The Redwood Ride, July 2005

Unquestionably, undeniably, and absolutely the most beautiful ride I have ever done.

July 23^rd rolled around again this year, as it always does, and wouldn’t you know it, it was the day of the 51^st Tevis. I had another Tevis entry this year, but didn’t really have a horse to ride. Hugh Vanderford came through again at the last minute and offered me one of their horses that was available, but I had already canceled my entry after deciding to take my new boy, Don, to the Redwood ride up north on the same day as Tevis. I have never been up to those rides way up there in the redwoods, and have heard they are pretty nice, so the opportunity to ride my new boy again took precedence over Tevis. I will admit, however, that I had my doubts, and kept thinking about being at the big ride. Did I make the right choice?

My wife Judy couldn’t spring herself from work again, so I made the trip with my riding buddy Sally Abe and her swooping horse Phathom. Poor Sally has problems with getting the pronunciations right. Abe is not pronounced like Mister Lincoln’s first name; its “ah-bay”, and her poor horse is getting a complex because everyone always calls the poor guy “Phantom.” It’s “Phathom”, like in how you measure depth in the ocean. There. Now everyone knows. He’s a very cool horse who has recovered from a nasty case of ulcers, and he walks faster than any horse I have ever seen. He also just has to kick his mash tub over every time he gets one.

It’s 330 miles from Hayward to Orick, California, so we elected to make it a 2 day trip and stop for the first night at the Cuneo Creek horse camp, in Humbolt National Park. From the Bay area we took highway 101 north forever, (how do you people who live in Santa Rosa STAND this section of highway through town?) then you turn off at the Avenue of the Giants, deep in the Redwood Forest. It’s another 8 miles to the camp on a twisty little road, but once you see those trees you don’t mind driving through them slowly. If you have never seen these Redwoods, it’s hard to believe how big they are. 8, 10, 12 feet in diameter? They are truly giants, and it’s a privilege to even see them, let alone ride through them on a horse, as I hoped to be doing shortly. The camp is really nice- paddocks, grass, showers, tables; all the goodies. We were excited since we were there early enough to get set up and go for a ride. Until Sally noticed my problem. She asked if I knew that Don was missing a front shoe. “What? Of course he has his shoes!” Wrong. Sure enough- gone. A frantic search through the shavings in the trailer resulted in no shoe. You think I would have learned by now to check before he got in the trailer, but no. Rats! Now what? I stuck an easyboot on him to protect the foot, but we bagged our warm up ride and went for a short walk instead. No cell service here, nor any phones for miles, so all I could do is stew about it overnight. It was hard to stay stewed, though, in this place. It’s just so pretty and quiet. (The three beers helped as well. Bass, Sierra, and Martzen. Sounds like a law firm.)

