Porter the Dressage Mule

I can't help but get a kick out of this video, and not just because I really want my own mule. Porter just looks so very happy and relaxed doing what he's doing. Thanks to Stacey at Behind the Bit for posting!

Packing seminar with BCHC--North Bay Unit

The day after dentist day--when certain horses might not have felt like having other things in their mouth--seemed like a good day for a different type of adventure, so Steve and I went up to Lake Sonoma to participate in a packing seminar with our local unit of the Back Country Horsemen of California.

This is not our first exposure to packing, though we haven't yet been out on a "real" packing trip. A few years ago, we took a two-day packing course that drilled us with a lot (a LOT) of rope tying. It was great, but we were both afraid none of it stuck since we didn't practice--not even once--when we got back.

I am pleased to say that Steve Ybarra's coaching did filter back somewhat (okay, not as much as I'd have liked) as we tied box hitches and double-diamonds, talked about feed in the back-country, and the all-important concept of balancing your load.


Though Steve will tell you how very much I would like a mule in the family, I can't say we'll ever belly up to the bar and add a mule (or pack horse) to our string of ponies. It is doubtful Bar or Lena would consent to hauling mere gear, but they could probably be convinced to try some camping. Luckily, there are a couple sites at Lake Sonoma we can use to do a dry run (or two) close to home. Then there's Point Reyes to try, as well as some spots we discovered in earlier adventures up Highway 108. Close to home is a good place to start, so it was great to hook up with some local folks who are experienced and can share ideas and direction. They even offered to take us out with their pack stock! Lena and Bar will be pleased.

We didn't just talk about (and tie) knots, though. We also talked about education programs BCHC is involved in, including the "Leave No Trace" movement. With my past life of outdoor public service careers--and my obsessive-compulsive urge to pick up trash I find while out on the trail--I really appreciate the focus the BCHC puts on this idea. Teaching people that each and every one of us impacts the places we go--and reinforcing the concept that minimizing that impact should be a goal--could up awareness just enough to elicit change. And if it means I pick up just one less empty water bottle on the trail? (Really? You carried it in full, right??) Well hey, that's a good thing.

More packing notes and pictures

I finally sat down and put a series of pictures together. Some of them were taken by Tammy Ybarra, our instructor's wife, and some by me. She took the shots of us pulling and tying all that rope -- since our hands were busy -- and the one above of Four-by-Four and me.

Click here to see the set of pictures.
Steve and I are both trying to retain what we've learned and find ways to keep the rope patterns in our heads until we can get some way to practice.

In the meantime, we are riding Lena and figuring out where we go from here. Obviously, we'll need at least another horse and probably some more tack and gear. (Yay!) We also need to work with Lena to get her less spooky and more able to deal with weird things we might encounter. Like scary blankets and tarps, for example. Not to mention mules. She might wonder why on earth these fine large-eared critters seem to want to follow her everywhere.

Steve Ybarra kept telling us that the more we can expose her to, the better, so we'll be working with her on new things, trying to make her as trail-worthy as we got our loads to be by the end of the class. Mostly, she's pretty good at learning. Sometimes, though, it depends on her mood. And the weather. And the full moon. And any number of other factors that are involved with having a horse.

One of the many things that make owning Lena worth a lot, actually. She's a good - if sometimes goofy - teacher.

Yosemite Packing School

Well, it was indeed an adventure and a grand one at that.

Unfortunately, my grand plan of typing up my blog entries every night in Notepad - or even live since we actually had wireless - ran into the harsh reality of total exhaustion every night except the first night.

Here is what I wrote the first night:

Thursday night, 10/18/2007

So here I sit, on the ground next to the tent, watching the mosquitoes fly in front of the computer screen. Bonnie Raitt sings in the background, sounding a bit tinny through my laptop speakers.

Yes, actually, I'm at a campground. AND! I've got power! Very cool. There is even wireless, but I can't access the network, yet - I suspect I need to pay a fee for it.



Wow. Big mosquito just buzzed my screen. Hang on.. time for repellant, be right back.

Okay. This this is pretty geeky. Oh, well.

The sky is beautiful, pinky, orangy clouds as the sun sets. Oak and Manzanita curling up around us into the sky, sweet, cool air to breathe.

And, yes, I miss my horse. However, unlike other times I've been away, at least I'll get a horse fix this time. Without accosting mounted police officers, anyway.

We made sure to stop by the barn and say good-bye, of course. My daughter will come up and ride her Sunday and a couple of our barn-mates are keeping an eye on her, so she won't feel too neglected. Lucky horse. :-)

More on our adventure tomorrow night - maybe even live, if I can get onto the Wireless. :-)

***

And that, folks, was as far as it went where documentation was concerned. I was lucky to stay awake through dinner most nights. :-)

But!

It was awesome and we learned a lot. Like the fact that mules follow horses without having to have halters on them. (At least most of the time - unless you've captured them just to worm them and give them shots, then they might give you a little trouble for a second or two. Or 30. More on that later.) We also learned that there is a lot to learn and that common sense and communication go a long way when you're working together to tie weight on 1,200 pounds of muscle.

I have never pulled on so much rope in my life! Steve and I figure we loaded and tied the equivalent of a 5-day, 6-mule pack trip in two days. (30 loads, easy.) My hands, though not blistered much, were indeed feeling the strain. As were my shoulders, arms, back, and stomach muscles. Great workout, by the way. It made me very glad I'm in decent enough shape; it was hard work! But very satisfying, too. And really, the only way to learn the art of packing is to do it over and over again until it's second nature. We're hoping to set things up so we can practice at home, though I can't imagine Lena being nearly as cooperative as the two mules we worked with, Mabel and Four-by-Four, and suspect we'll have to rig ourselves a practice mule like we started with.


This is Mabel, she's 26 (-ish) and retired. She's a Percheron cross, so very tall and a bit challenging for those of us of the short persuasion when it comes to checking our knots. Luckily, she is also very patient with folks tying loads to her.



This is Four-by-Four (4x4) and I am not sure how old he is. He is a quarter-horse cross, so a "small" mule compared to Mabel.



On the last day, we also worked with Steve Ybarra's horse, Peanut, a cutting-horse bred gelding who is actually distantly related to Lena. We rode him and led 4x4 through an obstacle course. He did a great job of showing us how to deal with mules and various obstacles.



It was a great trip and my first real exposure to mules. They are pretty cool animals and fun to work with. I'll be setting up an online gallery of more pictures of knots, loads, and mules shortly.

Lena was mostly glad to see us, and really glad to get out on the trail today with Doc. It was absolutely gorgeous here and she was on remarkably good behavior.



All in all, a great experience that I would recommend to anyone seriously considering wandering into the back country with horses. It's an eye-opener about what you really need to do to safely get to some of the most beautiful places in this country and not end up hiking out chasing your stock.