In which the sn*w is gone from Haiku Farm (for now), but we find some more

I'd like to say that I've been posting fewer blog posts lately because I've been writing a bunch on the Endurance 101 book and the SITL book, but it would be a lie.  I've been doing...stuff.  Stuff that isn't interesting, and stuff I don't want to write about.  So, I haven't been writing.



Fiddle, tidy and ready for her tack



But, I HAVE BEEN RIDING!

The Usual Suspects head up the Hill.

This week we are starting to get serious about conditioning for the first ride of the season, a mere 3 weeks from now...up the Hill O'Death we went!


Obstacle:

"He'll be comin' round the Mountain when he comes..."

Closeup of the obstacle (below).  It was moving.  We got out of the way.

Then, we took the next right turn and started climbing up the Hill.

Just white, not slippery

 This trail is mostly not-very-pretty, but it is very strenuous and totally accessible with minimal mud even in our Swampish late winter/early spring.  We use it mostly for conditioning when the pretty trails are under water and mud.



The prettiest view on this trail--through horse ears, of course!

 At the "top"--a false peak, at about 2550 feet elevation (Haiku Farm is at about 300 feet; the trailhead is at about 1050 feet).


"We made it" picture time

 The horses were so hot (we trotted almost all the way, 6 miles from trailhead to the turnaround point at the top), that we "sponged" them with snowballs.


Feels so good.



Snow on her face

Then, we head back down the hill.

It takes longer to go down than to go up, because we walk down, and take a lot of photos!



Smiling.  We haz it.

 On the alternate return route, a lot of branches have come down from sn*w and wind.  Sirie got the job of cutting them out, because she's the youngest.  That's the way we do things!

A photo-map of the route, taken from Connie's GPS.  You can see the squiggle shooting up--that's the steep bit!

Twenty days until the first ride of the season--at this rate, we'll be ready!