Klickitat Fun

Klickitat Trek is the ride that hooked me on distance riding and every year I think I like it even more. 

Michelle and I headed over to Glenwood, Wa on Friday morning and arrived in camp about 2pm.  The horses hauled well and we got them settled in pretty quickly.  There was a ton of good green grass around the campsites outside of the rodeo grounds so we spent about 30 minutes letting the boys stuff their faces and wander around before we went over to check in.

By 3pm we had made our way over to the vet-in area and both horses vetted in great.  Now it was just a matter of time until we could hit those wonderful trails again! 

We caught up with Glen and Flo who were doing their first ride of the season and visited with them a bit then decided it might be wise to saddle up and do a little pre-ride ride.  I was feeling a little anxious about Cartman being pretty wound up, but he was calm and well behaved under saddle. 

The ponderosa pine forest has got to be my all time favorite.  I absolutely love the smell and you can actually see through a lot of the treed areas, there is not as much undergrowth as we have over on this side of the mountains.

We rode for about 45 minutes and then headed back to camp.  My goal was to have all my tack ready and packed and outcheck bagged packed and ready to take over when we went to the ride meeting.  I also wanted to fit in some dinner and of course I also needed some time to fuss over my horse a little!

It was a lot warmer over on this side of the mountains than it had been in Castle Rock but I decided to put on Cartman's light sheet just in case it got cool over night.  I was so glad I did....

After ride meeting we pretty much went back to the trailer and crashed- we were surprised to find out that our start time was 6:15am!  Wow, I think Mt. Adams was like 8 or 8:30.  The last time I checked my clock it was 9:30pm.  Camp was amazingly quiet and I fell right asleep. 

About 11:58 I woke up to Cartman fussing on the hi-tie.  I decided to go out for a quick check to make sure he had hay left.  Everything was fine- both horses has water and hay so I went back in intending to fall right back to sleep.

A few minutes later I thought I saw head lights sweeping across the ceiling of the trailer, then heard a loud rumbling noise.... It was thunder and lightening.  The light show continued, getting closer and closer for about an hour, then the rain started. 

It sounded like a hail storm inside that aluminum trailer.  The rain just pounded and pounded the roof.  I was very glad that we were not in a tent.  I love thunderstorms and hadn't heard a really good one in about 10 years, so part of me was really enjoying it.  The horses were very calm and just turned their butts to the rain. 

I kept checking my watch, very aware that 4:30am was coming up pretty quickly.  The last time I checked the rain had stopped and it was about 2am.

All those early morning work outs must be resetting my internal clock because I woke up before my 4:30 alarm went off!  I jumped up, changed into my riding clothes and from then until 6:15 it was pretty much a blur.  I drank a protein shake but completely forgot to eat the Jimmy Dean sausage that I brought for breakfast.

We did manage to boil some water and have a bit of warm coffee this ride.  Much better than the cold Via shaken up in a water bottle that I made myself drink at Mt. Adams!

The horses were awesome going to the start, they just ambled through camp and we were on the trail before I knew it!  Yeah!!!

my one photo from the trail,  bad blogger.

Cartman enjoyed having his buddy along this ride.  He settled right into a nice forward trot and didn't offer any of the bouncing and hopping behavior he exhibited briefly after the start at Mt. Adams.

He was however pretty strong and wanted to GO! 

We leapfrogged a bit and were passed by several groups of riders before settling into a nice little bubble. 

The trail was perfect.  The rain had left a lot of water on branches of the trees but had also watered the trail so there was less dust than there has been in previous years.  We were flying, Cartman was leaning into the corners and I think he was having a really good time winding around the single track trail.

I did notice distinctly on this ride that he is once again wanting to go fast downhill.  Score one for the new saddle!  I let him trot down some of the shallower downhill sections when I could see the footing was clear of rocks.

We did quite a bit of climbing on this first loop, not steep but a gradual up up up.  It was also fairly humid, although it thankfully was not hot!

About 8:30 we cruised into the vet check and it was busy!  Both horses pulsed down quickly but the vet line was pretty long.  In hopes it might clear out a bit we decided to let the boys have their beet pulp and grain snack and some hay before going to the vet.  This was a mistake.  By the time we had both untacked, fed, and waited in the porta potty line we only had about 5 minutes until our out time. 

The vet line was still long so we just had to suck it up and wait.  We were supposed to be out at 9:07 but didn't leave until 9:22.  Its a good thing I'm not racing because this is a chronic problem for me!  Late again. Sigh.

