The Logistics Puzzle

Decisions, decisions… Of all the adventures I’ve tackled since I retired, this trail ride has to be the most complex ever! When I rode my motorcycle on the Bonneville Salt Flats I had to worry about was an accident taking out my ride home but really, it was just like any other summer ride. When I participated in the local sprint triathlon last year, I had to juggle 3 different conditioning modes but it was just me and a deadline to deal with. The hike across Olympic National Park had the complication of food and shelter but again, it was just me. This trail ride takes it all to a new logistical level. Five lives to consider: Jessica, me, two mounts, and a packhorse and we all need to eat and be protected from the weather in varying forms. The horses will eat 10lbs of food a day so there’s 30lbs times the number of days between resupply drops that need to be carried. There is one stretch that may take 7 days so that’s 210 lbs of food for just the horses.

People food will be easier though I need to find out more about what Jessica likes to eat and plan accordingly. It will be easier if we cook one dinner and not two each night. Clothing and tents are similar to my hike last year so that won’t be too big a deal though I have to consider water preparation. Last year I carried iodine tablets and used them with a little raspberry lemonade added to the water to disguise the taste. As the hike progressed, I drank from clear springs and loved it. I know, I know, all the litany of diseases that are waterborne… Hey look, the park was hardly used and others I talked to had been doing it for years. That plus the fact that I would be home before the onset of symptoms.

Different story next year. I would be in the middle of the wilderness when the symptoms struck and that could be a game changer so I’ll be more cautious and always take precautions. The problem is that iodine isn’t recommended for long periods of time, filters are slow, UV kits take batteries. For now, I’m leaning towards a filter, iodine, and bottled water at the food drops. The bottled water would just be for the first day but would give us a needed break from the iodine taste or pumping the filter.

My tack is taking shape. My sister bought me a good trail saddle at the Redmond Oregon tack sale and she also had some extra gear for me. I still need to lose some weight so as to not overload my horse and also to have a little spare capacity to carry personal gear. Jessica has no problem here and will wind up carrying a fair amount of food on her mount.

The other Big Deal is for want of a better term, “trail compatibility”. Jess and I have gotten along very well… for a few hours each week. We like each other as occasional riding buddies but what will happen when we are together constantly for 4 weeks? I’ve just finished reading one blog about an Oregon – Washington crest ride by a woman who went with a good friend and it wasn’t pretty. They were friends in the world but differences in wake up times, willingness to get started and help the other person started to really strain the relationship. These are all unknowns at this point. One thing I have already realized is that I better get my ground game together this summer. Last time we went riding, Buster didn’t want to go and wouldn’t let me get close to him in the pasture. Jessica had to out fox him and hand him off to me. I remembered how to ride but some of those horsemanship skills on the ground need revisiting. Jess has ridden all of her adult life and so she’s been the adult in charge. Much of my riding was as a kid and so now I realize that my Dad was back stopping the things like cleaning hooves and tricking the horses into the stalls to make it easier to get started. Some things I need to practice and remember, other skills are new and I will need to learn them. And I will.

This trip is very important to Jessica, it looms large in her dreams, and I owe her a huge debt for first taking the chance to give me a ride and sharing her tack and horses. I also owe her for including me in this dream and the last thing I want to do is cause problems or friction. I want this 508 mile ride to be remembered as fun and trouble free… yeah rightJ There will be trouble. There will be rain and heat. There will be steep hills and dangerous stream crossings. All of these and more are to be expected and others we never anticipated too but I’ll work to eliminate problems due to differences in horse politics or siesta times; the human relationships. Jessica is tackling a huge bite planning, acquiring, and training the horses. I’ll do my best to handle the HR and logistics end of things.

There’ll be a bit of break now in this blog as I have to drive a friend to California and I’m going to take a small e-cation and leave the computer at home. When I get back, I’ll try to figure out how to include pictures in this narrative and links to some of the other stories and resources we have found.