8.1.2020 Trail-less Riding

I consider myself one to take the road less traveled, and this meandering 7-mile “trail” ride epitomized the truth that not all who wander are lost.

All I knew is that I wanted to get out. By the time I had the horse in the trailer, I still hadn’t even decided which cardinal direction I’d drive. North? Could be. South? Not a bad idea. East? The thought crossed my mind. West? Probably.

Temperatures were rising out at the ranch and it wasn’t getting any cooler. The dog took a quick swim ‘in the pool’ to cool her jets, while I pontificated gratefully that literally any direction we’d go would hold a beautiful and unique adventure.

Got in the truck, turned the key. Foot off the brake.

There is a level of magic that happens when you take action, and for us the path unfurled as we moved forward.

We ended up in a forested, mountainous area with Pinon, elk and steep rock cliffs. No motorized vehicles allowed: my kind of place!

Watching clouds convalesce with my #1 cowboy horse Tracker

Up and down, up and down, we found 2 elk jawbone sets, 2 live elk cows, a hawk, and a deer. Scaled up steep washes and wound through tight aspen stands.

Also found this partial skull with antler roots still attached

And the jawbones

Like usual, I noticed the elk first; the horse Tracker noticed them next, with Junebug being last to the party — again. But Junebug produces the most EXTREME response to compensate. She chased the elk up the hill yipping and yawing like a wild ‘yote. She had her muzzle on the whole time so wouldn’t be able to mangle any wildlife despite her soul-deep desire.

#1 mountain menace

For the past few months I have wondered whether this horse is ‘directionally challenged’ or just loves to be out in the mountains so much that he refuses to go back towards the trailer.

Honestly it’s a relief to have a horse that doesn’t rush to get back home. If you’ve ever ridden a barn sour horse, you know what a frustration it can be.

But I was also starting to get concerned that if ever in a situation where I lost my bearings and needed to get back to safety, this horse would only get us more lost.

Countless times he’s insisted on going the exact opposite direction of the truck and trailer.

On this ride I finally confirmed my suspicion: he knows exactly where the trailer is… he simply insists on continuing the adventure!

So, as you can see from the map, I indulged him:

We climbed up and down some fun sand washes, traversed steep slopes, and gained expansive vantages.

It was a beautiful day to wander and get lost!

That’s one way to get your RDA of calcium, I guess….

Backcountry and philosophical ethic: you can look back but you don’t need to stare.

Click here to watch a clip from our ride!

Podcast Shoutout: Broken Record

Welcome to the second installation of Podcast Shoutout! Here I talk about what podcasts you might find worthy of your precious (or not?) time, and why.

Broken Record is, as its title may imply, a music-focused podcast. One of the greatest benefits of receiving information through podcasts is that they’re less commercialized and often more focused on real content.

Podcasters just wanna share all the cool stuff! And Broken Record has all the cool stuff.

Each episode is about an hour long and is comprised of an interviewer, often famed-producer Rick Rubin, and a musical guest or guests. What I really appreciate is that the interviewer asks open-ended questions which really allows the guest to talk about whatever they find most interesting.

The Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne episode was super good. And I’m halfway through the Brandi Carlisle and Tanya Tucker episode. There are episodes with artists I’ve listened to and love: (Alicia Keys, Lucinda Williams, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes); and there are episodes that introduce me to the essence of artists I’ve heard of but am not familiar with: (John Legend, Questlove, Run the Jewels).

And then there are the straight up artists I’ve never listened to OR heard of!

I usually come out of listening to an episode with some inspiration of new music to check out. Whether it is the featured guests inspiration and roots, or their newest album I never knew existed, this podcast is a gem of a resource.

The conversations flow comfortably and listening to Broken Record feels like hanging out in your friends attic when you’re a teenager, just talking about whatever comes up. There’s nothing contrived and it doesn’t feel like anyone is out to prove anything.

This is just a really solid podcast. If you like music or even if you are just interested getting some recommendations for new music to check out, give this awesome show a try. Peruse down the list and download an episode that has a name you’d be interested in checking out. Whats the worst that can happen?