Horse Back Riding!

Rocksanne has had some time to ride again before another foal and horse shows start back up. She has switched me to riding Khlassix since Cassie had her baby, Coco. I went out to her house to get used to Khlassix and, very promptly, almost got killed. Khlassix wasted no time letting me know I was riding her wrong! I was too tense and digging my heels in too much and she took off at top speed. I just knew I was going to get thrown off, impaled on a fence post and wrapped in barbed wire. Luckily, I could hear Rocksanne in the background, yelling at me to lean back- just like every time before! I leaned back but I couldn't regain control so I just hung on for dear life and knew she would have to stop at the fence shortly. We careened to a halt in front of the stalls and then just sat there to catch our breaths and calm down. My heart was pounding right out of my chest! Rocksanne patted my leg and reinforced how sensitive and highly trained these Arabians are and so I learned my lesson right off the bat. My heels shall never touch her belly again! We resumed ambling around the corral practicing form. Hands down, heels down in the stirrup and relaxed, lean back, RELAX.

When we were done, we went to eat frozen yogurt :-)





Khlassix is side-looking me.  I can tell she's annoyed.



Rocksanne schooling Shalimar.





We went out to the Ramona Grasslands for the next ride. Sherri and Jessica met us out there with their horses. Rocksanne was taking Shalimar on her first trail ride ever. It was a gorgeous day, spring flowers were in bloom, and views out over the Ramona valley were beautiful. Khlassix wanted to walk really fast and pass everyone so I had a hard time keeping her slowed down. I was really tense again and was not "rating" her correctly (pull back and release to slow her down). And again had a hard time relaxing my heels. Not sure what the deal is with my heels! She feeds off my stress though so I need to work through that- these horses are very in tune with their riders! Shalimar did a super job her first time out. She got a little spooked by some bushes and rocks but she walked by some cows with no problem. Rocksanne said she reared up a couple of times but I didn't get to see that since she was behind me. Super fun trail ride with excellent company!

When we were done, we went to eat frozen yogurt again :-)

Is Khlassix giving me the stink eye?



Rocksanne and Shalimar.



Jessica with Cambria in the foreground.  Sherri and Amber in the background.



Sherri taking a selfie :-)



Jessica in the front, then me, then Rocksanne.





All of us!












Next up we went out to Penasquitos canyon and had long trail ride - 3 hours! It was awesome but also hard. Shalimar had her first water crossing and she did great. Sherri, Jessica and I sat in the middle of the creek while Rocksanne coaxed Shalimar to step into the water. It took about 20 minutes but once she was in, she had no problems. Like what's the big deal, right? We went back and forth through the water about 6 times to get her used to it. Now she's a pro. There were some steep sections that were a bit scary. I just leaned way back in the saddle going down, thinking about The Man from Snowy River the whole time- LOL. Going up, the horses wanted to run so I just hung on tight. Afterwards, we hosed the horses down, sat around, ate snacks and chatted. Sherri, Jessica and Rocksanne all have very relaxed and chill personalities so it was very pleasant to hang out with them. No frozen yogurt this time :-)











Shalimar did it!



Jessica, me, Rocksanne.





Jessica and Sherri.



Rocksanne.

The Big 20

We (Ingrid, Nancy, and I) did our Big 20 yesterday to send Carolen and Di off on their 2650+ mile journey from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. 

We all stayed at the Pine Valley Inn on Friday night so we could get an early start at the Mexican border Saturday morning.  The day dawned cold and raining.  We were all very surprised to see rain and there was a lack of rain gear amongst us.  The rain tapered off to a drizzle though and then quit altogether a couple miles in.  We ate breakfast at Major's diner and then shuttled down to the border and the southern terminus of the PCT. There were quite a few thru-hikers milling around the monument waiting to get their pictures taken.  We darted in and out quick to get all our pictures in.  It was thrilling!

















We don't know this guy but I thought it was a cool pose. 



We said good-byes to Don and Kevin and started walking.  There was a nice heavy drizzle for about an hour and half and then it slowly died out.  The spring flowers were in bloom and the landscape was lush and refreshing.  It was just amazing to be out here with Carolen and Di as they embarked on their 6 month  journey.  I'm glad we could be a part of it in some small way.









