pass up the opportunity of staying at least one night with our horses in the Grand Canyon? I look very much forward to that.
When I planned for this portion of the trip last year, I found the Park Service people to be very helpful and pleasant to deal with. I was actually surprised at how helpful they were. Their suggestions resulted in my reserving a space at the Mather Campground, where there are horse facilities, for a week. Since I was unable to reserve a campsite in the canyon, they suggested I take the Mather Campground space and simply wait. They were fairly confident a cancellation would occur, allowing them to find us a campsite for ourselves and our horses within that week’s time. Well, it all came to naught last spring, so I had to cancel my campsite reservation.
This year, I will have a better idea of when we should arrive at the park, so I will be able to make reservations with a reasonable chance of making it on time. I plan to make the campsite reservation at Mather Campground for about the time we should arrive and a week after, making the campsite reservations in the bottom of the canyon, hopefully at phantom Ranch, for the end of that week. Thus giving us and the horses a few days of rest before we head down the trail into the canyon. I’ll be making those reservations next month, as they don’t accept the applications more than four months in advance.
Once we reach the northern border of the Grand Canyon National park, we will have another 66.4 miles to the Utah border.
From that point, we will be back on our own navigation. We plan to head north into Paria Canyon, following the river northward to Willis Creek, just south of Cannonvile. We will take Willis Creek westward toward Bryce Canyon National Park, until we join with the Grandview Trail. This trail will take us around the southern end of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, where we will join Casto Road near Red Canyon on the west side of the plateau. From there we will follow Casto Road on into Panguitch, where we will end our ride for the year.
According to my calculations, the entire second leg of the trip will comprise approximately 570 miles. Adding a fudge-factor of 25%, I come up with 712 miles, so that will be our high estimate. However, since the Arizona Trail portion makes up about 320 miles of the trip, no fudge factor is needed for those miles. A closer estimate would be about 631 miles, with the fudge-factor being applied only to the non-AZT portions of the trail.
If we travel at the average rate of 15 miles per day, that makes about 42 travel days. If we take two rest days per week, like we originally planned (but didn’t do), that makes about 8-1/2 weeks of total travel time. We are likely to spend a few days at resupply places here and there, and maybe a week at Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon, I think we can conservatively figure on the trip taking us about ten weeks.
For some reason, I couldn’t get any images to upload. Looks like I’m going to need some more work done on the website. I’ll get some pictures up soon.
Next post, I’ll discuss some of the adjustments we will need to make for this leg of our Mexico-to-Canada horse pack trip.
Way back when, quite a while ago, I bought a couple nose bags to test them out before my dad and I set off to begin our big Mexico-to-Canada pack trip. I wrote a blog post on them. I ended up buying another feed bag, this one from Outfitter’s Supply, just before the trip. Here’s my evaluation of all three feed bags.
Before I start, I should let folks know that Kevin, at Outfitter’s Supply gave me a nice discount on a fairly large order I placed with him, including this nose bag. However, the facts of the matter will speak for themselves. My evaluation was not influenced by the discount.
I guess the first question to answer is this: Why use nose bags? I have used a number of ways to feed horses while on pack trips or overnighters. Dad and I, over the years have settled on feeding some form of pelletized alfalfa feed to our stock while on outings. We particularly like Equidine. Pelletized feed is easy to load and haul in a truck or trailer and far less messy than hay. It is easy to pack on a pack animal, whether packed as bags in manties or simply poured into the bottom of paniers. It can even be used as protection for other items that can be placed down into the pellets inside the paniers. We have fed alfalfa pellets by pouring a pile on top of a saddle pad or simply right on the ground. However, our experience tells us that the best way to feed pelletized feed on a pack trip or campout is to use nose bags.
When we head out for a pack trip or overnighter, we seldom know what sort of accommodations we will have for our horses at night. On our pack trip we normally tied one horse to a nearby tree or shrub and let the rest roam. We had no problem with horses trying to leave the group. On other trips we have had horses tied separately to trees, on a highline, staked, or even tied to a trailer. We have found that no matter how the horses are secured, when fed on the ground or on a saddle pad, there is waste. They seem to be able to scatter the feed until they cannot reach it all, then they trample it into the ground. When they are allowed to roam, the alpha horse will move from place to place, sampling each of the feed piles and causing the rest of the horses to move from place to place as well, resulting in the horses fighting and the one on the bottom of the totem pole getting less feed. With nose bags, waste is almost totally eliminated. Horses tend to feed more calmly and take their time feeding. They cease to move around as much and they do not fight over feed. So, for our pack trips and other outings with horses, unless we are feeding hay, we always use nose bags.
