Camp (our cabin on the left, guest cabin on the right)
Gilbreth Girls 2012
Outing: Day 3
(Horseback Riding/Cabin Camping near Resurrection Trail in the Kenai
Mountains)
July 22-26
Campfire
chat in the morning of the third day lingered as it had the day
before. The grills came out again along with tortillas, bacon,
cheese, and
leftover halibut, salmon, and rice. We filled the grills with our
breakfast burrito makings and what came out were square, golden crisps
of deliciousness.
The leftover halibut in them was amazing. Most or all of us had
second
helpings,
and the general consensus was that we would all be grilling camp food
that way
in the near future. We learned more about the history of the
cabins from
Bree and a booklet about Harry A. Johnson. Built in the 1920s,
the cabins
are on Johnson's mining claim which he used primarily for
trapping. He
lived alone there for decades, entertaining guests in the second
cabin.
In additional to staking mine claims (the more valuable of which he
always
sold) and trapping, Johnson was a photographer and captured life on the
Kenai
Peninsula during and after the gold rush era. Apparently he loved
peanut
butter, and one whole side of our cabin was shingled in the leftover
tins. Along with their partners, the Bardy family renews the
mining claim each year and maintains the property.
The weather had cleared overnight and it was gorgeous and
warm.
L'amor
lay asleep in a patch of wildflowers nearby, his rich red coat vibrant
against
the green foliage. In the early afternoon we started getting
ready
to
ride, helping brush the horses and taking the saddle blankets off
their
hangers. We packed some snacks with us and, about 3:00 or so,
headed up the
valley. The only riding change up was that Vicki rode Orca to
give Ebony
a
little break (she had a sore on her back leg from her
recent
introduction to the herd); Ebony walked behind Max, wearing a pack
saddle
(empty) for the first time. We walked down to Afanasa Creek, then
turned
upcreek, our destination Swan Lake. There is no trail up that
valley,
which was pretty neat--definitely not the kind of riding any of us were
familiar with, and it turned out to be an exciting ride. Bree
said that
the conditions were more wet than usual, so the soil at the edge of the
creek
was quite muddy and soft. I got the impression that we would have
spent
more time near the creek and certainly would have crossed earlier had
it been
otherwise. As it was, we went on a wild ride up and down our side
of the
valley, mostly through the dense, dead scrub. Here and there we
mucked our way
along the
edge of the creek and slogged our way up through the bushes, letting
the horses
rest periodically. Ranger and Max panted hard after each
exertion; it
didn't help that the day was wonderfully hot and sunny! Watching
the
horses break through the dense, chest high scrub was impressive, their
long
legs descending through the tangle, their chests breaking the way
before
them. Between the monster Max and big Gus, Ebony looked tiny and
delicate, and must have been at a disadvantage through the
thickets. Bree
told us to "ride light" through it (putting our weight on our feet
for a faster reaction time should anything go awry), but I admit that
several
times I just sat down and swung my feet out to the side so the stirrups
wouldn't catch on the branches.
I was having a blast. I played a much more active role in riding
than
usual, which was fun and more interesting than most trail riding when
your
horse mostly just follows the horse in front of it. Bree said
later that
Max chose all the 
routes--she chose the long-distance destination, and
he chose
how to get there. Eventually we did find a place to cross the
creek some
distance up the valley and ascended the opposite slope into
tundra. We
stopped to let the horses (and us) take a break, which was especially
needed by
Valerie, whose horse had leapt unexpectedly across
the creek while she
was
still leaning back from descending the slope on the other side.
Before us
spread mossy, lichened slopes toward the head of the valley and we
could
see
another valley curving out of site on the right, and all the riding
from that
point forward looked wonderful. Unfortunately, the horses were
apparently
itchy and before we knew it they were one after another starting to
roll. Bree gave me Ebony's lead and got down to force the horses
up again
(we learned that, while rolling harmlessly detaches the passenger, it
can be
fatal to the horse and/or the saddle). After some chaos, we were
all
mounted up again and on our way up the valley. We had to be
constantly
vigilant, though, as horses would peel off from the group to attempt a
roll on
the soft ground. They were certainly sweaty and itchy under the
saddles. Ranger and Frisco were unmoved, however, so Jeannette
and I got
to sit quietly while the others struggled with their horses.
Other than that, the ride up the valley was lovely. We passed the
headwaters of Afanasa Creek where it starts as a narrow stream of clear
water lined with
bright
yellow flowers. We gained enough elevation to have a sweeping
view of the
valley back toward camp and Hope, but the horses were still itchy and
we
decided to turn around. Orca was particularly problematic, so
much so
that Jessica took his saddle off to let him roll off his itches.
