Here I am, sitting in my camper, trying to remember what I wanted to
share about the first week of the XP2004, realizing I had not done
good notes, and hoping the laptop battery does not give up. I guess
mt last post was heading to Oklahoma to get Vickie's new truck….I
left Tulsa on noon Friday, and 1500 miles, and 5 states later I was
in Los Angeles Saturday by midnight. We got her truck and trailer
rigged together, and we were on the road to the ride by Monday at
about 10 AM. We connected with our crew / drivers, Jeff and Alex a
few hours up the road. Also along helping us is Sara, who works for
Vickie with her horses. We have the two truck and trailers, each with
3 horses each, and Jeff and Alex have a travel trailer to house
themselves for the next 5 weeks. Driving up 395 in California through
the valley below the eastern Sierras, reminds me of all the times my
hubby and I used to go up there to trout fish the small streams and
the lakes. It is a beautiful area, with the sierras jetting up out of
the desert floor. We pass the highest peek on the lower 48, Mount
Whitney. (if I remember, over 11,000 feet) From the highway,
surrounded by sage brush and sand, it is hard to imagine that such a
mountain is off to out left.

We arrive in Bishop (Home of Bishop Mule days every Memorial Day
weekend), and stop to fuel and get food. Jeffs trailer lights are
acting up, so they work on them, as we go to add water to our tanks
in the horse trailers, and do a little more grocery shopping.
Finally, we are on the road again. Heading into the Nevada desert,
nightfall has taken over, and we can only see what our head lights
offer. In my case, the back of Jeffs trailer, and some pavement…and
some sage brush. I understand it is not much more to view in the
daylight.

We arrived in Cold Springs around Midnight, being a day early to this
campsite to the ride. We have skipped the first two days riding, and
use Wednesday to get tack organized, and be ready to ride Thursday.
Slowly rigs arrive from Tuesday nights ride and camp, and start to
fill up the camping area. Dinner in the café is appreciated, as we
will be on camp food for the next few days at the least.

Thursday we head out to do our first 50 mile ride. I take Gambler,
who is not in top condition, but is able to do a full 50, and Vickie
rides Wind Warrior, who needs to learn to slow down and relax, as he
might not know how far, or how many days he will be ridden. I am very
out of shape, which my body reminds me right away. We head out across
the desert, on the Pony Express trail, then up over some mountains
that have Aspen trees, a few streams, and often remains of some
building built long before our time, but the rock structures have
weathered time, and still stand (often only partially) to remind of
us the ways they did things when this was the land they lived on, as
harsh and unforgiving as it was. Old hand cut corrals and pens are
passed through, with it being many years since hey held cattle. We
leave the mountains, across another valley, that goes on forever.
Views of another mountain range are in the distance. We finally get
to our luch and vet stop. It is the edge of a dry lake bed, that the
crews have driven out to meet us. The hour flies by, and we are back
on the horses. By this time, my body is starting to have more sore
spots, especially the knees. (they have gave me trouble before)
Our other worry at this time is the alkali soil, causing "scratches"
on the horses legs. We keep applying Desitine on them, to help keep
the dirt from causing the irritation, and them breaking out. Finally,
we head up another mountain. This one is not that high, and soon we
drop into yet another valley. We start getting near some ranches, and
my horse is convinced we should turn towards one of them, as it MUST
be camp. As we pass one ranch, the owner has water for the horses,
and a hose set out to cool them (and us) off. He then gives each of
us a blue agate from the local hills. We also find out he has a few
bales of certified weed free hay we can purchase, which we will need
in the wilderness area later in the ride. This has been a long day
for my out of shape body, but Gambler has done very well. We arrive
at camp, which was not more that an area of sage brush, dirt, dust,
and wind.

Day 4, I decide to ride Rochkhe just the first half, which is 30
miles to lunch. We trailer a few miles up the road, to pick up the
Pony Express trail, and head off across…..you guessed it, a long
valley, heading towards the hills. Not much natural water on the
trail. We did have some water set out for us, which my horse
rejected. Many gates to get off and open and close, but we were
riding with Dave Rabe, who is so kind as to take care of the task for
us. He does these flying mounts, that are great entertainment if you
have never seen him do so before. The horse starts trotting or
loping, he runs beside, and then swings up into the saddle. Up over a
mountain pass, and through some Pinion Pines. We start to see cattle,
so I hope that means we find water for the horses. A shallow creek,
which Rockhe sips, but does not drink well. Then, a large tire which
has a pipe fed spring into it, but he would rather scratch his face.
Out across a very, very long valley, and then we head up a mountain
that the old telegraph lines used to run. The telegraph wire is on
the ground in many places, and we must watch where we take the
horses, so they do not get caught. This is a long, hard pull, and I
know Rockhe is getting tired. We finally get to a spring, that is all
but a trickle. By now, my horse has figured out he better drink when
he can, but not much there to do so. On up the mountain we climb,
until my GPS tells us the top was about 7700 feet. We start down, and
see green grass, indicating possible water. We get some very small
pools, that Rockhe works his face into, and drinks well. This was
great train ing for him, as he needed to learn more on taking care of
himself, and drink when he is offered water. The can get spoiled
riding in areas with a lot of water, as they do not know to drink
when they can. We follow the creek down the draw, and lunch is near(
and the end of our ride). I went to the creek again to offer more
water. As I turned to leave, Rockhe sank in a bog, then turned and
pushed to jump up the embankment (about 3') out of the creek and bog.
He landed off balance, and as he kept himself from falling, the
saddle rolled to the left, as did I, and I dropped the short distance
to the ground. He wandered off to the closest water, and started to
drink. At least I know he felt it more important to get another
drink, than leave me stranded. <grin> I mount up, and finish the
day. Vickie rode on, and did the whole 50 miles. Our camp was out in
more sage brush, in the middle of nowhere.

I decided not to ride the 5th day, and give my knees a break. I took
my horses on to the next camp, which would be our camp for the
weekend, while Vickie rode her 3rd horse on the 50 mile ride. Camp is
near a small lake. More dirt and duct, but against the mountain, and
nicer than the previous ones. We camp into Ely to do laundry, shop,
and for me to finish this quick journal, and send photos. Sorry the
information is spotty, and photos not labeled, but I only have so
much time, and a VERY slow laptop…..until next week…..
Jonni