Nose bags from Trailhead Supply
The first nose bag is a nylon mesh bag with nylon straps and plastic buckles, which I knew as soon as I received it that it would not be sufficiently durable for our pack trip. It is, however, perfectly fine for a weekend outing or for short pack trips where a failed nose bag would pose no problem. The price I paid for it, $14.95, from Trailhead Supply reflects that as well, so I was not disappointed in it, just realistic in understanding that it was not made for what I was intending to use it for. You can read my writeup on it in the blog post I linked above. For my purposes here, just know that particular nose bag did not go on the pack trip with us.
Breathing panel a little low on the bagSteel adjustment buckle
The other nose bag I bought from Trailhead Supply, however, was much more substantial. You can read my initial impressions in the same blog post linked above. This nose bag was priced at $21.95 when I bought it in February 2013, however it no longer seems to appear on their website. This feedbag has a leather bottom and a leather vent for breathing. It has a heavy leather hanger that is adjustable via a nickel plated steel buckle. At the time I bought it I questioned the wisdom of having the breathing vent so low on the bag, as I figured it would get covered by feed. I was told by an experienced packer that the vent was located low on the bag to prevent the horse from drowning, should it try to drink with the feed bag on its head. While that explanation made sense to me, I still wished the vent were a little higher. I have seen horses stop eating because they had a hard time breathing with feed in the bag.
This nose bag just barely fit the horse with the smallest head
This bag did, in fact, go with us on the trip. However, shortly before I left on the trip, I found it was way too small for the head of my 16-hand Missouri Fox Trotter gelding. In fact, it barely fit on the head of my smaller Fox Trotter mare. This nose bag fit my mare on the last hole on the hanger strap. Even on her, the bag fit so tightly around her nose that I was concerned that she would not feed with it on. Those fears were unfounded, however, as she did fine with this bag and it made the entire trip without problem. This nose bag simply would not fit a mule. It would be adequate for a small horse.
Outfitter’s Supply’s canvas/leather feedbag
The fact that this nose bag would not fit my gelding, necessitated that I look for another brand of nose bag for my gelding. Eventually, I settled on the top-of-the-line nose bag from Outfitter’s Supply. This nose bag carries a premium price, at $64.95, but Kevin was gracious enough to give me a substantial discount to help us get outfitted for the trip.
This nose bag is everything I think a nose bag should be. It is made of heavy canvas, large enough for even a mule, with plenty of adjustment in the heavy leather hanger. The hanger straps are stitched the full length of the bag, tying into the heavy leather bottom. Large copper rivets reinforce all critical points. The breathing vent is situated well above the bottom, providing plenty of room for a good scoop of alfalfa pellets and room for the horse to breathe.
This one fit the largest horse we had
I can also attest that the vent is low enough on the bag to allow for drainage of water. Our horses all drank from the troughs, streams, ponds, etc, almost every time they were fed, with the bags in place. My big Fox Trotter was no exception. The water drained off with no problems and no anxious moments for the horse.
The one complaint, if you can call it that, was that the hanger on this nose bag would occasionally unbuckle itself while I was putting it on the horse. I think that is due to the roller buckle. While roller buckles are normally seen as an upgrade from regular buckles, in this case I think a regular buckle might work better, because they aren’t so easy to unbuckle. The fact is, you don’t often need to re-size a nose bag. Still, that is a very minor criticism, and I bow to the fact that Outfitter’s Supply makes these bags to suit the U.S. Forest Service specifications, after having handled repairs on their nose bags for a number of years. I expect this nose bag to be part of my horse packing inventory for many years to come.
Dad’s homemade nose bags aren’t pretty, but they work like a charm
Incidentally, my dad happens to have a heavy-duty industrial sewing machine and a large supply of heavy canvas. Dad sewed up his own nose bags for the rest of our remuda.