The next morning we packed up early and headed back out to good old highway 101 and continued north, after nearly getting my mirror taken off by a construction truck that missed me by a whisker on the narrow road. Once we reached the outskirts of Eureka, and we found cell service, I started calling tack shops, feed stores, even the local Wal Mart- I need a shoer! No luck, of course, so I hoped the locals at the ride might know someone. Another hour north, (heck, we are almost in Oregon here!) and we made it to Orick, California, population a few hundred at best, it seemed. The little town is situated in a valley surrounded by forested mountains, and the forest looked pretty dense. The ride camp was at the rodeo grounds, and was actually a green grass pasture that a rancher had opened up. We are talking about very green grass, like a long lawn, as in the horses come out of the trailer and drop their heads to eat, right now! Who needed to bring hay? You could mow it short and practice putting. We were thwarted from parking for a bit due to a herd of about forty Roosevelt Elk that had taken up residence in the field. Elk in ridecamp? Yes, big elk! These things were really neat, and were pretty much in charge of the place. http://www.redwoodvisitor.org/showrecord.asp?id=481 In the next pasture was a herd of baby cows that were colored in cream and beige colors, like some kind of deer. In the field next to that, some horses, and next to them a whole herd of little goats. It’s the Orick petting zoo! I wouldn’t try and pet those Elk, though, as the big ones can be 1100 pounds, and mister herd leader had a huge rack of antlers. After we got unpacked, I started looking for horse shoe help. Ride manager Elaine Kerrigan wasn’t there yet, but I found her number one helper and do-it-all guy Chris Amaral. He got on the cell phone and started tracking down farriers, and as luck would have it, Ron Lear was coming to the ride, and he would have his gear with him. It would be a couple of hours before Ron could do it, so we went for a warm up walking ride. The meadow is surrounded by a big levy that keeps a river at bay, and made a perfect place for the ride to start. We walked along the top of the levy for about a quarter mile- the levy ends at the trees, but the forest looks like a big green wall. Ten steps into the forest and off come the sunglasses. The trail in front of us was a perfectly groomed single track that climbed up the first hill through the thick forest, and I mean it was dense. Oh boy, this is pretty. The trails were manicured, and they looked like they had just been trimmed. We walked along for a half mile or so up the hill, with me wondering if we were going to see the big trees. A few turns later and I saw it- a giant redwood that was so big I could not believe it. The trail twisted around it, because if it didn’t, you’d plow into it. How could you not? It’s as wide as a small house! The trail entered a grove of these monsters that just take your breath away. The picture below pretty much sums it up- picture yourself riding your best horse on this trail. I could have gone home after our 2 mile ride and been satisfied, but I REALLY wanted to get my shoe fixed! We were going to get to ride through this forest for 50 miles!

We returned to camp and yes indeed, Ron was able to put two new front shoes on Don, and as a result he trotted out just fine. Talk about a huge wave of relief- I was going to get to start! Chris handled the ride meeting, where the atmosphere reminded me of a group of friends out for a trail ride. (The ride has a hard limit of 60 entries total) This gaggle of riders up here call themselves the Redwood Empire Endurance Riders; they are a great group of individuals who picked one heck of a place on this planet to live. During the meeting Chris mentioned a couple of interesting things: 1- Don’t go off the trail, ever, since the forest growth is so thick next to the trail, in some spots you can’t see the air you would be stepping on underneath. 2- There can be 100% humidity under the canopy of these trees, so take care of your horse, and watch for some mud, since due to the moisture, in some places the ground can’t ever dry out. 3- Be careful when you cross the plastic bridges, (The WHAT?) 4- This ride is one of those where you have to pay attention, because most of the trail is completely inaccessible except on foot. Helicopters and redwood forests don’t mix, and there aren’t many roads. It was getting chilly- it was 103 in Santa Rosa, and here it is 58 degrees with the fog coming in and covering everything like a thick, cold blanket. Chris is wearing a Hawaiian shirt; some riders are wearing parkas with hoods.

