In which Warden, Washington has bars and we are resting for today

May 23, 2019

In which Warden, Washington has bars and we are resting for today

Phone bars, that is.

The trail from the I-90 trailhead to Wanapum Dam is very familiar to us--Fiddle and I completed an 80-mile endurance ride there in 2015.

Lola and Fee at I-90 trailhead

However, familiarity did NOT make for an easy ride. Fee was a knucklehead almost all day, leaning hard into the bit and trying to run top speed. Since she is no longer in condition for that, I stood on the brake all day and was miserable.

A moment of calm at the lunch stop

So it took a LONG time to traverse the 24 miles,

I took very few photos on that trail

and we were all tired and grumpy when we finally got to camp.

camp by the dam

Lola and Darlene had such a miserable ride that Darlene decided they'd had enough and packed up to go home...

which left me homeless...but not for long!

My gear got stuffed into Andrea's truck

We put my gear into Andrea's truck, my panels into Susie's rig, and my sleeping bag and pillows into Christine's motorhome. And the next morning, we loaded the Dragon (and me) into Jeri's motorhome and took off down the road.

Heading out extra-early

Because I'm now bunking with the folks who leave camp in advance of the pack to open gates and mark hazards, I am now riding with the lead riders.

Lead riders on the trail

They have two young horses in their group, and Fiddle immediately settled into her place as Auntie Dragon to coach the youngsters--no more knucklehead!

Susie has done some endurance, so our new plan is for her to bring Andrea to Renegade this year and I (and Auntie Dragon) will crew for them!

Camp in Warden is between the (live) railroad tracks and the fire station. There's a lot of noise, but also grass for the horses, and showers for the riders.