They weren’t very pretty, but they did the job and lasted the entire trip….and they were priceless…er…I mean “free”.
Dad’s homemade nose bags aren’t pretty, but they work like a charm
This one fit the largest horse we had
This nose bag just barely fit the horse with the smallest head
This is essentially the second part of my gear review of the pack saddles Dad and I used on the first leg of our Mexico-to-Canada pack trip we started in April. This post, however, is specifically about paniers vs manties.
Decker-style pack saddle with mantied cargo
For the neophyte, a manty is a heavy canvas tarp, normally about 15 oz. canvas, about seven feet wide by eight feet long into which a cargo load is wrapped up like a package and tied with a manty rope, which is a half-inch diameter rope about 25 feet long. One mantied load is tied to each side of a Decker-style pack saddle. A panier is a large canvas or nylon bag or hard-sided box into which items are packed. One panier is then hung on each side of either a Decker or crossbuck pack saddle by straps or Decker hooks. Crossbuck pack saddles are specifically made to handle paniers, while a Decker-style pack saddle can handle either.
Utah-style paniers on a Decker-style pack saddle
To summarize what I said in my last post about this topic, Dad and I made 355 miles in 28 days with five horses and a mule. We rode one horse each day and packed the other four animals, two under crossbuck pack saddles with paniers and two under Decker-style pack saddles with mantied loads. By the end of this first leg of our trip, we both came to the conclusion that for our purposes, mantying our loads was simply an extra chore every morning and was far more difficult and time consuming than packing paniers. By the end of the trip we had sent two pack horses home, along with our manties, and continued with two pack horses, each carrying Utah-style paniers.
Crossbuck pack saddle on our mule, Honey
Decker-style packing and tying up cargo in canvas manties came into vogue in the northwestern U.S. during the first twenty or so years of the 20th century and has continued to reign supreme for all kinds of packing and outfitting there. However, in the southwestern U.S., crossbuck pack saddles with paniers has remained the standard, carrying on the traditional style of packing that far predates Decker-style pack saddles. When I made the decision to use Decker-style pack saddles and manties on our pack trip, it was partially from a desire to broaden my packing experience, but also with a question in mind as to why Decker-style packing has never taken hold in the southwestern United States. By the end of our trip, I had gained the experience I wanted, and I think I answered the question – at least to my satisfaction. Keep reading.
After packing about 200 miles through the low deserts of southeastern Arizona, through the Chiricahua Mountains, and on up through the volcanic mountains between Safford and Clifton, I came to the realization that each time I laid out a manty on the ground to start packing, I ended having to brush all manner of “ouchies” from the manties as I wrapped them around my load. Now, for those unfamiliar with the desert southwest, in the immortal words of Rooster J. Cogburn, “Everything out here will either bite you, stick you, or stab you!” Unless you have actually experienced horse or other kinds of packing and camping in the desert southwest, you really cannot comprehend the full truth of that statement.
There is no square foot of ground, at least not that I have seen, in the desert southwest that is not covered with all manner of seeds, thorns, insects, cactus, and other pricklies, each with its own means of causing pain and discomfort to the human hand. Unless, that is, you are in pure sand…which then presents its own set of problems. In other words, every morning I found myself picking stickers and cactus spines out of the manties, out of our gear, out of the ropes, and out of my hands, as I tied up the manty packs. I have never encountered that kind of nuisance in the mountains of the northwest, or even in the higher mountains of Arizona. I am convinced that this is the primary reason that Decker packing and manties never took hold in the southwestern United States. A secondary reason might possibly be, though I have not researched it, that in the northwestern areas there are more national forests, national and state parks, and other forested areas managed by the US government, wherein materials such as building materials, gravel, lumber, etc, have had to be hauled into remote areas by mule trains for the construction of ranger stations, bridges, trails, etc. Decker-style packing lends itself much better to cargoing odd-shaped loads than paniers.
Take a look at this short youtube video I made, in the mountains near the Double C Ranch, just south of the Gila Box State Park, southwest of Clifton, Arizona, about 200 miles into our trip. You’ll have to turn the volume up, as I didn’t have an extension microphone for the GoPro camera. In this video I demonstrate how I tie up a manty to prepare a sack of feed to be loaded onto a Decker-style pack saddle.