The 50 started at the fine hour of 7 am; a few minutes later I hopped up on Don and followed Sally and Phathom out onto the levy at a nice calm walk. We puttered along the road until we hit the forest, then it was up we go into the trees. It only took a few minutes to trot up the perfect single track trail into the fog, which made the scene even more surreal. The fog enveloped the trail and the giant trees, causing droplets of water to fall like a misty little rain. It was deathly quiet- the perfect footing even muffled the sounds of the horse’s hoofs. The trail wound through many of the redwood giants, but now they were 10 feet in diameter, and thirty feet high due to the think fog. We followed Sally up to the top of the little climb at a trot, and then made a right turn down another perfect trail. This trail was more flat with little rolling hills to go up and down, but very trottable. We had to slow down and walk through a few spots with mud, but it was not bad at all. This trail was loamy brown, with thick greenery growing on both sides that blended right into the forest. The fog was still heavy as we went for a couple of miles on this neat trail, but the sun was starting to poke through, sending beams of light streaming down through he trees that made the forest look like a painting. We just kept going and going, around turns, up and down little rises, still trotting, Don as happy as can be and beautifully forward. It’s great- he has wonderful forward impulsion, with none of the intensity I always had to deal with when riding Warpaint. Mile after mile we went on the wonderful trails, until at last we rode down out of the dense forest onto a road. Darn! Oh well- it all can’t be like that. Or can it? This road was actually just two loamy single track trails that wound along next to each other with grass between them. A mile or so later and we turn left at an intersection complete with a rest room building, tie rails, and a water trough. Out here? Very nice! Who maintains this place? We continue onto another soft, loamy road that turns itself into, you guessed it, another single track trail. After another couple miles of trotting through the forest, we come to the intersection of a jeep road and yet another single track trail. But this one, it was the best. It may have been called the Goblin forest, but this trail was created by someone with endurance horses in mind. The first couple of miles were absolute forest fantasy- flat, smooth, perfect loamy footing, with the turns twisting through the forest with enough spacing that you can really go. We took it pretty easy in terms of speed, but this was the highlight of the ride so far. What a trail! When it turned a little more technical and steep, I wanted to just go back and do it again. The single track continued on, although it required some walking in spots, but guess what- we were entering the big trees again. Here’s a giant redwood that has fallen across the trail. How can they cut that? Chain saws don’t get that big! Going past this one down tree that had been cut out was like passing a wall. My favorite was the giant that had fallen down across the switchback trail- they had to cut that same tree in about 8 places it was so long. We started on a very long downhill trail that just kept going down, and down, and down. It must have gone downhill for a couple of miles. We finally got to the bottom, and after a nice drink at a trough, we came to the first of two plastic bridges. Yes, a plastic bridge. When Chris described them at the meeting, I was picturing a bridge made from Legos, but this was a normal, 100 foot long suspension bridge with a wooden walkway, except the thing was built from plastic! One horse at a time was the rule- I led Don across the first time, while absolutely wondering what this was going to be like. Going across it seemed normal enough, but when I turned around and watched Sally ride across, I saw the thing flex like a rubber noodle. Wow! The swinging bridge on Tevis has nothing on this baby! Is the next bridge a slinky bridge? Once past the flexi-flyer, we were treated to even more great trails that were nice and level. We have been in the deep forest for the first 14 miles of this ride! On we went down this neat trail, out of the big trees now, but here’s a huge grove of Aspen trees we get to go through at a trot. We cross several little water streams, and finally, after two and a half hours, we come out into the sunlight and onto a road. On go the sun glasses for the first time.

The road was a regular mountain fire road that was pretty hard packed and uphill, but not really steep. We trotted and walked up it for a mile and a half or so, stopping to let the horses eat the lush green grass on the sides. We came to an intersection where we turned left onto another road that led to the first vet check at 17 miles. Don was at 40, and looked great for the vet. It was a 30 minute hold, during which we heard the news that the trail had been changed due to a trail work crew that had cut down several huge trees across the trail on the next loop. Poor Elaine was pretty irritated, since she had the permits and the schedule for the park this weekend. Oh well- stuff happens, and the mark of good ride management is how you adapt and deal with it. They routed us out the normal second loop down a long road for about 3 miles, but then had us turn around and head back up to the vet check, bypassing the trail in question. Too bad, since I looked down the trail where it was closed and wanted to go that way! We continued on with the second half of the second loop, and would make up the missing 3 miles after the lunch hold with another out and back. Back out we went to that same forest road, but turned left and continued on it for a couple of miles of easy trotting. We came to an intersection that looked familiar- yes indeed, here is the way back to the base camp, and I see red ribbon again, and lookie here, we are at the entrance to the GOBLIN TRAIL AGAIN!!!!! OH BOY!!!! We were both all grins as we started down the trail, but this trail was so much fun, and both our horses were feeling so great, and, and, well, we just had to. We had been going our nice easy pace all day, but that went right out the window. Don and I were in front, and he started to pick up the pace. In no time we were flying down this trail, as fast as our horses would go at a trot. We were just blazing through the forest, jumping the little dips, sweeping around the turns, breaking into and out of a canter to go even faster. Neither of us said a word, although my instinct was to just start shouting at the top of my lungs. Oh, what fun, and what a rush! I have never ridden my new horse this fast, and he just flew along, perfect, seeming to really enjoy this as much as I was. We basically ran for a couple of miles in total excitement, but eventually had to stop when the trail became a little too technical to sustain that kind of speed. We brought the 2 horses to a walk, I turned around and looked at Sally, and we both immediately broke out into hysterical laughter. Let me tell you, those 2 miles were worth the price of admission, the drive up there, and every problem I have ever had with a horse. It really was the most fun I think I have ever had in the saddle.

