2003 Wus Tevis Journal
By Adda Quinn
Being ladies
“of a certain age”, most of us had already concluded that we would never be
able to ride in the Tevis Cup race (1 horse, 1 rider, 1 day, 100 miles). [1]
But being avid trail riders, we were keenly interested in riding the route that
the July 12, 2003 Tevis Cup race was run on the Western States Trail. But we were also wusses, and not about to do
it in one day! So early in the year we
began feeling out our friends as to whom might be interested in doing a “Wus
Tevis” ride, as we began to call it affectionately. Some people said immediately: Nope! too hard, too long, too many
logistics. Others said an enthusiastic
yes, but life interfered with medical problems (horse colic, etc.). There were a variety of impediments right up
to the first ride day. Kate, at Squaw
Valley Stables where some of us were going to stay the night prior to the ride,
called the day before to say they had strangles there, and not to come. So, the stalwart final six that met at Robie
Horse Camp west of the Sawtooth Mountain behind the town of Truckee on Monday
July 14 were the Wus Tevis Riders of 2003.
- Casey James, age 60, riding a 7 year old Missouri Fox
Trotter named Starfire. She was the central organizer/enabler who knew
everyone who made the trip. Casey is NATRC and rides out of Gardnerville,
NV.
- Marion Arnold, age 57, riding an
8 year old Arab with only one year of real trail experience named Bubba.
She was our guide and is local to the area. See further information below.
- Lili Hakanson, age 52, riding
a 5 year old Missouri Fox Trotter
named Sundance Kid (aka Sunny) the youngest horse to start. Lili rides out of Saratoga CA. She organizes gaited horse clinics and
rides NATRC.
- Dana Baldwin, age 45, riding a 20
year old Paso Fino named Premero, NATRC, AERC LD and wannabe Tevis Cup
competitor. Our youngest rider on
the oldest horse. Dana rides out of
Shingle Springs where she is a 4H leader.
- Pat Dallam, age 57, riding a 13
year old Arab/Kiger Mustang mix named Tawny GPSed our route. Pat is a natural history docent for Coe
State Park and is a San Mateo County (CA) Mounted Search And Rescue member
who hoped this ride did not become a training exercise!
- Adda Quinn, age 58, riding a 12
year old Missouri Fox Trotter named 20th Century Fox (aka
Cocoa), co-founder of EnviroHorse[2],
natural history docent for the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
and San Mateo County (CA) Volunteer Horse Patrol member.
Husbands Mike
Harper, Don James, Bruce Baldwin and George Sublett provided logistics which
made this ride possible. Friends Jody
Gebhart and Marty Brookman provided organization and trailhead checking in
addition. Hugs and kisses to you all!
Those of you
familiar with endurance riding will immediately recognize the name Marion
Arnold, granddaughter of Wendall Robie, and 1969 Tevis Cup winner in her own
right. Casey, Lili and Dana had met
Marion through NATRC previously. Casey called her when we started planning this
trip to see if she might be interested in leading us. Marion had a stroke in 2000 and suffers from
balance problems which make riding extremely difficult. We were very pleased when she decided to join
us and actually gave us a mission for the ride:
to pull yellow marker ribbons from the Tevis Cup ride route. Some of us had initial concerns that riding
with Marion would mean a fast pace which we were uncomfortable with
conceptually because of the difficult terrain.
But pulling the ribbons was a slow and occasionally arduous job so we
ended up with about a 3 mph pace, which was just fine for wusses. Marion said that she preferred the term
“Leisurely” Tevis Ride to “Wus” Tevis Ride, a mind shift which we were later to
embrace.
The 2003 Tevis Cup and Wus Tevis Ride Route[3]
We met at
Robie Horse Camp Monday night July 14 for introductions and a fabulous potluck
dinner. To do this ride, you must get
permission to pass through private property in Squaw Valley, but if you are
fewer than 8 and are not camping, you do not need a wilderness permit for the
Granite Chief Wilderness portion. The
ride started Tuesday morning at 5:30 AM.
