September 2009    

• Labor Day Weekend - Camping at Silver Lake
  • Uno Has an Adventure
• 11-12-13 September - National Championships
  • Trail JOY
• Uno update
• 20 September - Mouse and Zini
• Living at Andy Wolf
  • Harvest Bonanza
  • Hunting
  • Bees
• 27 September - Bassi Creek

Back to July/August • Forward to Oct

Here we are, middle of October, and I haven't even put "September" up yet. <sigh>

August was a struggle for me mentally and emotionally. I went nearly a month in a slump that I had a hard time crawling out of. By contrast, September jump-started me again. Our weekend at Silver Lake was so much fun, followed by some philosophical adjustment at the National Championships and I'm off flying again.

The prozac did nothing to keep me out of the bleahs in August and I'd been wondering for a while if it was the right drug for me, so this month I stopped taking it completely - reasoning that if I wasn't getting any benefit from it I might as well enjoy a high while I could. So far, so good. Maybe my chemicals have self-adjusted enough that I can do without - so far I haven't been suffering from paralyzing angst. 

In the meantime September was a month of mild-mania, getting lots of stuff done and really enjoying life in the process.

Camping at Silver Lake
Labor Day Weekend

The plan was to go to Schneiders Cow Camp off hw-88/Carson Pass, but then Ann and Jess were coming and, not knowing the state of the the dirt road, we weren't sure if their RV would be able to negotiate it. So at the last minute Ann got us a reservation at Plasse's on Silver Lake about 15 minutes from Schneiders.

The trails around Silver Lake are a lot of fun - it's up in the 7500'-8000' (2300-2400m) range and large granite rock is everywhere, sometimes in the shape of huge boulders left there by long-ago glaciers and sometimes in the form of slab rock (what I term "frolic rock" because it makes me want to run about on it). The area is also peppered by little lakes, so you don't have to worry about the horses getting thirsty (not that they did, because at those elevations we left the 94°F (34°C) temperatures behind and it was nice and cool by comparison). And every so often you'd come across an alpine meadow with cropped short grass.

The campground was a little crowded and busy and we didn't get a lot of privacy, but for a last minute Labor Day arrangement it was pretty good. We managed to smoosh two trailers with horses hung off them, our truck, Ann and Jess' RV and still have a seating area complete with camp fire*. 

* There would have been no camp fire at Schneiders because of the high fire danger. I suspect it would be a good place to go in late spring when the creeks are running, so you have easy access to horse water (you need more than you thought when they poop in their bushel buckets (Fergus) - and at that time of year camp fires would be allowed, which would be good...).

Patrick was trying out his new Sensation saddle so each day we adjusted it a little bit - adding sheeplets to the legs and seat - and he loves his new saddle. Turns out it makes him ride well, too :)

Sunday, pft and I opted to ride to Beebe Lake. This involved going up on the ridge (see banner photo), visiting the site of Plasse's Trading Post (1852), riding along Carson Historic Trail, crossing into Mokelumne Wilderness, down to a meadow, up over another ridge then down past a bunch of cows with bells to another meadow. 

Uno Has an Adventure—We managed the cow meadow OK (Lucy dismounted, just in case - Uno wasn't too sure about them), and then followed what we thought was the trail down a dry waterfall. Hmmm. Turns out we were following a cow trail and had missed the trail off to the side - no matter, it was good technical practice for Uno... practice he apparently needs as he did the old "try to go up the side of a sloping rock" trick, only to slip and find himself on the ground. He looked a little miffed and had scraped his leg a little, but was sound. 

Onwards we went into yet another meadow where we found Beebe Lake. Or at least what we thought was Beebe Lake. We later found out we had stopped half a mile too short and this was some minor, unnamed pond. I was still on foot, so asked pft to pony Uno over to get a drink - it was a little peaty-muddy. 

As the three of them approached the pond, I followed and watched with fascination as the whole ground jiggled like jello under the two sets of hooves - and a split second later, Uno sank one back leg in the mud up to his belly. ACK!!!!  He floundered forward and sank a front leg, so now was lying nearly in the pond looking a little confused. A million "how the heck are we going to get him out of this?!?" thoughts went through my head and pft gently tugged on the lead and two seconds later Uno floundered sideways back onto solid ground. 

Scared the CRAP out of me, but Uno kept it together beautifully and acted as though nothing had happened (I guess in his mind, nothing had - not being blessed with hearing tales of horses stuck in bogs).

Our trip back again was uneventful, except for letting the boys get into a minor trotting race on the old Carson Road. Uno got in front and was insistent that he would stay there, swerving back and forth. I think they both had a lot of fun.

Fergus was completely barefoot all weekend, while Uno wore Fergus' back 1.5 Gloves on his front feet - he felt pretty good in back too.