We kept talking about that romp all the way back down the same long downhill that led back across those crazy plastic bridges, which we rode across this time with no problem. I knew where I was now, and too soon for my taste we hit the road again and followed it back to the vet check for our hour hold. We were at 37 miles now, at 2:00, and we were hungry! Once again Don pulsed down in his dramatic style (44/44) and looked great for the vets. Everyone was eating- both man, woman, and beasts. I have this theory about vet checks that I call “Nick’s vet check axiom.” It states that: “For every vet check, where you need more time, or are not having a good ride, the vet check is over in three minutes. Conversely, for every vet check, where you are loving the ride, the vet check takes 95 minutes.” This lunch just would not end! Finally, we saddled back up and trotted down another level forest road for the mile and a half out and back that we needed to do to make up the missing mileage from the morning. One more drink at the vet check and it was time to head back to base camp. We back tracked down the road again, trotting along on the nice surface. We made it back to the intersection of the Goblin trail: turn left, go back to camp. Turn right, the trail. We stopped- I looked at my watch. I looked at the trail- it was tempting me with its soft, brown dirt. It was 3:30. Don was looking down the trail, not back towards camp. Every synapse in my brain was screaming at me to turn right and do the trail again at speed, but that old common sense had to kick in, so we grudgingly turned left and continued on back towards home. The trail back to camp was the same wonderful trail we had come out on, and when we got to the big grove of redwoods, I hopped off and led Don down the hill through the trees. Sometimes I really like just walking through the forest with him next to me, and this twenty minutes or so with my horse, in this magic place, will be hard to beat. It was closing in on 5:00, and the fog was starting to sweep in across the hills from the ocean. Sally hopped off and joined me on foot for the last quarter mile across the top of the levy; I was a little behind her with 200 feet to go to the finish, since her horse walks so darn fast. I started jogging; Don hopped right in next to me, and as we passed Sally, Phathom said, “wait a minute!”, and as a result we had a full blown running race across the finish with the horses cantering next to us. I won, but Sally assured me it was because I got the jump on her. Maybe, Maybe, but I don’t know…….

We got un-tacked and reported to the vet for our completion- Don is really impressing me with how he looks after the rides. 44/44, and just dancing for the vet. She said very nice! Phathom’s pulse was hanging a bit; he got his completion okay, but he’s showing some little signs of his pre-ulcer symptoms. Sally’s going to get him re-treated and scoped to be sure he’s over the problem. The awards banquet was very tasty, although after a ride I’d probably eat a sautéed fence post and enjoy it. Lari Shea won the ride and got BC, on her birthday, no less. Each rider gets a completion certificate as well as their rider card back, but then the bizarre awards ceremony began. They had a whole bunch of prizes to give away to everyone for anything. It was sort of random, or not, since they were calling names, but people were just sort of grabbing things. I didn’t care, ‘cause I got the best prize. They called me first and handed me one of those really nice, space saver coiled water hoses for my camper.

Did I miss Tevis? Yes. Was I sorry I came to this ride? Not hardly! I had a fabulous time, and I can easily say that this was without a doubt the most beautiful ride I have done to date. Will I be more careful to check my horse before I leave for a trip? Most certainly. Will I be back? In a hoof beat!

Nick Warhol

Hayward, Ca.