Available At These
Authorized Purina Dealers
IDAHO Buhl
Valley Country Store
208-543-4356
Coeur d’ Alene Co-operative Supply
208-772-3755 Jerome
Valley Country Store
Dave Denton, on left, and Mike Clancy on right, after crossing the narrow suspension bridge — approximately 75 feet high over the Colorado River.
One of the
three tunnels has a sharp turn, so you enter in com- plete darkness. Fortunately, on the morning they departed, someone
The horses did great with the hikers, tunnels, and the 100-yard-long, swinging bridge that is only 50 inches wide!
told the men to use the second swinging bridge, not the first. The first swinging bridge is for pedestrians only, but no signs are posted which indicate this vital information. Along the way, they saw deer and
Bighorn sheep. It was surprising how many hikers they met along the way, in- cluding a woman running to work! Mike said that the trail was very well
maintained and that it was similar to a steep mountain ride. “There were,” he added, “a few spots that took my breath away!”
Instead of packing extra food, they ate their meals at Phantom Ranch. Reservations had been made months ahead. The Ranch is a small facility on a tight schedule, so they had been fore- warned not to be late for meals because you might not be served! Due to the elevation change, the temperature at the bottom was 20 degrees warmer, which was a nice surprise for the men when they got ready to set their tent up for the night’s rest. Fortunately, there was a payphone at the bottom, so Mike called me to let me know they had made it safely to the bottom.
50 ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER • MAY 2011 The next morn-
ing they headed out about 7:00 a.m. for the seven-hour ride to the top.
I stopped at the
mule train desk to see what time the
mule train would be coming up, as Mike’s group would be a little ways behind them. The gentleman behind the desk asked,
“Do you have someone on a mule?” “No, on horseback,” I replied. He said, “You mean mule.” I said, “No, my husband rode our
horses down.” that.”
He said, “I didn’t know you could do
Most people we know were not aware that people could ride their own horses, and some of them even said, “There’s no way I would trust my horse to do that!” I was sure glad to see Mike, Dave and
Ken all coming up the trail! It was a won- derful trip and a breathtaking experience they will never forget! They came home with some fantastic pictures and fond memories!
A footnote from Mike and Cindy Clancy: We encourage people who are interested in making this trip to do so sooner rather than later, because we have heard of groups who are trying to stop any riders — on mules or horses — from using those trails!
208-324-2388 Lewiston
Intermountain Feed
208-743-5582 Meridian
Legacy Feed & Fuel
208-888-3003 Oldtown
Mary’s Feed & Farm
208-437-2046 MONTANA
Arlee
93 Feed & Supply
406-726-2166
Big Timber K-W Feed & Grain
406-932-5132 Bozeman
Bridger Feeds 406-586-3026
Butte
Quality Supply 888-494-6188
Columbia Falls North Valley Ag 406-892-2240
MONTANA (CON’T)
Corvallis
Cowpoke Supply 406-961-4917
Dillon
Quality Supply 800-683-6855
Glendive J & S Feeds
406-377-2180 Great Falls
Fleet Supply
406-761-1451 Hamilton
Quality Supply 888-406-7644
Havre
Fleet Wholesale Supply
406-265-5424 Kalispell
CHS Country Store
406-755-7427 Kalispell
CHS Feed Center
406-755-7439 Lewistown
Fleet Wholesale Supply
406-538-5114 Missoula
Mountain West Ranch & Home 406-543-8383
Missoula
Quality Supply 800-823-6666
Polson
Milliron Tack & Feed
406-883-4719
www.rockymountainrider.com
RMR
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