National Championships
Friday-Sunday 11-12-13 September

I spent the weekend up in Greenville at the AERC National Championships, spectating and helping crew for Karen Bottiani in the 100 miler. Karen and I were supposed to ride together but I just couldn't get it together at all to get Roo in shape for it. 

Still it was a lot of fun, especially the 100 - you get plenty of time to contemplate the strategy, enjoy the vet checks, and watch  the ride unfold. I always learn tons talking to people at 100s because there's so much going on and lots of time to hang.

Karen's horse, Blues, was outstanding in every way. He is now 17 and Karen was a little concerned that he "wouldn't be able to do this any more". Pah. So much for that - his CRIs were low and he was full of energy at every stop that I dealt with him. I had the privilege of trotting him out a couple of times towards the end of the ride and he was just amazing. 

Iditarod racers Doug Swingley and Melanie Shrilla were also doing the 100, so it was interesting to see them in this different situation.

I slept in the car (although I did get the luxury of Dorothy and Dennis' Toter the first night) but seeing as not much sleep was going on (to bed late each night and up at ridiculous hours [4:15 am for the 100] to watch the rides), it wasn't really a hardship - add some pillows and sleeping bag and it converts into a cosy nest.

Getting home late on Sunday was a bit touch and go. It rained (wha...?) and I started to worry that I was going to fall asleep, but visited McDonalds in Marysville (the only thing open at 11:30 pm) and got one of their foul mochas and some burger-fud and felt fine the rest of the way home - another clear illustration to me of the connection between eating and feeling good. Go figure.

Three main "people connections" stood out from this weekend:

1. As hoped, I was able to chat with DeWayne Brown about Roo. Not as hoped, all he told me was "some horses aren't meant to be endurance horses" (?) and when I told him what Roo's actual breeding was, he announced "Oh, that's your problem then - too much halter-bred stuff in there". <sigh>   So he wasn't able to do much except bum me out on a non-logical level. Note to self - avoid talking to him about specifics again.
   
2. The East Bay Contingent were there in force and it was really fun to be able to hang out with this group. Karen did the 100, while Gary, Jamie and Brenda were doing the 50. Laura and Judy were there to crew - so much hanging out went on, in a low key way. Usually I'm more comfortable avoiding people - large groups tend to overwhelm me and often I'll come away eager to return to hermit life, but not this time. T'was good.
   

3. That said, I was still feeling pretty fragile from my month of bleahs and the conversation with Dewayne didn't exactly fill me with confidence, but I got an boost from an unexpected source. As we were walking back from the 50 ride meeting, I saw Lori Stewart who I know slightly because she lives near me and I said jokingly to her "you need to sort me and my pone out".

   And so we talked. Turns out Lori is a professional talker - but very down to earth and filled with common sense. Lori has 6000+ miles, has completed 25 out of 30 100s and won both Tevis and Virginia City. She told me about how this year's Tevis went for them (her Al-Marah horse's first 100 - and he did most excellent - more so than she expected). And we talked about how my Tevis went and how Roo was so flat. Of course, I know why some of this occurred (more speed training needed), but I was also concerned that he didn't seem to be really "into" the whole thing.

   Trail Joy—There's an Eddie Izzard skit all about how he doesn't have a phobia against technology, he loves technology, he has Techno-JOY. And this is what Lori talked to me a bit about - how you have to figure out what gives your horse trail JOY, and give him lots of that - be a cheerleader, encouraging when he needs it, babying him when he doesn't. 

   She described how her first horse was Type A and then her second horse was Type C and how different their needs were. And I started to see similarities - Provo was definitely Type A and I spent my whole early endurance career making everything very calm and relaxed to keep him in hand - trying to get that steady even pace instead of warp-speed. Fast-forward to Roo who by nature is not a terribly "up" horse and I could suddenly see where things were perhaps going south. We needed to get out there and have more fun, let the pones live it up instead of just pounding out the miles. I thought about Cooley Ranch and - despite how hard that ride was - how much fun Roo appeared to be having, playing Seabiscuit with Blues and getting to hang out with his buddies Shrimp, Jack and Blues and *race*. And I thought about how I generally avoid adrenalin - almost disapprovingly. 

   Lori also talked about not letting the very calm horse get too settled during a ride. I'd described Roo after Red Star when I let him eat for extra time and how instead of giving him a boost, he went flat. She suggested that maybe he needed to not get too "off" his job and to keep him in the zone more. 

   Much food for thought but the main thing this gave me was a better angle of attack. I could see clearly both Roo's and my strengths and his weaknesses - and how they inter-relate. More to the point I could identify how in my efforts to avoid doing "too much" with him before Tevis, I'd actually done him a disservice and done too little. And suddenly I could see how well he had done just by "being Roo" - and how much better he could do if I got it right. 