Right off the bat we climbed up to the Watson monument in the Emigrant
Pass saddle at 8750’. With the late
spring rains, the wildflowers were prolific throughout the trip and streams
were rushing. Marmots and ground
squirrels were visible and busy.
Butterflies were everywhere.
Views down into Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe were lovely in the cool
morning air. Heat was not really a
factor most of the first two days due to the elevation of the terrain.
Being
essentially anal retentive, compulsive people, most of us over-packed the first
day. The longer we rode, the less we
attempted to carry. I eliminated an entire cantle pack after the
first day when I realized that I was going to survive the trip without its
contents. Many of us had studied the
take-along lists on the Tevis web site and had confused ideas about what others
deemed essential. Read them, then go
with what you would normally take for a twenty mile ride, but do take extra
drinking water for you and a baggie of dry food to wet later for your horse to
boost its energy.
The first day
was very slow due to pulling race ribbons.
It took an extra hour from Robie Horse Camp to the Highway 89 bridge
underpass, and several extra hours in Squaw and the Granite Chief
Wilderness. The Wilderness area was of
particular importance because even one rag-tag end of ribbon could result in a
$500 fine for the Western States Trail Foundation. Since the extreme runners also use the same
route and helped to flag the trail initially, many of the ribbons were so low
to the ground that they could only be pulled by dismounting. One was so high in a small pine tree that the
only way we could get it off was to bend the tree over. Those who flag the trail next year need
better standards for ribbon placement!
The Granite
Chief Wilderness is a spectacular, pristine area, but the trail is not easy. At
one point my horse, Cocoa, slipped off of a steep slab of granite and fell over
a five foot cliff, fortunately ending on his feet with me still in the saddle
after some pretty scary seconds holding on.
Marion, who has never been a fan of gaited horses, said she was
impressed with how calmly Cocoa handled the situation. Water literally runs down many sections of
the granite making it even more slick for iron shoes. We dismounted and walked many downhill
segments due to the stony impediments.
But then we ARE wusses, and can do things like that!
Our route
took us down the Red Star Ridge. [4] As soon as you catch a glimpse of French
Meadows reservoir to the south, look for a wide gently sloping hill full of
willows on your left. There is a nice pond
just off the road to the left which is the last water for horses until Robinson
Flat. We took a lunch stop at Wubena
Pass about 2:30 PM, where most of our time was spent feeding the horses wetted
pellet food to give them energy for the rest of the trip which included Cougar
Rock and the Elephant Trunk--land forms that conjured terror to most of
us. From then on, Marion decided that we
would only pull yellow ribbons that we could reach on horseback, as the going
was too slow and tedious. Good decision!
Most of us
had seen the video of horses climbing Cougar Rock and it didn’t look so
bad. We could do it. But seeing it in person brought out the wus
in us. No one was interested in trying
the climb since the horses had been on the road nearly ten hours. The by-pass road to the right was perfect
. Further up the ridge Marion stopped to
tell us how we were to take the Elephant’s Trunk and scared us to death. When we got there, the old trail that she had
been describing had been rerouted (thank god!) and the new alternate was steep,
but perfectly doable. The old trail was
literally straight up the face with disaggregated soil as tread and we were
very glad to have avoided it.
Pat Dallam and Tawny on Cougar Rock
Cliff jumper Cocoa and author Adda Quinn at
Robinson Flat
We had
excellent signage posted by the Western States Trail Foundation. Their signs read “WS”, further reinforcing
our concept that this was, indeed, the
WuS Trail. We also had the ubiquitous
yellow ribbons from the race. However,
we did NOT have horse scat which we had expected to mark the trail. This was quite surprising. The coprophilic coyotes up there were doing a
wonderful cleanup job! Even with the
horses on tie lines at night, these stealthy scavengers would come in for a
midnight raid. Manure we KNEW was there
when we went to bed was gone by daybreak.
And NO SCAT was on the trails one day after a race where a some one
hundred horses had passed by.