In preparation for our trip, I purchased two manties from Outfitter’s Pack Station, at $54 apiece. They are the 7’X8′ size, with hemmed borders. I also purchased from them a pair of Utah Paniers, which they call Utah Meat Bags, priced at $250. Wade and Simone gave me a substantial discount on these items, for which I am grateful. I already had a pair of 18 oz canvas tarps measuring 6’X8′, which I used for the second set of manties. Dad had an old pair of canvas panier bags for our second set of paniers.
Every morning, for the first 25 days of the pack trip, I tied up four manties and Dad and I loaded them onto two pack horses with Decker pack saddles. We then loaded four paniers, including my Utah bags, and lifted them into place on the crossbuck pack saddles. We agree that loading and unloading the paniers is much easier than manty packs. I found that tying up manties was terribly hard on my bare hands. The rubbing and chafing of the ropes and canvas while tying up the manties left my hands swollen and painful until they finally toughened up about two weeks into the trip. That was not because my hands are soft. I am a wood worker, a leather worker, a horseman, I do general construction, electrical, plumbing, and about anything else a “Jack-of-all-Trades” does, and I purposely do these things bare-handed, specifically to keep my hands tough. I am here to tell you that tying up manties every morning is TOUGH on the hands!
There is one thing in which manties have an important safety factor over paniers. That is in crossing water. There is a danger with paniers, particularly when they are not covered with a tarp and diamond hitch, in crossing water. If the horse loses its feet, or if the water is sufficiently deep to rise above the top of the paniers, the paniers will fill with water, effectively becoming a “sea anchor”. Pack animals have been swept downstream and drowned due to this. A manty, on the other hand, is quite water resistant when tied properly, and will resist filling with water while a pack animal regains its feet or crosses a deep spot. Not that items within will not get wet, but the pack will not fill with water. We had one instance in which a pack horse laid down in the Gila River, in water about 18″ deep, and tried to roll his pack off. One manty pack was completely submerged for a second or two. The pack remained in place as we got the horse up and the contents were dry when we unpacked them that evening.
The Utah Meat Bags are huge bags, measuring about 32″ tall, 23″ wide, and about 10″ deep at the bottom (deeper at the top). These bags are made of a very heavy woven nylon fabric, commonly known as “iron cloth.” They have very heavy leather adjustable straps, with steel roller buckles, as well as heavy leather corner reinforcements. These are perfect for hauling game meat, ergo the name, as they are easily washed with soap and water. Blood and other contaminants wash right out without leaving a stain. For our purposes I was impressed with the size of the bags, which easily contained the gear we had to fill them. Once the top strap was tightened, the bags closed over our gear, thus eliminating the need for a cover tarp and diamond hitch…at least when the weather was clear. The adjustable hanger straps allowed us to adjust the height at which the bags hung from the pack saddle, which was important when we switched the bags from our crossbuck saddles to the Decker saddles. This made it possible to hang the bags at the most comfortable height for the pack animal.
I was very pleased with the quality of construction of the Utah bags. We really put them through their paces. They were rubbed on rocks, poked by tree branches of burned trees, rubbed on blackened, rough tree bark, brushed against cholla cactus, run into gate posts, and rolled on. The handled all this with no problem, no tears, no fraying. The only hole in them came from a metal grill that poked a small hole in one bag. There was no fraying or propensity to unravel. The hole remained a simple small hole throughout the trip. Eventually…if I ever remember to do it…I will take a heated nail and melt the edges of the hole to ensure it will never get worse. Dad’s canvas paniers have lasted almost 40 years, but they are nearing the end of their useful life. He has patched and stitched them so many times that they resemble a patchwork quilt in some places. They are a true testament to the durability of canvas paniers, however, I believe my iron cloth paniers will outlast them.
My manties, on the other hand, sustained several small rips and tears from rocks and branches. They also became quite soiled from dirt and rubbing against burned trees in the Chiricahuas. These rips and tears will continue to fray throughout the life of the manty, as they cannot be sealed with heat. I have a rip-stop fabric glue for them, but in my experience, that will only work for a limited time and will need reapplication occasionally.
My Utah Meat Bag paniers hung from a Phillips Formfitter pack saddle
As I mentioned before, by the end of the trip, we let the manties go home early with a couple horses, and we put a Decker-style Phillips Formfitter pack saddle on my mustang, Jimbo, and hung the Utah Meat Bags on it. For our style of packing, we found this much easier than tying up manties every morning.