Bassi Creek
Sunday 27 September

Patrick and I drove up to Tell's Creek staging area near Ice House Reservoir for a bit of local exploration. Despite it only being about 90 minutes away, we'd never been before and didn't quite know what to expect - perhaps a bit of high Sierra riding. In conclusion, it was fun, but definitely not what was anticipated.

After pouring over the map, my idea was to take us on a 16 mile loop into Desolation Wilderness taking old routes used by the cow herders driving their cattle up from the lower elevations. Predictably, we left late and then got stuck in the Founders' Day Parade in Georgetown so of course didn't start riding until around 2 pm.

	The first part of the trail was wooded and quite rocky but soon enough we came out onto a big plateau of slab granite. I told pft to look out for a right turn - which we found, but it wasn't the correct one and we ended up at the old Upper Bassi Ranch.  The Bassi family kept their cows down in Coloma during the winter months and moved them up here in the summer to graze the meadows. It was an excellent spot for a house - with a 30' rock wind-break behind them and year-round Bassi Creek in front. Wish I could live here (except for random lost hikers/riders ambling through your front garden). Bassi Creek runs over the top of the slab granite  in many places, which was very odd-looking:  After exploring a while, we opted to go back to the "main trail" (I use the term loosely) and see if we could find the correct turn off for the Two Peaks Trail.
	The "main trail" wasn't the easiest to follow - especially where it went across the slab and then disappeared up what appeared to be a waterfall, but we muddled through, dismounting at least once to make sure we could get through.  We never did find the proper turn off, so ended up going all the way to the end of Bassi Creek trail - very slow going and we rapidly revised our plan. Even if we could've found the Two Peaks Trail, if we'd taken it, we'd probably still be out there, bumbling around in the dark. We weren't exactly making good time.

Remember Fergus was completely barefoot and Uno was just wearing  boots in front.	Two Peaks, which–alas–we never got  any closer to on this excursion	Bassi Creek running over the granite
Perhaps if we'd come from this end, we  might not have been so surprised by the,  er, ruggedness of Bassi Creek Trail:   Another example of "why  we didn't make good time"
So with our plans changed, we decided to take the Red Peak Trail, which is the one we would have been coming in on had we done our loop. I suspect that my personal outlook might have been vastly more improved had I eaten about the time we set off for our ride, but instead, it was now 4:30 and I still hadn't had lunch. We arrived in a grassy meadow and let the pones graze while we sat on a large rock and munched our sarnies. That's better. Since one of our goals had been to go into Desolation Wilderness (we'd filled out the permit card and everyfink), we said we'd ride in at least as far as the boundary, to say we'd "bin there". It would be dark at 7:30, so we could ride for another hour before having to turn around. Sarnie packets got put away, bridles put back on, girths tightened and off we went - riding for a whole 45 seconds before coming across the "Desolation Wilderness" sign which was behind the next tree. Huh.
Red Peak Trail was quite fun. Less rocks, more trail maintenance (we didn't have to continually detour around large downed trees), and we could actually trot. We followed the trail to a point where we could see the Crystal Range (the mountains west of Lake Tahoe) across from us and then reluctantly turned for home.
		"Fall Colours"
Patrick practised taking photos while trotting on the way home... practise makes perfect, and although we got lots of photos of sky/ground/blurred trees, he took several nice ones of Uno and me (don't see many of them about).

Living at Andy Wolf (cell phone for scale purposes) Harvest Bonanza  Having finally persuaded the two tiny hens to lay somewhere I could actually find the eggs, we had several days of two-eggs-a-day. Couple that with our bonanza tiny-tomato harvest and we were on a roll. Then yesterday when I was reaching around the shovel/under the step stool/behind the bucket to get at the "Nest du Jour", I crunched one of the decoy eggs*. (*Decoy eggs = eggs that are old-old-old [and marked accordingly, usually with smears of red dirt] left in a strategic location to encourage laying >Here<.) The decoy egg in question was so old it rattled and revealed hardened egg-stuff inside. I threw out the crunchy pieces but this morning not only were the crunchy pieces gone, the other two decoy eggs had also vanished. I'm guessing the delicious aroma of months-old egg attracted a visitor in the night. The problem now is the Nest du Jour is alarmingly empty and the chooks will no doubt recoil from laying there and resume their secret-you'll-never-find-it caching. Hunting Here's a photo I took out of the front door the other afternoon. I'm not entirely sure why hunters seem to think that they have to dress up in camo and creep about in the bushes. Much easier to stay at home and spot the wildlife when you go into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Bees Looking back, I'm not even sure how the bee-keeping idea came about but this is my current obsession. The plan is to try and get a couple of hives up and running next spring - the best time to start bees. I've been immersed in research for the last couple of weeks and like many things, the more you find out, the more you find you know nothing.  Still after many years of chook-keeping, I'm still excited to find eggs (like a magic trick!) and the prospect of enjoying the same thrill when discovering that your bees are - amazing - producing honey! fills me with enthusiasm so I think it'll be a lot of fun.