We chose
a better path on the ride down, sticking closer to the creek, and there
were
less uncomfortable moments in the slick mud on steep slopes. Once
Bree/Max led us into the creek itself. This looked like a
slippery
endeavor for hoofed feet, so I relinquished all control to Ranger,
figuring that I was not going to help him in any way. Ranger had
other
ideas,
though, and promptly stepped out of the water and onto a narrow
bank.
Before I knew it we were past a point where we could reenter the
stream, as we
were then alongside a cut bank with no slope down. I looked ahead
and
didn't
see any better options, so started to turn Ranger around to reenter the
stream
behind us, assuming we'd be in the water for a while. Ranger was
quite
willing to turn 90 degrees with me, but he did not want to go
back!
Thankfully Bree and Max got up onto the bank at that moment, so we just
trudged
along and caught up with them.
Every time we could see the brushy greenness
around the creek I looked
for
wildlife--bears or moose that were bedded down in the heat of the
day.
Alas, we saw nothing--in fact, we all commented on seeing less wildlife
than
expected (even us Alaskans who are so familiar with the
unpredictability of
wildlife sitings). There was wildlife in the area, though!
Back at
camp, we stripped the horses, brushed them, and (for the first time
ever) Bree
let them all roam free. We cleaned up to varying degrees in the
creek,
then resumed our posts around the campfire. Dinner was black bean
burritos for Jeannette and I and steak for the others. For
dessert,
Jeannette and I found a mix for gingerbread and made it up in the guest
cabin
for use in the cast iron grills; this turned out to be more of a
challenge to
cook through evenly, but was nevertheless delicious. While we
worked on
dessert, Bree went to check on the horses, all of which were out of
sight, and
encountered big brown bear prints (7" wide) on top of the horse prints
she
was following. The horses weren't nearby, so she and Jessica
wound up
hiking the ridge a ways to spot them; they were shoulder high in grass,
grazing
happily downstream. While we were grilling gingerbread, they came
back
via the river, Bree riding Max and Jessica riding Scout, both
bareback.
With them came all the horses except L'amor, Frisco, and Gus.
Bree said
they'd lingered behind in some grass, but would soon panic when they
realized
everyone else was gone. Sure enough, a minute later we heard the
thunder
of hooves and the "red horses" showed up. We'd noticed that the
three red horses (with the exception of the outcast, Kona) often hung
out
together, as did the three black horses to a lesser degree; Bree
confirmed that
was the case. L'amor, Gus, and Scout had grooming friendships
going; we frequently
say them nibbling each other’s shoulders in pairs.
That evening Orca was scarce, but we had a second campfire visit from
Ebony,
another newbie on the mountain, who was evidently picking up on Orca's
tricks. She was more polite, hanging behind our chairs rather
than
inserting herself between them, but we thought this was
promising. And
for dessert, Frisco came by somewhat more boisterously, mouthing and
nudging
us, and somewhat cautiously eating gingerbread crumbs from our
plates! His
antics also made us laugh out loud. And then it was midnight and
we were
off to bed again for our last night.
 L'amor among the flowers |
 Now I see why they make calendars about horses (Valerie) |
 Roasting breakfast |
 Yum! |
 Orca hangs around the campfire |
 Gus and L'amor groom again (Vicki) |
 Orca rolls (Mom) |
 Valerie feeds Kona some grass (Mom) |
 Resting horses (Mom) |
 All ready to ride |
 Jeannette and Valerie (Vicki) |
 Mom and Debbie (Vicki) |
 Valerie and Kona (Mom) |
 Mom and L'amor |
 Jeannette and Frisco (Mom) |
 Heading up the valley |
 Jeannette and Frisco |
 Mom and L'amor taking a break in the brush |
 Debbie and Ranger during a break (Mom) |
 Valerie and Kona (Mom) |
 Vicki and Orca (Mom) |
 The landscape beyond the brush |
 Heading up the valley beyond the brush (Mom) |
 Debbie and Ranger (Mom) |
 Riding (Valerie) |
 Ranger looks on |
 Mom and L'amor |
 The group as we turn around |
 Mom and L'amor look down the valley |
 Valerie and Kona |
 Mom and L'amor (Valerie) |
 The Gilbreth Girls |
 Afternoon snacks |
 This lemonade is SO delicious... (Vicki) |
 All nine horses after the ride |
 Reading about the property in the afternoon (Mom) |
 Frisco finagles some gingerbread |
 Mom and Frisco (Vicki) |
 Jessica, Frisco, and Valerie (Vicki) |
 Our cabin sided in peanut butter cans |
 Our cabin in the sunset (Mom) |
 The guest/cook cabin (Mom) |
The three sisters