For my kind of horse packing, I expect I will be putting a lot of miles on my Utah bags over the coming years.
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.
After more than two years of dreaming, scheming, planning, and preparation, the day has finally arrived.
Tomorrow morning, Dad and I will be loading up our five horses and one mule and heading for the US/Mexico border near Douglas, Arizona.
Before I say more, I want to thank those who have helped us make it this far, as well as those who are planning to help us as the trip progresses.
In particular, I want to thank my very special wife, who not only agreed to let me do this, but has been supportive and tolerant as I have prepared for the trip. I know she thinks I’m crazy, but she has supported me nonetheless. I also want to thank my mother, who has been supportive of my dad in letting him go with me, so that we could fulfill this father and son dream that we have held in our hearts for more than 40 years.
Thanks to Nathan, my oldest son, for his financial contribution, as well as Tena Snider for hers. Thanks also to Aaron LeSueur, my nephew, and Kelly and Tina LeSueur, my brother-in-law and sister, as well as Dick Goodman, who will be driving more than 12 hours to drop us off at the border and return our trailers to Eagar, Az. Kelly and Tina will also drive to the Grand Canyon when we reach it, to assist us there. Their enthusiastic support and encouragement has been invaluable.
Thanks to Gwen Kahler, who has offered her home as a stopover/re-supply point when we reach Flagstaff. She will ride with us for a few days as well.
Thanks to one particular US Border Patrol Agent, who will be our guide through the Chiricahua Mountains. He will ride with us several days and will also lend logistical support in re-supplying us with horse feed as we pass through the lower deserts of southeastern Arizona.
Thanks to Tyler Theobald for lending me a good horse for the trip.
Thanks to all the other unnamed folks who have encouraged and helped us along.
OK, now that all that’s said……
Tomorrow morning we will load up and haul out. We should arrive at the border in the late afternoon, after which we will set up an overnight camp. We plan to have the horses packed and be heading northward by about 10:00 am on Saturday. We have contacted the USBP office at Douglas, AZ and let them know who we are and what we are doing. They secured permission for us to cross a large private ranch as we head northward.
We expect to reach the destination of the first leg of our trip, Eagar, AZ, about the end of April. We will have at least four re-supply points along the way and two stopover points, where we may be able to get a nice, hot shower.
At Eagar we’ll evaluate our horses, gear, and ourselves, to see whether we are in shape to make the second leg of the trip, from Eagar to Panguitch, UT, which includes the crown jewel of our trip, the crossing of the Grand Canyon.
I have reserved a camp at Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon National Park, from June 5-12, in hopes that a Backcountry Permit, allowing us to camp within the park boundaries, will come available. The park officials have been very helpful to us, but their horse campgrounds in the canyon have been booked for some time. They are hopeful that once we arrive a cancellation may come up, allowing us one night’s camp in the canyon. We booked the Mather campsite as a place where we can wait to see if a permit comes available. If a permit does not come available for us, the plan is to have Kelly and Tina LeSueur haul two of our horses from the South Rim around to the North Rim. Dad and I will each ride one horse and tow another. We will ride to the bottom, switch horses and ride up the other side in one day. At the North Rim we will be met by Kelly and Tina, then haul out of the park to camp. Our fingers are crossed that a permit will come up. We could use all the positive thoughts you can muster.
We hope to reach the destination of our second leg, Panguitch, UT toward the end of June. As we have never attempted a pack trip of this magnitude, we have limited experience to go on as we try to estimate how much ground we will be able to cover each day. Additionally, there is no way for us to accurately determine the actual mileage of the trip. I look forward to watching the GPS as the miles unfold. I estimate the entirety of this year’s trip (the first two legs of our planned Mexico-to-Canada trip) to be approximately 1,000 miles, or a bit more.
l have gotten so tired of all the preparation as this day has approached, that both Dad and I are very excited to finally be done with the preparation and getting ready to actually start carrying out the plan.
We’ll be driving tomorrow and making tracks on Saturday!
