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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!


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Intermountain Feed


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Missoula


Quality Supply 800-823-6666


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406-883-4719


www.rockymountainrider.com


RMR


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