We started leap-frogging with a couple of thru-hikers from Germany, Inga and Chris.  Inga had us cracking up every time we saw her.  We named her the Permit Lady because every time we saw her she demanded to see our PCT permits.  We could hear her voice wafting up from switchbacks below us asking for permits.  She had a super sense of humor.  Turns out she is an Oncologist in Germany!  Nancy told her Germans weren't allowed on the PCT and the border patrol was looking for them.  Inga got a good laugh out of that one.  We enticed her to stop by our campsite at the end of the day for food and libations.



I turned my mind off early on.  No waxing philosophical or pondering the meaning of life for this one.  I did say a few prayers of gratitude for good health and the beauty of nature but that was it. We just walked and the miles ticked by.  We took smallish breaks to re-fuel.  We were sitting at one of our breaks and I saw a couple coming up the trail.  I shouted out "Mandie and Josh!"  I recognized them from their PCT blogs.  They looked pretty startled that I knew their names and they probably thought I was a weirdo stalker.  Mandie was even wearing the same shirt as me but in a different color.  I hope she didn't think that I was trying to be all Single White Female with her.  I refrained from talking to them the next few times we leap-frogged because I didn't want to scare them even more.  Carolen gave me the trail name Blog Stalker out of that situation.  LOL!  Here are Mandie and Josh's blogs:  http://2014pct.blogspot.com/2014/04/pct-acknowledgements.html
http://www.mandiehikes.com/2014/01/pct-to-eagle-rock-adventures-in-shoes.html







This was a neat looking orange hairy thing that's actually a parasite called Dodder or Witch's Hair.



Carolen saying "Hi Mom!"




Walking, walking, one foot after another, in the zone.  We stopped at the bottom of Hauser Canyon to take a break before the arduous climb out.  Inga, Chris, and Papa Bear were taking a break as well.  All of a sudden we hear "Keep it down over there!"  It was Kevin and Don climbing down the mountain with water! 





This is what we have to go up and over.



Soon we had to start climbing.  I don't know if it's called Hauser Mountain but that's what I was calling it.  1200 foot elevation gain so slow and steady was the plan.  Nancy said she just tuned everything out and walked to the beat of the sound of her pants rubbing together-  haha!  Whatever gets you to the top!  I breathed pretty heavily throughout the whole hike because I had a sinus problem so my breathing was pretty explosive on this uphill.  I tried to do the yoga breathing with heavy open mouth exhales and it worked pretty good.  The views of Hauser Canyon were breathtaking.  I stopped about midway up when a couple of border patrol helicopters flew through the canyon.  It was an excuse to take a breathing break.  Made it to the top at last and thought that wasn't so bad.  Nancy soon came powering up and was cruising.  She meant business.  We gathered at the top with high fives all around and pictures taken.  Yeeeeeeehawwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!











From there we trekked along to Lake Morena.  The lake was pitiful- hardly any water at all.  Pretty sad. 



We made it to Lake Morena campground with 8 hours and 8 minutes of total walking time.  We thought we were bad-ass and we still think we are bad-ass!

Our friend Laurie was at the campground with a gourmet feast waiting for us!  OMG I couldn't believe all the stuff she had for us.  She made mushrooms with balsamic and gruyere cheese, chicken fajitas, and chocolate dipped strawberries with port!  She really put a lot of effort into it to make it nice and comfortable for everyone.  It was potluck style so we each a something to contribute.  Ingrid had turkey burgers, Nancy had an artichoke/rice salad, I had a quinoa/black bean pilaf, Di had bread and butter and mac and cheese, Carolen and Don brought jalapeno pie and brownies.  We ate, drank, chatted, and reveled in our accomplishment.  We each could not believe how good physically we felt.



Laurie is training Mako the service dog.













Inga did stop by our campsite with her friend, Flore from France, and I poured them a little spot of honey bourbon.  She thought the honey bourbon was a Gatorade flavor-  haha!  She sniffed it and took a sip and thoroughly enjoyed it.  She said she could feel the heat all the way to her legs.  Flore enjoyed it as well.



The next morning Laurie made us pancakes, bacon, and coffee!  Doesn't get any better than that!



Pretty soon though it was time to say our good-byes to Carolen and Di.  We may have done 20 miles but they had another 2650+ to go with an October 1 finish date.  We all started crying as we were hugging good-bye.  It was a poignant moment. 







All of our best wishes and prayers go with Carolen and Di as they fulfill this life long dream. 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.