Cartman hadn't drank yet, and didn't really drink at the vet check either.  He managed all A's with one A- on gut sounds.  After getting a B on gut sounds at Mt. Adams I made a special point to stop several times in the first loop and let him eat for about 5 minutes.  It's hard to do this sometimes because invariably you start hearing people riding behind you coming up and you want to go on... At least I do.  I so want to maintain that bubble!

Anyway, Michelle and I let the boys graze and it payed off at the check.

Shortly after heading out on the second loop C was in total slo-mo.... I kept having to almost push him, not something I'm used to at all.  We'd probably gone a mile or so when he finally stopped for a potty break, whew.  Immediately after he was right back to normal.

Finally C got thirst and drank and drank at one of the water crossings.  He much prefers this running water to trough water.

We'd run into some groups of riders on the 50 going in the opposite direction by this time and had been passed and had done some passing.  We settled in behind several members of the Nunn family and I decided that this was a good place to be.  Its interesting to me when I get to ride behind and observe experienced long term endurance riders. 

Pacing is something I definitely need to learn more about. I kind of struggle with this a bit.  Cartman has a pretty fast trot.  He was wanting to cruise about 10 miles an hour.  Tucker would break to canter when C. hit that gear but C. would only canter if I asked him to do it, and when he does canter he gets going really fast.  With his big stride it can feel too fast on the trail.

Both our horses have learned and remember these trails.  When we got about 2 miles from camp they were pulling and wanting to go like they did at the beginning of the ride! 

We dismounted at the edge of camp and walked into the vet check.  Cartman pulsed right down as did Tucker and we walked right over and vetted in. 

All A's!!!!! 

What a great ride:)

We were done before 11am and had all afternoon to relax, eat, walk, and grazed.  Oh, and socialize! 

we love our recliners

I gave C a spounge bath, resulting in the zebra effect

twins

beautiful country

part of ride camp

perfect day

On Friday afternoon we had been talking about the Klickitat sweatshirts.   Everyone loves the sweatshirts that ride manager Marilyn Milestone gives every year for completion awards.  I mentioned that I hoped to get one this year and that I really hoped some year to get a black one!

What a great surprise to see that this years sweatshirts were black, with red lettering!  I LOVE it!!!!

Mt Adams

 

Photos by Jessica R. Anderson

 

 

Mt. Adams was a blast!!!  It threatened to rain but held off just long enough to get through the ride and the awards Sunday morning:)

 

I headed over Friday morning and made it into camp about 1pm.  The camp was already pretty full and I ended up parking way down by the last water tank and porta potty.  Cartman hauled well and we managed to get in a little warm up ride after vetting in.

 

I wandered around a little and let him graze on the wonderful grass they had in camp.

 

As usual he was a little restless Friday night and after being woke up for about the 50th time in 2 hours I started thinking one of those Hold Your Horses corrals might be really nice!

 

In all seriousness I am considering trying one.  I think he would be able to move around more and I wouldn't have to listen to the "springing" of the hi-tie all night long.  Not to mention it's only a matter of time before someone dents up the trailer with a misplaced foot or an itchy halter clad face!

 

Saturday morning I was up before my alarm.  For once I felt somewhat prepared!  I had packed the saddle with snacks, water, and my vet card.  We did more handwalking and grazing and then I downed a protein shake with peanut butter and saddled up.

 

I was not aware until ride meeting Friday night that we were actually doing a 30miler this year.  So we had 7hours and 15 minutes to complete. 

 

Since I haven't gotten as much hill conditioning in as I would have liked I decided to hang back and actually see the front runners leave camp before we ambled over to the start.  I did not want him to get all amped up and want to chase them.  Cartman was relaxed and he snacked his way across the field to the start.

 

Thankfully this attitude lasted for the first mile or so.  Then he went through a bit of a bratty phase when we had a little disagreement about whether we really should be trying to pace a mule going downhill.  He thought so, I thought not!

 

I ended up having to circle him a few times and at one point he actually have a few tantrum-like jumps up and down.  I felt like I was riding a coiled spring...

 

Thankfully his good nature took back over pretty quickly and we settled into a good pace. 

 

Since one of the two items I forgot to pack was.... my GPS/HRM (dingbat) I had no idea how far we had gone or how high his heart rate was.  I know this ride is a bit deceptive, lots and lots of climbing and dropping in elevation.  I had no care as to where we "placed" as my goal is not racing, so we just carried on at a good clip and walked through any rocky areas or steep declines.

