In which they start the meeting with a yodel: a new horse adventure

"I'll bring this meeting to order," she said, and then she yodeled.

"Yippee-kai-yi-yeeeaayy!"

I knew right away that this would be a fun group

Jim and I got up early on a Saturday morning and drove to North Bend, for the February meeting of the John Wayne Wagons and Riders Association because I wanted to know more about their annual cross-state ride event.

Not only singing, but also Mexican food = my kinda meeting

The president and officers of the club have been doing this ride for yonks, but they were super-welcoming to new folks like me.

Photo stolen from the John Wayne Trail website

President Judy (the yodeler) was thrilled to learn that a couple of us are endurance riders, and told me that her first experience with endurance was some years ago, when she finished the cross-state ride, and then loaded up and went to Renegade, where she top-tenned the 50-miler!  (I couldn't find record of this, but I did discover how very squirrely AERC data gets if you research earlier than about 1996).

Anyhow, it was generally agreed that experienced endurance riders would be able to successfully ride this event, since we already know how to pace our horses and take care of them metabolically on a long ride.  Plus the camping thing.

This spot is familiar:  it's also the ridecamp for the Milwaukee Rail Trail Ride!

They gave us all kinds of handouts, which I've been poring over like it was the Sear's Wishbook.  Trail descriptions, camp descriptions, names of towns like Revere and Ewan and Malden that I never even knew existed--in my own home state!

Wagons are a big part of this event.  This is one of the more modest rigs

The event has gone on long enough that a lot of the wrinkles have been worked out over the years.  The first morning of the first day can be "very exciting" according to one rider I spoke with.  Loose horses, runaways, bucking fests...you know, the stuff we often see at the start line of the first endurance ride of the year.

bridges, NBD

For the first 3 days on the trail, the wagons will lead.  That allows the saddle horses a chance to get used to the sight and sound of them out on the trail, without the scary experience of having a wagon overtake a skittish horse along the way.

When these folks talk about "big rigs" they don't mean semi-trucks.

The ride has permission (and keys) to go through the tunnels.  Since much of the trail is converted railroad, there are a bucket ton of tunnels, including (ominous music) the Boyleston tunnel that the Toad and I crashed in, back in (egad) 2006.

Toad and I both survived when another horse collided with us inside the tunnel, but Toad had some impressive
lacerations and a puncture of the nasal cavity, so I rider-option pulled him at the first vetcheck.

The weather doesn't always cooperate, and the booklet warned me to be ready for mosquitoes and rattlesnakes.  Again:  stuff that endurance riders cope with routinely, but good to have an extra reminder.

And...look how pretty!

photo stolen from the website

Because I have prior obligations (building trail for the Renegade Rendezvous ride) over Memorial Day weekend, I won't be able to ride the entire distance this year from Easton WA to the Idaho border.

This is the entire Iron Horse trail--the ride will begin about halfway, in Easton.
This map was stolen from a bicycle website, so the waypoints are not part of our event.

My plan is to do trail work at Renegade all weekend, then come downhill from camp and join up with the Cross-State ride in Revere, WA, and then spend the next few days riding east towards Idaho.  The goal is to reach the Idaho border by the following Sunday, June 3.

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!!!  

Who's coming with me?