Dad and I left this morning about 6:00 am and headed south on US 191, which used to be named US 666 – and for good reason! There are turns on that road where you can read your own rear license plate! We passed one road sign that read “10 MPH NEXT 11 MILES”. Trailers over 40 feet are prohibited. However, the scenery is spectacular as you drop off the Mogollon Rim from over 9,000 feet elevation to under 3,500 feet. It was quite a ride.
A rare white mule deer doe
On the drive we saw dozens of deer and elk, one Mexican Gray Wolf, and one very rare white mule deer doe. How great is that?! That was the first wolf I have ever seen in the wild and the only white mule deer I have ever even heard of! Click on the photo for a larger view, then zoom in on the deer. She is beautiful!
We stopped at several points on the road to look out over part of the area we will be riding through and took several pictures, which I’ll post as a gallery at the end of this post, if I can get them to upload – the Internet connection at my parents’ house is painfully slow.
We visited the USFS Ranger Station at Clifton, AZ for advice and intelligence regarding the route we were considering for that area, which was to follow the Gila river eastward to Eagle Creek and turn north, following Eagle Creek to the North Eagle Creek area. There was an area of about ten miles along that route that shows very steep terrain on the maps and we were concerned about being able to find a way through it. One of the USFS officers introduced us to Steven Najar, Arizona Game and Fish Officer, who has ridden much of that region and is very familiar with it, except that little portion we were concerned about. He informed us that he has not ridden that area simply because it may be impassable. He is familiar with all that area, except a stretch of our proposed route of about three or four miles. He indicated that the areas he was familiar with led him to believe we would be making a serious mistake taking that route. He said that in areas we would be restricted to the creek bed by the high canyon walls and that there were places where we would have to swim the river – not just cross, but swim. With pack horses, that’s a dangerous proposition at any rate.
Instead, Steve proposed that we follow the Gila River farther eastward to the confluence of it and the San Francisco River. We could follow the “Frisco” northward and have the option of turning back northwest to join the Upper Eagle Creek area or continue northward up the Blue River into the Blue Wilderness Area. He has ridden both routes and said both are easily passable with ample water sources and grass for our needs.
Since the latter route was my original plan from more than a year ago, and since the Blue Wilderness Area is one of my favorite parts of the whole world, we were easily swayed. So we are back to our original route. We are sure that was a good decision.
One warning, though, from Steve about that route: There is a stretch of the Gila River between Bonita Creek and the San Francisco river known as “The Box.” It is an area that is enclosed by canyon walls and is known for quicksand. Steve said horses have been lost in the quicksand there and urged caution. That was a good warning and we will certainly heed it. Quicksand on the Gila River is nothing to play with.
From Clifton, we drove to Safford, AZ, where we met with a US Border Patrol Agent, and his friend, whose names I do not have permission to disclose. After being served excellent BLT sandwiches (Thank you JJ) we discussed our route from the US/Mexico border to the Safford area.
The plan we settled on was that Dad and I would depart the US/Mexico border just east of Douglas, AZ, on Saturday morning and travel northward via Silver Creek and Indian Creek, cross US Highway 80 at “Dangerous Road” (that’s really its name!) and continue northward to join Texas Canyon Road into the USFS lands of the Coronado National Forests’s Chiricahua Mountains. We will continue on Texas Canyon Road to Rucker Canyon, where we will turn northeast until we come to Old Fort Rucker. We should arrive there on our third day on the trail. Our two freinds will meet us somewhere in that area. I will text them our location via Satellite text. Dad and I will rest the horses until they arrive.
We will then take Raspberry Ridge Trail northward to the Crest Trail (270B). We will follow that up to the Bootlegger area, then northwest again, eventually leaving the Chiricahuas via Emigrant Canyon. Our friends will leave us and Dad and I will continue northward, crossing Interstate 10 at Bowie, then continuing northward along a railroad track to Safford.
After our meeting, Dad and I drove into Wilcox, AZ and purchased eleven 50 lb sacks of Equidine alfalfa pellets, which we dropped off at the USBP Agent’s place on our return trip. Dad and I will have to haul our feed for the horses, as grass will be scarce along most of our route. Our friends will bring 200 lbs of feed when they join us and will leave another 350 lbs in their pickup. When we reach their truck at Emigrant pass, we will take as much feed as we need to reach Safford, then on we will go. Our freinds will take the remaining feed to the agent’s house, where we will make a stopover before reaching Safford. There we will re-supply before heading on north to the Gila River.
