The Horsey Set

Riding 20 miles into and out of the Bob plus making a 12-mile round trip to Big Salmon Lake on horseback raised saddle sores worse than buttocks boils on us four prostaffers. We should have consulted the Chief for his “heels down” advice before the trip. Our knees went numb after a few hours of riding. Fortunately, however, we were able to walk off the numbness during strategic breaks and the saddle sores eventually healed. All in all, we acquitted ourselves reasonably well as newbies to the horsey set.


Bowhunter looking like Breaker Morant on his horse BJ at Big Salmon Lake. No heels down here.

I’m sure the reason for the saddle sores on my tail bone was poor posture in the saddle. Wade’s ramrod straight posture must have carried over from the strict discipline he learned when he rode with General Custer.

We negotiated some interesting crossings and obstacles. Here JohnW rides over the pack bridge on Big Salmon Creek. Wade prepares to ford one of the several creeks on the trail. His horse Dandy was to have a bad day at Big Salmon later in the week.

Near the end of our ride out of the Bob we encountered a deadfall across the trail. Luckily, Rebecca had her trusty axe along and she made short work of it. Did I mention that Rebecca excelled in “logging sports” at the University of Montana? Her grandfather gave her a two-man crosscut saw for Christmas. Whatta gal!

Despite our nervousness at some hairy stretches on the trail (I just held my breath on this section and tried not to look down!) our horses remained at ease and just plodded along. As Janis Moss explained, these horses all knew that for them the only way in or out of the Bob was dead or alive.

Once again, all images courtesy of Bowhunter.