In which we show that a weekend in ridecamp can be fun but not posh

Skipping ahead to the punchline:

we finished our second ride of the year, 55 miles, at Mount Adams

Fiddle heads out on loop #3 with some of the competition for the
Endurance Standardbred Award: Heather and Bunny (pink) and Syd and Kandi.
Bunny won the award in 2013 and 2014.
Photo by Sierra Westlake

But of course, the weekend isn't just about riding.

How much stuff can we cram into
the tack room of my tiny trailer?

The weekend starts before we leave home!

Patty shoves in a few more buckets

Dory's trailer is bigger, and needs bigger tools to get things loaded.

A little more...a little more...a little mo--okay, whoa!

When we get to camp, we unload the trailer and the truck.

All that stuff came out of the dressing room.  Roo helped.

Then it's time to set stuff up.  The horse corrals go up first, of course.

Waiting for carrots.  Waiting.  Waiting.  PATIENTLY WAITING.

Then the people quarters.

Du's tent is pretty awesome.

I think it's also slightly larger than my first apartment.

This tent has a front deck and a back garage--you're supposed to put your bike
in the back, out of the rain.  We put other stuff there.

I opted to set up a bed in the horse trailer.

The SS Illegible, cleaned out and ready
for weekend lodgers

People have asked, so here's a bunch of pictures of the setup.

First, a floor mat

Next, the mattress.  This is the mattress out of a friend's
RV.  It has a "weather resistant" cover, so it's pretty
easy to keep clean.

Our clothing bags go up front

Eggcrate and memory foam for extra comfort

A cheap thrift store blanket, easy to clean when we
get home.  This also  adds "grip" so the sleeping bags on the
next layer don't slither off the mattress.

Top layers:  a sleeping bag, topped by a down comforter,
another sleeping bag, and another cheap blanket,
with a floofy dog as the cherry on top.

On the short side wall, extra flashlights and hooks for coats and hats.

Once the beds are set up, we put the kitchen together.

An ancient three-burner Coleman stove.  I learned to cook on a stove just like this.

A propane camping oven--excellent for baking potatoes and yams.  

While we are working, folks come visiting.



You gotz the carrots unpacked yet?

Come back little deer!  I'z gonna make espresso!

Our camp might just be the prettiest place in the state.

Postcard:  Wish You Were Here.

Finally comes the riding part!

Heading out for a shakedown on Friday morning

Good footing (except for the rocks) and excellent trail marking!

Later in camp, there is a distinguished guest talking about her adventures and answering questions.

Valerie Kanavy

And we talk to everybody!

Sherri found her old showing coat in a closet and figured I should wear it.
Totally Sgt Peppers?  AWESOME!

Soon enough, it's ride day.

I don't take many pictures of the early loops because the light is pretty dim.
The photo doesn't show Mount Adams, which is enormous, and positioned
right between Fiddle's ears!

Out on the trail:

The red loop through the burn

Sunshine!  We had rain forecast, but it missed us.

HAM radio crews help keep us safe.  Communications via cell phone are
spotty in this part of the world.

More trail, more sunshine.

Kathy and Andie invited me and Fiddle to join them again on this ride, but Fee really needed to "ride her own ride" so we stayed solo all day.  It's not as social, but it's so pretty that I don't mind.

La-la-la trotting

Up the big hill.  We walk all the steep stuff on hot days.

At the vet checks, I strip tack to help cool the Big Dark Machine, and we let her eat.

Foooooooooooood!

We had a 16-mile loop, a 15-mile loop, a 13-mile loop and a 10.  Fee thought that leaving camp after 45 miles was a dumb idea.

Is this a 75-mile ride???

But we trotted it all down and finished in good form.

Official Ride Photo by Jessica Wynne

The new "Morrison" loop was the prettiest.

Back in camp, I saw a horse who reminded me of Baasha.

Not just because he's grey, although most greys look alike to me!
This horse had such a sweet inquisitive face, he reminded me
SO MUCH of lytha's horse.

After the finish line, the horses are settled and fed, and then we start taking care of the riders.

You can pay $43 for a foam roller, or you can borrow one of Roo's toys
to roll out your sore muscles.  You were planning to throw that thing, right?

And the next morning:  awards!

Ride manager Darlene snagged a purple bucket just for me!

At the campfire, necessities were provided.

And on the way home, we stopped for the traditional Survivor's Brunch.

Cinnamon roll the size of my head.

It may not be Fancy.

But it's Good.