The Wild Side

Ah, a walk, or ride, on the wild side. While Steven was at Scout Camp this week, I joined some horse buddies and went camping at the Groom Creek Horse Campground. It was nice. Pine forest, cool breezes, corrals, quiet [after 9 pm when the YMCA camp quieted down. Yup YMCA was the theme song!] and pit toilets. Hey, gotta rough something! I got there Thursday afternoon before the rest of the group and took the dog and horse for a walk in the forest. We walked along the quiet, dusty trails circling around the campground. Horse [Legs] ate grass, dog [Molly] rolled in the spring and sniffed the message boards -who had been there. Legs grew up in the forests of Idaho and this was the first time he got to go back. I think he was hoping I was going to let him go.
The others arrived the next day. Good company, good rides, starry skies. My favorite ride was the last day when Legs and I went for a meander to the summit on a loop trail. Found out the summit was called Spruce ridge. I wondered why until just after the sign Blue Spruces were everywhere. The forest was quiet with patches of deep shade, occasional vistas, and [gasp] sheer cliffs. I found some unusual deep holes with all the dirt mounded on one side - I think they were old mining pits. Later I found a trail called Translucent Mine Trail, yup - I think there used to be mining in those parts. The best part was the [trappers?] cabin. It had been built into the side of the hill with a pile of rocks where the chimney used to be. Two of the walls were still standing. They were made of rough hewn logs, 2.5' wide and split in half and notched together. The door was there but the roof and one of the log sides were gone. Cool. I can see why the Mountain Men took their stuff with them. I wondered where this trail would lead, what was over that rise, how about over there ... Most of my ride was in solitude, but it seemed that everyone and their dog and their horse was going up on the last leg of my ride down. Busy place, especially since the nearest house was 5 min from the campground. Seems the top of the mountain is one of the edges of the forest boundry and there are houses just down the road. Still it was a great place to be. Jean says there is a nice campground in Flagstaff ... :}