[Ag-eq] my packing trip

[Nella Foster]

I think I mentioned that I was training my mules Jack and Cricket for packing.  They were doing very good, so my boy friend and I decided that they were ready to go since they acted as if they had been packing their whole lives!  

On Friday, April the 23rd we left for our big packing trip.  We went to a national forest area in the Superstition Mountains, which is about 2 hours from here. 
Half of the trip is on a long, narrow, winding and hilly road.  The last 8 to 10 miles is on a dirt road.  It was a terrible road for a horse trailer. 
I thought that Mike, the animals and I would all die before we ever started the packing part! 

I was so relieved when we got to the trail head in one piece.  It takes a while to get the animals packed up.  Everything has to be weighed, so that each
side of the pack is evenly balanced.  The majority of the weight was horse pellets.  We had to take enough food to feed Mike's horse and my 3 mules for
3 days.  It took us an hour or so, but we were finally ready to go! 

It is about a 10 mile ride to the camp site.  We camped at an old ranch, which is now national forest.  The trail was pretty good; the footing was good,
but a little rocky in places.  There was quite a lot of brush, so I was glad I wore my chaps.  There was a lot of gradual climbing with a few short and
steep areas.  There were several ledges, but they were fairly wide.  After the road to the trail head the trail was a piece of cake! 

Mike rode his horse and lead Jack.  I rode Allie and lead Cricket.  It started getting very windy and cold after about an hour into the ride.  I hate riding
when it is windy because I can't Hear.  The wind made it almost impossible to hear Mike, so I just had to trust Allie and hope for the best.  Allie didn't
let me down and we got through a couple of tricky areas with no difficulty.  It took us a little over 4 hours to get to camp.  We were all pretty tired
by the time we got there; I think I had to drag Cricket the last couple of miles or so! 

Jack and Larry, 2 guys from our riding club had ridden in the day before and set up a camp.  They were there to meet us and help unpack.  Our camp site
was beautiful.  We were in a valley with a lot of grass, some trees and a stream.  The animals could graze, so they were happy. We had to hobble them or
highline them; they are fine with both.  We had to walk them to the stream 3 or 4 times a day for water. 

On Saturday Jack and Larry went for a ride, but Mike and I decided to hike instead.  We explored the valley and the old ranch area.  There is nothing left,
but the house foundation, parts of fencing, some abandoned farm equipment and an apple orchard.  The apple trees were blooming and smelled wonderful. 
We saw a grazing mule deer and all kinds of birds.  We waded in the stream, which is very cold.  We had a great day, just relaxing in nature. 

We were able to build a fire for cooking and heat; the nights got below freezing.  Mike is a great camp cook and made wonderful meals the whole time.  The
nights were wonderfully quiet, with only the sounds of nature. 

Sadly we had to leave Sunday, so Mike and I could get back to work on Monday.  On he ride out Allie was acting up and I had a terrible time trying to lead
Cricket.  Finally Mike tied Jack and Cricket together and lead them both out.  Allie finally calmed down, but not before getting us tangled in a tree. 
I thought I could lean back far enough to slide under, but couldn't and had to slide off, backwards and headfirst!  I wasn't hurt, but some how cracked
my helmet.  Allie was fine after that and we made it back to the truck and trailer in 3 an one half hours.

The worse part was we had to take the same rode out as we did in.  The traffic was worse than before and I was a nervous wreck by the time we reached the
good road.  The road was the worst part of the whole trip.  Mike and I plan on doing some more packing trips.  We both had a great time and are looking
for more places to go. 

I was pretty tired and achy after the trip all that time in the saddle and sleeping on the ground wasn't in my best interest.  It took me a few days to recover, but I'll definitely do it again!  Well sorry this turned into a novel.   

Take care. 

Nella