 

We ended up hanging with a very nice lady on a big beautiful bay TB and a junior on a lovely grey registered Paint.  It was the Paint's first time out and he was a rock star- acting like he'd been at this for ever.

 

Cartman really liked the pair of horses and called to them like they were his own herd when we parted ways at the vet check.

 

Before I knew it we back in camp after completing 16miles.  Cartman pulsed right in and went to dragging me around for grass bites while we waited in the vet line.  He got all A's but B on gut sounds.

 

I had packed a bag and taken it over to the check, since I ended up in the vet line almost through an entire hold at this ride once.  This year we got lucky and had enough time to sneak back to the trailer for a few minutes.

 

As always, I was 10 minutes late leaving out on our last loop.   Cartman actually broke into his big trot as we left camp this time!  So proud of him:)   

 

The last loop was about 13 miles and again was lots of down, down, down.  The footing was SO good on this ride, as close to perfect as it gets for a mountain ride I think.  I ended up riding with a lady named M. that I was actually bringing a saddle to swap with from my riding buddy Michelle.

 

We cruised along chatting and enjoying the beauty of the trail.  Before I knew it we had hit a common trail from the morning and we were headed back up a LONG steady climb back to camp.  It had started to warm up and I am really aware that Cartman does not pulse/cool down as quickly as he could once the temperature starts climbing. 

 

I decided to walk in the last 1/4 mile while M. went on at a little jog.  I couldn't believe it, we were right back to the brattitude I had at the start of the ride.  When his "buddy" got out of sight Cartman was bouncing, bunching up his neck and basically being a little shit head! 

 

This didn't last long though and once they were out of sight he settled right back down.  By that time I had hopped off to loosen his girth and he was trying to inhale as much grass as possible, while I tried to steer him back towards the trail and the finish.

 

We tried a pulse in but he was at 68.  I led him over to a tiny shady spot and he grabbed two huge mouthfuls of grass and then stretched out and (sorry non-horse people) "pee'd like a  racehorse".  Whew.

 

I drug him back over to the pulse area and he was at 60bpm. 

 

About this time he started stomping and jumping around and I was thinking "what the heck is going on????"

 

We got in the vet line and about every 2 minutes he would flail around and act like a nutball.  It was a large horse fly causing all this commotion.  But they ladies behind me did give him a wide berth.  So embarrassing.

 

We vetted through with A's and again one B on gut sounds! Yeah, first ride of the year in the bag:)

 

 

 Following photos are by me

Friday night

perfect footing

we got to ride through the burn area, don't get off trail!!!!!!

It was eerie, I kept feeling like I was riding through a Lord of the Rings movie.

Mt Adams above

post-ride snack

view from our camp site

caught almost napping post-ride

Mt Adams in clouds above ride camp

Sunday morning graze-about.

 

 

 

 

 

Making a List, Checking it Twice

The frantic list making has begun in earnest.  I am packing and prepping for Mt Adams this coming weekend.

Since I thoroughly cleaned the trailer last fall I had to pretty much completely replace everything I take with to rides.  Agh. 

To compound things, I've been taking my German Shedder with me a lot on training rides and he has to ride in the trailer tackroom, so..... I got to re-vacuum the tack room to remove all the dog hair.  Sigh.

I had pulled all the actual trailer mats and washed the back of the trailer about a month ago, so I had intended to just add some clean pine shavings to it and be good to go.  Unfortunately both geldings decided to pee on the way home from our ride on Sunday. 

So, I spent another hour dragging the mats in and out, and washing the floor of the trailer.  I can't complain though it was really nice to have a friend to ride with at last!  Looking back on our training rides this spring they have all been solo.

We did a nice 11.5 mile ride, the same trail I did last weekend with C.  We got some good hills in and some long trot/canter sets.  Not in a hurry this day we also spent quite a bit of time grazing and enjoying the sunshine :)

Today I went by the feed store and picked up some more Weed Free Timothy (I've been feeding it to C off and on for a month or so in anticipation of going to rides that require WF hay) and also an Orchard/Alfalfa mix.  I usually take some WF local hay but have been unable to find any this time.  I really detest the WF rule, it makes me nervous to switch hays so haphazardly.   My boy is usually on pasture pretty much full time but I do attempt to sneak some hay in there when I can.

Tomorrow I'm off to purchase a watch or alarm clock.  I always depend on M. to provide the alarm with her smartphone and I realized yesterday I could potentially oversleep and miss the ride completely. 

Nothing to see Here

Got another short 5 mile ride in tonight after work. 