Our next major stop from there will be the home of a friend who lives on a private parcel inside the Blue Wilderness Area. As indicated above, our route will take us from Safford, AZ, eastward following the Gila River to the San Francisco River, then northward up to the Blue River. We will follow the Blue northward into the Blue Wilderness Area and on up the river to our friend’s place.
At our friend’s place we will again re-supply and probably be joined by a couple of other riders from among our family and friends in Eagar, AZ. We will rest up a couple of days before heading up the Mogollon Rim via either KP Mesa Trail or Grant Creek Trail (whichever appears to be more passable after the recent forest fires), reaching the end of the first leg of our trip at Eagar, AZ about three days later.
We expect this first leg of the trip to take us about three weeks and will cover approximately 300 miles of some pretty rough country. If we and our horses survive this leg of the trip, we should be in good shape to continue the second leg of the trip, from Eagar, AZ to Panguitch, UT, about 700 miles, as close as I can figure, making the total mileage of our pack trip at least 1,000 miles.
I am anxious to see just how close to reality my distance estimations are. The GPS will tell us the true mileage.
To catch up on the developments of the past several days, this will be sort of a catch-all post. Few pictures on this post, but I’ll get more up soon.
This past week has been a very full one. I finished all the projects I have been working on, made the last of my gear purchases for the trip and got to working on a pair of chaps for myself (I sold both sets I made earlier, as well as third set I made for the same customer) and got everything all packed up and loaded into the trailer.
I had planned on heading for Arizona on April 1st (appropriate, considering the undertaking at hand), but with all I had to get done in the last several days, I decided that I could really use one more day. I decided to leave on Thursday, April 2nd.
I got up bight-eyed and bushy-tailed (more or less) at 5:00 am on Thursday. My good wife made breakfast for me while I got the last of my gear in the trailer and went over my lists one more time. A friend came over to assist me in getting the horses loaded, so I could waste as little time as possible in that endeavor. We arrived at the place where my horses are boarded about 6:00 am.
Amazingly, the horses met us at the gate and offered not even the slightest difficulty in catching them up and loading into the trailer in the dark. I was on the road at 6:15 am.
The truck and trailer both functioned as expected and the trip went well. The horses traveled very calmly and made no trouble for me or each other. However, as I entered Arizona, the winds picked up and the farther south I traveled, the stronger they got. By the time I got to Chinle, Arizona, I was bucking about a 30 mile per hour side-wind. At least it wasn’t a headwind. I was pleased that my truck and trailer handled the winds very well, although my fuel mileage suffered. Since I was passing through the town, I stopped in Chinle to see an old friend I hadn’t seen in 38 years. It was a nice visit. I decided not to let the horses out of the trailer, because I was afraid that after several hours in the trailer, I wouldn’t be able to get them back in without assistance. I’m sure my short stop in Chinle gave them a bit of a rest.
A couple hours further along, just south of Sanders, Arizona, I heard what sounded like a shotgun blast and knew immediately it was a tire blowout. One glance in the side mirror told me the left-rear tire on my trailer had exploded. This was the second blowout on the trailer in less than 500 miles, which, incidentally, was a blessing in disguise, I suppose. Due to the previous blowout I was imminently prepared and had the tire changed in less than 10 minutes. However, it was a clear sign that even though my tires appeared to be almost new – almost no tread wear – they were past their safe useful age. As I got back on the road I called my nephew, who has an auto shop in Eagar, and ordered four new 10-ply trailer tires. They’ll be installed on Monday. Another unexpected, but necessary, expense.
I arrived in Eagar about 5:45 pm. Even though the horses had been in the trailer for almost 12 hours, they were still riding quietly. I pulled into my 20 acre parcel in Eagar and let them out of the trailer. I tied them up to the trailer to let them settle down a bit, brushed them, and fed them a little, then released them. They really enjoyed the freedom offered by 20 acres in which to run. They all took off at at gallop to explore the place. I enjoyed watching them go.
