continued from pg 37 that they make.
One thing about riding in Yellowstone is that you can never count on the footing being the same for very long. Springs that come to the surface make their own paths down the mountain sides and into a bog on the flatter areas. This area has a lot of springs and bogs to cross. The geese are out in droves, along with some large hawks. Crossing one of the bogs, LP’s right front leg sinks out of sight. He pulls himself up at a funny angle and takes a bad step. I quickly get off, certain that he’s pulled something. Thankfully he walks out fine with only a lost shoe. An easy boot from one of our saddlebag fixes the problem and we continue on.
A loan buffalo, most likely an older bull, laying in one of the dirt rings that they like to roll in.
This picture shows a burn line from the 1988 Yellowstone Fire. On the right is new forest that burned, on the left is old forest.
www.rhayandgrain.com www.chaskit.com blanketdoc@volcano.net
We climb a hill and Doug dismounts to get rid of his morning coffee. Lori and I wait while he disappears over a ridge. Then we heard him yell, “We have bears over here.” He found a momma grizzly and her two cubs. They took off running, but we see them stop, stand up and look at us, then go a bit further. Lori and I decided we would work on a new version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears for Doug’s benefit.
Further up the mountain we see where the forest fire of 1988 came over the hill. The new forest and the old forest meet. The new forest has lots of deadfall in it from the fire, where the old growth is a cleaner forest floor. Descending into the plains and valley is once again breathtaking. We see herds of buffalo and miles of country. Around lunchtime we reach our destination of Lake Mary. After a brief rest, we start back toward the trailhead. Our group is probably five miles from the trailhead when the support mule decides that he’s had enough of crossing bogs. Thus, our afternoon entertainment
38 California Riding Magazine | March 2014 |
www.ridingmagazine.com
History & Horses
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76