The day started out bright and pretty but as we got closer back to the ranch and the end of our adventure, the darker clouds moved in.
We took a slightly different route going back from the big lodge to the ranch riding up some pretty high ridges after we once again crossed the river!
Some low morning clouds were hiding the tops of the mountains.
We rode through some pretty dense forest areas.
And of course, along the river!
As I mentioned before, EVERYTHING going to and from the lodges goes by mule. This includes all the food, linens, supplies, wood, and all the horse feed! We had passed one mule train earlier in the trip but I didn't get any pictures.
And then going along the river, here comes Mitch with his team!
Each mule has a weight limit and the haulers know each one of them. Most can easily handle 300 lbs but there are others that carry more or less.
These mules at the back had no loads. They were along for the trip to bring stuff back.
The rock slides from the avalanches kind of amazed me. It was really crazy how they could completely wipe out everything in such a wide swath and then narrow down to nothing.
Our last campfire lunch was hot dogs! And they were the biggest darn hot dogs I've ever seen! Tess did battle getting this fire going.
Frost - our mule. The two layers of snips on her tail indicate that she can haul and be ridden.
My fairly lame attempt at a rock stack!
And then it was lunch time!
So pretty...that's Madison and Samantha off in the distance to the right.
I tried so hard to just be in the moment this last bit of our journey. Absorbing all the beauty and fresh air.
Madison tried too but we had both already started thinking about our return to civilization and everyone was planning on how and when they'd turn their phones back on expecting the deluge of messages and notifications.
As the path got wider, we knew we weren't all that far from the end.
We came down a pretty steep mountain where there were so many switch backs we were passing one another!
Unlike all the crystal clear rivers of snow melt, this one comes from a hot spring full of sulphur giving it this unusual color.
It was also crystal clear but just looks so different!
We HAD been up there and now we were down. The last mile was kinda sad. We were also joined by two huge groups of what we called, "Tennis shoe riders". They were tourists on rides that lasted an hour or two and were completely inappropriately dressed for riding. Coming into the ranch, there must have been a line of about 30 horses.
A very sad moment as we digested that our amazing adventure had come to an end. We were seeing cars for the first time in 6 days and we now had cell phone reception...
Before leaving, I had to thank Juice/Deuce for taking such good care of me. He may have tripped and stumbled on occasion, usually on totally flat ground, but when it came to the rocky cliffs, he was a Rock Star!
A whole week of no make up, no hair dryer, and the same darn riding pants! And I loved every second of it.
Madison and Whiskey did too.
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2 comments:
This trip looks amazing!!! Can you leave the name of what place you did this through? I highly doubt I will ever do it, but it looks like so much fun!!
OTB - Banff Trail Riders is the company that hosts the trail rides into the park. You can book directly through them or through other travel agents. We booked through Hidden Trails - they do riding trips all over the world. We preferred their payment policy - it was spread out a little longer!!
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