Eagletail Mountains and the Canyons of Wickenberg

Over the last ten days or so Blue and I have seen a little country and travelled a few miles both on horseback and with the trailer. Last Wednesday I was out of here early in the morning to meet “K” and Teresa out west of Phoenix near Tonopah. We were going to ride out past Courthouse Rock,

and then down the canyon past Indian Springs. It was a beautiful ride across the desert and through some very picturesque valleys and along a narrow canyon. The weather couldn’t have been better, somewhere in the mid to high 70’s (25C) and the company was excellent. Unlike many of our rides there was just the three of us along on this one so we were able to ride and chat and get a good look at the many petroglyphs along the way. The canyon walls around Indian Springs must have been a favourite spot for the artists of the day to display their craft.

Petroglyphs VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Below is a map of the area we rode in.

Then Friday I headed up to Sophia’s Flats to meet a larger group of folks for a weekend of riding. There were people from Alberta, BC, Washington, Oregon, and of course our host state of Arizona there for the two days of riding. Saturday we headed out towards Pink Canyon and Box Canyon and although the sky was cloudy we only had a couple of raindrops through the day and the temperature was not to bad at all, probably somewhere in the 50’s for a high.

We managed to see some pretty country that I had heard about for years but had never managed to make it into before this weekend. The Hassayampa River runs through a couple of canyons up here and although it was only a few inches deep where we encountered it there was evidence of water being 15 or 20 feet higher at times in the past. Below is a shot at the entrance to Box Canyon a narrow slot canyon that reminded those of us from Alberta of our own Hidden Falls without the water, although our Arizona folks assured us that there could be 10 feet of water on the canyon floor at times.

There was some wonderful scenery along this trail and it is always nice to run into some running water along the way out here in the desert.

Box and Pink Canyons VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Of course with this group there is always some eating going on and Ted and Julie from Oregon put on quite a Mexican spread all by themselves although the rest of us pitched in and brought enough that a small nation could have enjoyed the feast.

Potluck VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Sunday is usually a short ride and this one was no different although we did traverse some real nice scenery and the sun was shining brightly so that made it seem much warmer.

Blue is turning into a pretty wise trail horse and Sunday I let him for the most part pick his own way down the trail and “K” got some pictures of us making our way along and I have bunched them into the album below.

Blue on the trail VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The ride today was over a high pass and into what is called Dinosaur Canyon and the map below has both days of riding on it. This years rides have the white spots along the trail and the solid trail off to the right is a ride we took last year.

Ken Pohl and I thought we should see if we could fit in Ron and Kelly from Langley, BC’s little Smart Car and although we made it in we agreed we were probably not in the market for ones of our own anytime soon.

Here is a shot of the sunset we enjoyed while we dined on Saturday night.

and I will leave you with a shot I took on the ride Saturday.

Rained Out

Well it took us a while to get dried out so I could write this journal entry, but I will try to catch you up on the goings on here down the road from Dogpound South. Last weekend we headed out Wickenberg way to meet up with some of our friends and another group the Glendale Equestrian Club for a ride up towards Sayers Springs. Since it is a two hour haul from Dogpound South to the trailhead we decided to head out as we usually do on Friday morning. We got to the site and got our horses out on the highline while we got everything else setup. It was a beautiful desert site as evidenced by the shot above. Later in the afternoon I set up our electric fence so the horses could move around a little.

After a nice afternoon the rain came in right at sunset and it rained pretty steadily throughout the night. We got a call bright and early in the morning from the Modahl’s checking on the weather and with the wind picking up and no end in sight to the rain the decision was made to call off the ride. Guess these Arizona folks are made out of sugar or something, might melt in the rain.

Just kidding, I am not sure I could have drug Brenda out into the rain either so it was just as well that we cancelled. And with that early wakeup call I set to breaking camp and we were loaded and on the road back to Dogpound South by 7:00AM. Thanks again for the 5:30AM call Modahl’s!

Good thing we headed home as it rained all day and most of the next night. It was really into Monday before the clouds started to clear out, in fact, it was still pouring when I went for my swim on Monday morning. Unlike back home all the pools here are outdoor so although you don’t get any wetter swimming in the rain was the order of the day.

I had a visit last week from an old friend, Phillip Staden, and he was looking for some places not to far away from Maricopa that would be good for a trail ride so Monday afternoon I decided to take a spin out west and check out some parking places. Lo and behold just as I get to where I thought we should park I pass a trailer bearing Alberta plates and the driver turns out to be Mr. Staden. He and a friend of his, Brian Mitchell, were going to unload their horses and go for ride there and then hitch hike back to pick up the trailer. I gave them a ride to shuffle the trailer but one of their horses had lost a shoe so after getting the trailer back they headed back to the ranch and we decided to try again on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning Phil and Brian pulled into my yard and we loaded Blue in their trailer and headed up the road to pick up another fellow, Clarence, and then we were off to the Butterfield Pass loop that we rode a few days before Christmas. We parked in a different spot and with some freelancing across the desert were able to cut it from a 21 mile ride down to about 17. As usual the dotted line is our trail for today while the solid red one is the trail we took a few weeks ago. The bright purple line coming in from the north is another trail I have yet to ride.

It was great riding with Phil again, it was 45 years since the last time and we certainly need to shorten the cycle for the next one.

Wednesday was a big day around here, it was time to saddle up Willow and see how the last two months of rest have treated her. I haven’t noticed any lameness for a long time but it was time to test it under load. And the biggest load around Dogpound South is me. I wrapped her fetlock in a polo wrap to give her a little support. I didn’t go far just a few hundred yards but so far so good, she appears sound, and we will work her slowly back into shape. Wink is doing a good job of filling in for her so there is no need to push our luck. She will have an easy winter ahead of her and we’ll be letting her enjoy her winter vacation with just a little light exercise and hopefully by the time we head north she will be 100%.

This upcoming weekend is our “gourmet lunch” ride, kinda like “heavy appy’s” in the RVing world so we’ll try to get some pictures of that for next weeks entry.