Wrap-up Work on The Lake Creek Trailhead Corrals

Margi Allen and Kieth Zielke wanted to finish the job they started at the Lake Creek trailhead. They went up Friday September 6th, got rained on, worked on the 3rd corral, and got rained on some more. (If you recall, that was the weekend of the never-ending deluge of the wet stuff!) They spent the night up there anyway, and Keith got up the next morning to more rain. What a surprise! They worked again on the corrals, got rained on, and after all was done they finally headed back home. Following a good breakfast at Antlers in Twisp, they returned to their warm and dry home! Now that’s dedication to the improvement of our trail system! (Thanks to Margi for story and photos)

"BEFORE"

Keith prying the downed logs out of the corral

Last pole in...

"AFTER"

A Nightmare on Horseback...

Sometimes we ask ourselves "what would I do if ____ happened while I'm riding?". Most of the time we can come up with an answer that ensures our safety and that of our horse, but there are times when we can't even imagine the situation would occur, much less know what to do about it. This is one of those times... Less than a month ago, a horse-motorcycle incident on a logging road off Mann Road outside of Sultan left a horse rider injured. The area is signed “no motorized vehicles”, yet the two horseback riders were approached by two men riding dirt-bikes on the logging road. Words were exchanged and one of the bike riders began revving his bike's engine to intimidate the horses. One horse bolted in fright and went at a dead run down the road with its rider hanging on for dear life, and the dirt-bike rider in hot pursuit about 5 feet behind the horse. At some point the horse rider fell off and the dirt-bike riders left her lying there unconscious as they rode past. The county Sheriff is attempting to track the bike riders down. Read more details here from The Seattle PI. (This news was initially shared with MVBCH from the Capitol Riders BCH chapter newsletter "Hoofbeats", October 2013.)

Lloyd Ranch Ride

Leaving from Bear Creek Campground, nine cowgirls had a great time September 9^th on the Lloyd Ranch Ride. Re-named the “Riding Higher Than the Jet” ride because a jet flew below trail level in front of them as they were on a high knoll above Pearrygin Lake during the return trip, the ride was just about perfect with just about perfect weather.  (Thanks to Betty Wagoner for story and photos)

On the trail

Heading back to Pearrygin Lake

Lunch time: (L-R) Jane Gilbertson, Kay McCready, Julie Johnson, 

Carolyn Bronson, Joan Windsor, Patty Zutter

Diamond Belle Ranch Weekend Ride

A group of about 21 MVBCH and Ferry County Chapter members enjoyed 3 days of horse camping over the weekend of August 23^rd at the Diamond Belle Ranch. The ranch and Walker Lake are located north of Wauconda (between Tonasket and Republic), and Steve and Cher McKinney of Tonasket were our hosts. We set up our camp sites in a large circle, wagon train style, near the beautiful old lodge on the site and hi-lined our horses in the trees. We had access to the lodge, and some folks even rented rooms for the nights to enjoy the extra comfort and luxury. We even had use of the well-equipped lodge kitchen for our pot luck meals and our “camp breakfast” on Sunday morning!

Turkey Trot Ride

A good ride, great food, and a fun time were had at the Hebert’s residence on August 12 for the Turkey Trot Ride. We had a little cooler weather than last year, but the 7 riders still chose to make the ride a bit shorter this year. An additional 6 folks arrived after the ride for the pot luck. A very succulent turkey was “sacrificed” and everyone ate well! Many thanks to Carol and Joe Hebert for sharing their home and giving us a wonderful time! (Photos and report courtesy of Nancy Palagruti) 

Deborah Whittemore arrives to Turkey Trot!

Joe Hebert and Brechelle Ware return from ride

"Fancy" awaits her rider