6:30 AM four of us were back in the saddle, ibuprofen
reinforced. The going was much easier
the next twenty-five miles, despite the dreaded canyon crossings. The initial route was gentle,
downhill-sloping, soft red soil trails though cool forests. Stories about Wendall and Marion are
legendary. Marion treated us to some of
them as we rode.
We
passed an old cabin. An earlier Tevis
competitor had lost a horseshoe. He
stopped at this cabin where he found an old discarded mule shoe and some
roofing nails. With a rock, he pounded
the shoe on backwards until he could get to a farrier.
In
one Tevis Cup race Marion rode her sister's pony without a cinch on the saddle
because her sister had given the horse a girth sore prior to the event. Marion had to do a running vault up over the
horse’s butt to mount. Since the race
has 19,000
feet of "up" and 22,000 feet of "down", this is no small
feat.[5]
In
another Tevis Cup race Marion had what she called a “49 Mile Stallion”. The horse simply quit on her and she was on
foot for the last 51 miles, but she still got the buckle! She did everything she could possibly think
of to get the stud moving, including twisting some sensitive parts to no avail.
She
had us in literally tears of laughter with the following story. Marion wanted to ride a horse that her
granddad did not think was safe for a 12 year old, but she rode it anyway. That day, Wendall was also riding with a man
from Marin County who had a Thoroughbred just off the track and they decided to
have a horse race uphill. Marion’s horse
got out of control and was in a full run.
Rather than lose face with her granddad, as she overtook both racing men
on their horses, she began whipping her out-of-control steed and screaming GO!
to feign the appearance of keen competition.
Once out of their sight, she still had no control over the animal. To stop, they ended up running full speed
into the side of their horse trailer. The horse fell over and knocked her
off. She jumped up quickly, unsaddled
and was casually grooming the beast by the time grandpa came into view. Wendall never said anything about it to her,
but the next week he began ponying her horse to trail break it for her.
Marion has
broken nearly every bone in her body from dare-devil riding as a youth and is
suffering now as a consequence. We were
initially intimidated about the prospect of riding with her. But there is not a nicer person to meet. Anything we wanted to do was fine. She insisted that we all take turns leading
the ride (because Wendall always lead and she resented it). She was very open and forthright. While we knew each other and our capabilities
through someone else in the group, she knew none of us, and yet was willing to
take us on a long and difficult ride.
Still gutsy! After this
experience, we would ride with Marion anywhere. She took good care of
her Wus Riders and we felt safe on the trail with her.
Heading down
the ridges you go through legendary places with names like Dusty Corners. At Last Chance the trail continues straight
ahead, but be sure to take a brief stop at the springs and meadow just off the
intersecting road to your left (then a quick right turn). On the Deadwood Ridge, be sure to stop at the
cemetery with its canyon view to see where Dru Barner’s ashes were scattered.
The nastiest
part of the second day was the canyon of the north fork of the middle fork
(yes, that’s right) of the American River.
Two miles and 2000 feet straight down and up. And I do mean straight, even if there were
switchbacks--they are the steepest that I have ever done. I dropped my camera on one of them and had to
inconvenience the other three riders to stop on a 30% grade while I dismounted
to retrieve it. As if the terrain wasn’t
enough, they torture you with putting a swinging bridge over the river so you
get to bounce simultaneously up, down and sideways while crossing it!!! I have never seen Cocoa’s eyes so wide!
In
comparison, the El Dorado Canyon following was a piece of cake with its gentle
three mile lateral descent. Most of us
dismounted and walked down both canyons to give our horses a break, and because
we are wusses. Here follows another tale
from Marion:
There
is a spring along the east side of the El Dorado Canyon trail that Marion
called “Kaput” Springs because a horse named Kaput went over the cliff when it
backed away from the water too fast.
Kaput was owned by a town local who had no money and mooched off of
everyone. Poor old Kaput should have
been shot down there because he was badly injured. But it so happened that there was a
photographer from Sports Illustrated at the spot who took pictures of Kaput’s
plight and Wendall did not want to give people the wrong impression about the
Tevis race. So he called in a helicopter
to rescue Kaput at his own expense.