My four horses getting acquainted in Eagar after a 12 hour trailer ride
Dad had our new mustang corralled there, so I took a good look at him. He’s about 15 hands and stoutly built. Not the prettiest animal, but just what we need on this trip. He’s a mite skittish, so I’ve been working a bit on getting him used to being handled. The story behind him is that he is a 7 year old mustang gelding that was “cowboy broke” and acquired by a fellow here in Eagar. The horse was hard to catch and the fellow got tired of having to rope him in a corral every time he wanted to ride him. So, when he heard about our endeavor, he gladly donated him to the cause. Dad got a Bill of Sale for him in my name, got his Coggins test and vaccinations, had him shod, and so he’s added to the remuda. He’s called “Jimbo.” I’ve been working with him the last day or so, getting him settled down. We’re up to him letting me catch and halter him….as long as I have a bucket of grain in my hand. That’s progress enough for two days.
Yesterday I finished my new batwing chaps. I don’t plan to sell this pair. You might recall that I made a pair of chinks, a pair of batwings, and a pair of Arizona Shotguns, to see which I wanted to take on this trip. I had selected the Arizona Shotguns and so I gave the chinks to my dad as a birthday present last year. I decided to sell the batwings, so I advertised them for sale. A fellow responded and liked them, so he bought them and asked if I had any more for sale. I mentioned the shotguns and he wanted to see them. Long and short is that he bought them as well, then ordered another pair of batwings. It was nice to have the unexpected extra money for the trip kitty. I used some of it to buy leather for another pair of batwings – for me this time.
Riding in the Telephone Road area southwest of Eagar, AZ
We also took a short ride yesterday. My brother-in-law took us up to a place known as Telephone Road, where we rode for just short of five miles. It was a pleasant ride. It gave me a chance to try Ranger on a snaffle bit, since I don’t want to ride him in a bosal for the pack trip. He did well.
I also used the ride for a test of the new function on westerntrailrider.com that allows my followers to view a real-time map that will show our location and progress on the trip. It worked like a charm. I was exceptionally pleased when I got back to my folks’ place to find a map of our recent trip on the website. Just click on the “Trail Map” button on the menu.
Today, Dad and I finished the fence on the property in Eagar. We stretched the last of the four barbed-wire strands, did all the wire ties, then installed the wire stays. It is a good-looking fence. I missed a real opportunity to get a good picture of my Dad building fence at 81 years old. I’m grateful to him and my mom (who held posts for him) for building the fence. The parcel makes the perfect place for all our horses to become acquainted and work out their pecking order before we actually start the trip.
Our farrier also showed up today and shoed all five of the horses, but we decided to leave the mule barefoot.
This evening I made arrangements to meet with a US Border Patrol Agent (I need to get permission to disclose his name), who will be riding with us for several days as we pass through the Chiricahua Mountains. He’s part of their mounted patrol and is very familiar with the trails in that area. I have no doubt he’ll prove to be a valuable friend and guide for us while he’s with us.
On Monday Dad and I will take a drive down to southeastern Arizona to take a closer look at some of the areas through which we’ll be riding next week. While we’re in the area, we plan to visit the USFS offices in Clifton and Douglas to see what intelligence on the trails we can gather. We will also visit the Douglas USBP office to let them know our plans and get advice on routes and water sources in that area. Should be a very full day.
We’re having a tough time picking out a route between Safford, Arizona and the upper Eagle Creek area. The maps don’t show any designated trails that connect those areas. We’re pretty sure there are trails, but if they’re not on maps, we can’t find them or know where they lead if we trip onto them. If we don’t get further information from a reliable source, we may have to change our route slightly and follow the Gila River to the San Francisco River, then follow it to the Blue River and trail north up the Blue until we get to familiar areas, where we’ve packed before. If any reader is familiar with the area between Safford/Morenci and the upper Eagle Creek area, we’d love to hear from you – tony.henrie@westerntrailrider.com.
Several unexpected expenses have blown up my trip budget, so my funding has become very tight. We are concerned about being able to handle further unexpected expenses on the trail, such as extra feed (should there be less grass than expected), fuel for our drivers, vet care for emergencies, etc. I have started a GoFundMe account to try to raise a little buffer money. If you would like to contribute, here’ s the link: www.gofundme.com/westerntrailrider .
Tomorrow is a “Day of Rest”.
Happy Easter, and may we all remember that it’s not about the Easter Bunny.
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