Today I concentrated on flexing, and leg yielding and lots of turns on the haunches and forehand. 

Also, instead of doing our long canter stretch one direction on the right lead and back on the left, I switched it up- integrating some of my work out patterns from the gym by counting out 5 strides on the left, then break to trot, switch to the right count out 5 strides.  The next set was 10, and so on until we were up to about 20 on each lead.

C tends to get  a little "strong" in the bridle when we turn and head back towards the trailer, so today we did more canter/halt transitions on the way back.  By the end of a half mile he was halting a lot better.

I decided to ask for a halt to canter transition and got the most lovely one!  On the right lead no less.  He is definitely getting better and better at this stuff.  A year ago I couldn't reliably get the right lead and now he gets it 99% of the time.

A good ride:)

Looks like I've fallen off the wagon, again.

Photos at bottom of post

I've been so busy on my new "schedule" I didn't notice I only blogged two times last month!

Quick recap. 

I've been riding 2-3 times a week, mostly on the local jogging path.  Cartman has started to get into acceptable condition despite our lack of good "trail miles".  I've kinda used the sand as a substitute for hill climbing.

I started going to "Team Training" 2-3 times a week at the gym- Three Rivers Athletic Club.  Originally I planned on just going in and working out on my own, but I somehow didn't quite get around to that after that first "killer" workout.

So, I called and found that their T. Training program might be just the ticket for me!  I met with one of the fitness instructors and got weighed (gag) and callipered (again, gag)!  Let's just say there is plenty of room for improvement :) 

I got a manual to read that covers some basic fitness principles and physiology stuff- being schooled in the biology field I eat that stuff up. 

I also had to come up with some 30 day goals- since I wasn't really prepared for that in the meeting I only came up with a few, kinda lame ones.

1) lose 6 pounds
2) Be able to do 30 real push ups (real, not the cheater knee push ups!)

Afterwards I realized I have TONS of goals!  Since I'm committed this time I'm gonna put them in print:

3) Be able to see the muscles in my arms (don't laugh!)
4) Be able to physically complete a 50 mile Endurance ride- and still walk the next morning.
5) Look good in my gym clothes/breeches.
6) Be able to run without feeling like I am dying, or wanting to!
7) Feel comfortable walking into the gym.
8) Be and feel strong.
9) Learn to use the weight lifting equiptment.

So, now I'm getting up at 4:30am to get to the gym two days a week.  The work outs are HARD.  Knowing that, I am really careful to get to bed at a decent time on the nights before T. Training. 

I wasn't really expecting this side effect, but I am sleeping really really well.  I'm not waking up at night and am actually waking BEFORE the alarm- for the first time in my entire life:)

I love it.

I think it's spilling over into other parts of my life as I feel really strong mentally.  At work I've been able to let all the stress/panic/drama just kinda slide off my back. Not that I really get too worked up about that stuff anyway but I feel more "in control". (That's actually kind of funny, because in reality I have absolutely NO control over what happens in the lab.  Oh well...)

So, enough about my new hobby...

Friday I took Cartman up to Red Rock for a longer, hillier ride.  He did awesome.  Although he was somewhat hesitant starting out he really picked up the pace once he realized we weren't turning around.

We did a lot of long trot sets and some long canter sets as well.  I made sure to stop for breaks and grass several times, since he hasn't really been out on anything like this since last fall.  Our jogging path is great, but it's like a groomed path.  No holes, lumps, bumps, or even real long hills.

This trail is deceptively up, up, up and then down pretty quick right at the end.

We completed the ride in 2 hours and its about 9 miles total.

Just as we were getting back it started to sprinkle, booooooo!!!!

The saddle did great!  Unfortunately we are now having some saddle pad issues.  The test pad I had was a Matte's wool pad.  Definitely used but still pretty fluffy.  It worked perfectly.

The new Skito I got with the saddle is so thin, it totally doesn't work for us.  I got bad sweat patterns from it and felt the saddle was slipping off  to the right again:(  Celena Pentrack (awesome RP saddle fitter- and TB rider!) lent me an Equipedic to try.

The Equipedic is definitely better than the Skito.  The saddle doesn't move with it- the pad does though.  Sigh.  I used it for a quick 1 hour ride last week and it slipped back a little.  Yesterday it slipped back and caused an odd sweat pattern.  I cinched down the billet keepers as tight as I could, but still it slipped back.

