Sunday, April 6, 2014

SS Fluffinator

Sunday dawned a chilly bright opportunity to ride!

We parked at the horsey club grounds in Marriottsville and decided not to take the shortest, fastest way to the Woodstock Inn, even though we were starting out late. Doesn't get dark until 8:00 p.m., right?

We crossed the road and entered the park from that trajectory, stopping a couple times to remove downed trees and other trail blockages. Turning right down the hill we came upon a serious kerfuffle of trees that had knocked other trees down, with vines and other vegetation attached. It took some time to remove the impaled branches and vines. We both cut our hands on this task.
We crossed the river, which was a little high and fast, and noticed that downed trees that had been in the water now were gone. Climbing the hill we came across previous blockages that were cleaned up, cut up, and placed on the side. Another blocked area had to have happened within days and we didn’t have the proper tools or time to deal with it, so we went around.

Coming out of the woods to the train tracks we ran into Glen, again. I noticed him from a distance because there are few lone riders on a Palomino in this park. He heard me call his name, but our brown horses blended into the scenery and he didn’t see us at first. We stopped to catch up with the doings, his recent hernia surgery and his horse’s abscess and the Animal Control officer coming out for a registered complaint. His horse had on a duct-taped boot and that caused some misunderstanding.

Stepping up the pace, we came down the river trail at a good clip. Lots of people were out, fishing in the water, and walking around. We crossed the river again, shallow here, and traveled along the roadway and into Piney Run Creek. We saw other riders out, but didn’t recognize the horses. Another tree had fallen onto previously downed trees, changing the atmosphere at this favorite watering hole.

Going under the bridge and coming out of the water into McKeldin Park, we noticed that someone had cut the downed trees that have been there for quite some time. Skip can walk over most all of them, but KC has to hop over; kids on ponies would always have to jump these. He had threatened to cut them with the small chain saw, but we never did get around to it. Should I mention that that stunt would also be illegal? There are others down, too, and this must have happened within the last couple days, the freshly uprooted trees with emerging leaf buds.

Having spent so much time working on downed trees and branches, we needed to pick up the pace, so we ran along the river on the sandy trail, minimal mud, pretty good footing. KC was stellar. We turned right, onto the ledge trail by the bamboo stand directly to the bathrooms. Park personnel were there opening the bathrooms for the season.

Then coming into the Frisbee golf area, we saw brightly colored Frisbees flying through the trees, hitting those trees and bouncing off in another direction. One sailed over my head and hit the tree to the right of me, spooking KC for a stride. I saw it coming, so I caught him in the mouth and that was all he did. Tom heard us, but it was nothing. KC never even stepped off the trail.

Directly after the near-miss with the Frisbee, two kids were running down the steep hill as we walked by. I stopped KC and asked, 'are you coming down to see us?" The girl said yes, so he pulled up, too. These two looked close in age, around 10 or so, and tentatively approached me. KC turned his head and the girl jumped back and said he scared her. I said he won't bite you, he's a vegetarian. The boy then asked if Skip was a vegetarian, too. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. I still want to. Can't help it.

We saw a couple other groups of riders here, too, and one remarked that KC was all shed out. I reported that he'd been shedding since Groundhog's Day. I didn't offer up that he also was blanketed all winter long.

There were bikers out, too, and all of them yielded to us - two remarking that we had the better idea. Yea, a lot easier to have someone carry you around, for sure!

At the bottom of the hill to the Woodstock we came across some 'hikers' that weren't walking very far. I stopped to chat with them while he was still crossing the river. They had 'hitters' in their hands and smelled of weed. She said her family had been members of the horsey club that we had ridden out from, and as a child spent many hours riding in this park. Her companion had not ever ridden a horse.

Had a good lunch; several patrons approached us about the boys, tied up out front at the hitching post, remarking on their calm demeanor, etc. Some of the bicyclist that we had seen earlier were there, too. The boys had their pictures taken, a lot.

On the way back he picked the direction, going back on a trail that crosses at a 'waterfall' and meanders up the far side of the rail road tracks. When we got to the crossing, I was unsure about going. I watched him cross, watched as Skip hit a deep spot and veered off downstream. I wasn't really into going, but he was already on the far bank. Sometimes I don't like to ride with us. Here we go!

KC didn't like the entryway, it was very steep, so we went on another entry point, turning sharply right at the river's bank. We then entered the river and it was moving quickly, and was as deep as I thought. He bravely made his way across, with me picking up my feet so I didn't get soaked. Thankfully, I had on waterproof Ariat boots (no affiliation), with an extra helping of Mink Oil, that I highly recommend for just such an occasion.

KC got wet up to his shoulder, but seemed to take it in stride. My right foot and the bottom of my leather chaps got wet, but my sock remained dry. We rested on the bank for a while, airing up and remarking on just how deep and high the water had been recently, moving tree trunks and debris around. It has been a brutal winter.

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