Trail Riding in the Wilderness 



locked series of meadows, to the old 

 device of hobbling the more influential 

 members of the transportation depart- 

 ment. When feed is scant or badly scat- 

 tered, the wranglers are sometimes 

 without sleep most of the night, but in- 

 variably, although not always on exact 

 schedule, the sound of bells and hoofs 

 will greet the waking campers in the 

 morning. Often, deep in the night, one 

 hears the far-off music of bells as the 

 grazing animals drift to the high edge 

 of the plateau where they are pastured. 

 And then, of course, there are times 

 when the bells seem to harmonize less 

 pleasantly, should the four-footed 

 members reason that the best pasture 

 was being slept on by their riders. Yet 

 everybody by this time has heard the 

 saying, "you might as well be dead as 

 afoot." So they roll over and go to sleep. 



Another feature considered in select- 

 ing the camp sites is the opportunity 

 for special adventure offered by a day's 

 lay-over. Perhaps the fishing is particu- 

 larly good, as at Lake Imogene in the 

 Sawtooth country of Idaho or Lake In- 

 sula in the Arrowhead section of Min- 

 nesota. Or there may be a Mount 

 Whitney to climb in the high Sierra, 

 or a look into Old Mexico to capture 

 from Magollon Baldy in the Gila River 

 country of New Mexico. Or in this 

 same Gila wilderness, the party may 

 camp near the unfrequented and un- 

 manned cliff dwellings, where bits of 

 ancient pottery can be seen in the 

 gravel wash at the mouth of the canyon 

 below the great caves. Even more ex- 

 citing may be the chance to stalk elk 

 and mountain goats along the Great 

 Wall, in the Flathead-Sun River area 

 in Montana. In 1945, one day's lay- 

 over there gave members of the party 

 a view of more than 20 elk staging a 

 frolic on an enormous sunlit snowbank 

 less than a mile from a perfect ringside 

 seat; mountain goats and coyotes were 

 seen at closer range. 



From these lay-over camps, large or 

 small groups, under safe leadership, 

 make their own explorations. What 

 will the top of that "funny-looking big 

 rock" yield in new adventure and view? 



Where does this stream really start? 

 Can that cliff actually be scaled? Who 

 dares to take his shower under that 

 waterfall? Did they really take gold out 

 of that old mine where we're going? 

 Where are the evergreen trees in the 

 Great Smokies? Can we get enough 

 blueberries for pie? Is the spring water 

 really hot? Those are some of the 

 things trail riders talk about and find 

 out on lay-over days, unless they are 

 fishermen, or figure that the week's 

 laundry needs attention, or choose to 

 reorganize the duffel after a rainy ride 

 the previous day. 



These special 2-day camps have a 

 practical aspect, too. The head guide 

 and his crew may take advantage of 

 them to send out a pack string to some 

 ranch or settlement within a half day's 

 ride to replenish supplies. Two or three 

 of the wranglers who are expert fisher- 

 men may undertake to supply one meal 

 of trout, if the riders are not doing too 

 well. Horses and mules may need to be 

 shod, for the trails are rough and there 

 are no blacksmith shops in the wilder- 

 ness. And animals need occasional rest 

 and an extra day's grazing. As the ex- 

 pedition passes a band of sheep (graz- 

 ing of domestic livestock is permitted 

 in national forest wilderness areas), a 

 fat lamb may be purchased and a bar- 

 becue worked out with all the cere- 

 mony that an extra day allows. 



Time for brief side-line travel and 

 adventure is available also at single- 

 night camps when the day's ride is not 

 too long and the camp is reached well 

 before suppertime. 



The program normally on such a 

 day starts with breakfast at 7 o'clock. 

 Tents are struck, folded, and placed 

 at a convenient packing center by 8 

 o'clock; meanwhile, all bedding and 

 duffel are packed and assembled. Rid- 

 ers do this work themselves, of course. 

 Saddle horses are made ready and rid- 

 ers mount well before 8 o'clock. A 

 "lunch-mule" is packed with food for 

 the group at noon, or each rider puts 

 up and carries his own lunch from ma- 

 terial set out by the cook. Or, possibly, 

 when coffee is not to be made at noon, 