I think I'm going to need a pad made for the RP- they have "pockets" that you pull onto the panels, so the pad stays in place.  I'm going to call and ask about the RP Toklat pads on Monday.  I only have 14 days until Mt. Adams!!!

pre-ride

post-ride

Saddle stays put.

Goin' for it...

I was sore as hell today.  I literally stopped while walking out my backdoor and stared at the two steps I had to maneuver.  Then I carefully turned around, grabbed the side of the railing, and lowered myself down.  Ouch.

By late afternoon I decided that the weather was just TOO nice not to at least attempt a ride.  So C and I hauled over to the jogging path and I saddled him up. 

I had something new to try with the saddle today, a sheepskin seat cover.  It was SO soft and plush.  Mmmmm. 

Unfortunately I felt like I was on a magic carpet ride as soon as I mounted up. Hmmm.  I made it about 1/2 mile and turned around to remove it.  I just couldn't get my legs with the sheepskin on.

As soon as I'd managed to get off and on one more time (not an easy task today!) I felt right at home.  I think that's when I made my mind up about the RP. 

We did a quick five mile jog/lope/walk and had a great time.  I try to work on some lateral stuff while going down the trail but I really do need to haul into an arena at least once every few weeks to concentrate on that stuff.  Continuing education and all, ya' know? 

I would love to find a dressage type instructor to take some lessons, still looking for that perfect fit that can help us- without trying to get me to cram Cartman up into the bridle.

So after a quick ride, in perfect weather (yeah!) we headed for the house.  And when we got home I carefully removed the heavy western saddle from the trailer tack room and placed the Summit on the rack. 

Tomorrow it should be official :)

Bluffs are called, and Butts are kicked.

Wed. I went in for my bi-monthly chiropractic adjustment.  At one point I was going three times a week but am now down to twice a month.  Chiro has done a lot for me and I am a big believer in it as I've had great results.

My chiropractor worked on me a couple of days after my first few rides in the RP (before I removed the thigh/knee padding) and she knew right away I had done something different because I was pretty sore and out of alignment.

So I was curious to see what she'd have to say this appointment.  I've been using the saddle probably three times a week now for 1/2 hour to 1 hour at a time.  Apparently my back is doing pretty well this time!

 I casually mentioned that I really am beginning to believe that part of my problem with the "shoulder burning" is just lack of upper body strength.  I finished myself off by stating that I would like to start some weight training.

Usually when I talk to Todd or friends about this sort of thing they politely nod and agree that that would be a really good thing to do.  Blah blah blah.   They know I probably am all talk.

Well my chiro mentioned that she goes to Three Rivers Athletic Club and really enjoys it, she told me a little about their classes and programs.  I admit it was sounding pretty intriguing- I've never been in a gym in my life- but have enjoyed imagining what I would look like with real muscles! For years!

Then she called my bluff.

 Inviting me to go to a Team Training class at 9am on Saturday morning- as her guest it would even be free!

Totally taken off guard all I could say was "But I don't really have anything to wear." 

I was still processing the whole scenario (and yes, as a true introvert there was much to be anxious about in this event) and then I thought, this is an opportunity.  I will probably never walk into a gym by myself.  This is a good thing; Cartman needs me to do this.

So I fretted and stressed about going for two days, at one point even dreaming about it!  So silly.  But the gym/dance class/Rocky Horror Picture Show combo was pretty entertaining in my sleep:)

Today I went to the Team Training class.  At one point, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  A few minutes later decided, no, that would be too quick.  This is more drawn out, kinda like Dante's Inferno.  I'm pretty sure the squat, jump up off the ground, squat, jump off the ground thing is straight from the seventh circle of hell.

But, I made it. Whew.  I was actually surprised when we were done. Despite the fact that my thighs were trembling like I'd just posted for 6 hours straight.  I wanted to do it again:)

I decided to do the 30 day trial.  Next Sat. morning I go to an orientation for the other training equipment.  I want to try the weights.  I just know that this is going to improve my riding!!!

In other news, Cartman and I went to Portland on Monday to get his teeth done, sheath cleaned, coggins pulled, spring shots, and E/Se checked. 

His teeth were done in Sept. by the vet/dentist and they had been pretty bad at that time- he had cuts on the inside of his cheeks and had become resistant to the bit.

This time they were much better. In fact she thinks he'll probably be able to go a year now.  $500 later we were on the road and headed home.  That Vit E/Se test was $150, yikes!  Perhaps I should make the change over to veterinary lab work.

We got caught in a six mile traffic jam on the way home but still made it back by 5pm. Having several more hours of daylight in the evening is the best!