Kaput made the front page of the next issue of the magazine.
Pat Dallam on Tawny, Casey James on Starfire
and Marion Arnold on Bubba at Deadwood Cemetery
After a long
steep hot climb up to Michigan Bluff, we met a local homeowner, Gary Hall, who
gave us cold drinks and let us water and hose off our very sweaty horses. Talk about Western hospitality! Thank you Gary! Another 25 miles and 9 hours
on the trail. We got in at 4:00
PM. Spent the next two hours driving up
and back to Robinson Flat to bring my rig down.
My special thanks to Casey and Don for help with logistics the last two
days!
By the end of
the second day of watching the Fox Trotters perform over this difficult
terrain, all three trotter owners were very gratified to have Marion tell us
that she had to reevaluate her previous disdain for this breed. The MFTrotters she had seen at horse shows
had no back end development critical for hill trail riding. She was very complimentary of Sunny, Starfire
and Cocoa.
Bubba, Marion Arnold and Pat Dallam (l-r) in
Michigan Bluff at
Gary Hall’s house of western hospitality
We camped at
Foresthill that night after Marion left us to go home. Pat and Mike had ridden the next trail
segment down to Drivers Flat in May during the Fun Ride. So they opted instead to ride from Drivers
Flat south to Poverty Bar and back. We
all took our rigs down to Drivers Flat the next morning after dropping two
tacked horses at the Foresthill Trailhead.
Don brought me back to the trailhead where Casey and I got a 7:30AM
start on the 19 mile trail segment which we finished by 1:00 PM thanks to our
speedy Fox Trotters. The views of this
branch of the American River are awesome.
Ruck-a-Chucky rapids! So too are
the sheer drop-offs from the trail you have to ride on! This section is where horses have died as the
racers must trot it in the dark. It was
scary in broad daylight. But the major
factor for us by then was the heat. It
was over 100 degrees by 11:00 AM. When
we got to Auburn it was 104, which would have likely put that canyon at 110 degrees
for our 1.8 mile ride up out of it.
We decided
not to do the final leg from Drivers Flat to Auburn at this time. While the Tevis Cup warrants lowering the
American River water volume from the dam above to enable racers to cross it
safely, the Wus Riders didn’t have quite the same cache. We will do that final leg sometime this fall
when the river is down.
So would we
do it again? Probably. But logistics are really an issue, especially
if you want to sleep in your own rig at night.
And Marion was right to object to our term “Wus” for this ride. This trail is not for wusses. There are many people and horses that could
not do it, even in stages. But for those
of you with seasoned, well-conditioned horses, this ride is a 10! I consider it one of my personal life
achievements. It was tempting to wus out
every night. But by morning things
always looked better. Because of Marion
Arnold, superb horses, wonderful friends, our great husbands, and ibuprofen, we
made it through and will always cherish the experience. Try it.
You’ll like it.
[1] http://www.teviscup.org/the-ride/about-the-ride The ride was first organized by Wendell
Robie, an Auburn businessman and devoted rider of the Sierra high country.
Many people in the '50s doubted that any modern-day horse could cover the
rugged trail from Lake Tahoe to Auburn in a single day. Wendell and a few of
his friends proved them wrong in August of 1955. He continued to hold the ride
annually thereafter and organized the Western States Trail Foundation to
preserve the 100 mile trail and the Ride.
[4] http://www.teviscup.org/the-trail/about-the-trail Much of
this historic route passes along narrow mountain trails through remote and
rugged wilderness territory. Participants who are unfamiliar with this area
should use caution when planning training rides with their mounts, especially
in the high country and the route out of Foresthill to Francisco's. MUCH OF
THIS TERRITORY IS ACCESSIBLE ONLY ON FOOT, ON HORSEBACK, OR BY HELICOPTER. ….
The mountains, although beautiful, are relentless in their challenge and
unforgiving to the ill-prepared. (Note: Several of us purchased backcountry heli-lift
insurance before we left on the trip. www.calstar.org/membership/)
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