Backcountry adventures recalled

If you are an outdoors-type who doesn’t mind roughing it, you haven’t lived until you have packed by mule or horse into the backcountry wilderness so beautiful that even the photos taken won’t describe it.

You really have to be there.

I’ve packed a horse and simply ridden as an outrider on many adventures into the wilderness with the Shasta Trinity Unit of Backcountry Horsemen and I can still picture in my mind the beauty and serenity of life found there.

The sky is bluer, the water clearer and the trails, while great for the most part, can be tedious in places.

A sure-footed horse or mule is recommended for this kind of country to ensure a safe trip. Backcountry horsemen do a great service repairing trails from nature’s winter-time abuse.

The backcountry isn’t that forgiving in some places, as you don’t know what you might run into. It can be a real ordeal for those who dare to experience God’s high country.

One story that was told to me was pretty hilarious but frightening at the same time. One of the members in the Shasta Trinity Group recalled a trip with his horses and mules. He was riding a very narrow trail that didn’t allow passing. As he started onto the narrow section, he heard the sound of goats making their way toward him. He stopped and waited until the goat herdsman was visible.

“I’ll go back and up and around this part of the trail so you can come on through,” he told the herdsman. But the man replied, “Oh just come on through, my goats will go under your animals and it’ll be fine.”

Well, anyone who has horses or mules knows what could have happened had the goats gone under the mules where there was no place to escape had the larger livestock panicked. It was straight up on one side and straight down a cliff on the other and at least 200 feet or more to the bottom.

The rider insisted he double back and go around, even though it meant a longer ride. I’ve ridden the exact trail he described and, believe me, he made a much wiser, safer choice.

Backcountry horsemen love to tell stories about horsemen who have ventured farther than I have into the wilderness and on some hairy trails that put horse and rider clambering over large boulders along some extremely steep trails.

Once you are settled in, usually near a meadow of lush grass and creek or lake nearby, it’s a matter of setting up camp.

There are some practical tips for the stay, sometimes overnight, sometimes a week or longer. Mosquito repellant is a must. Plenty of food, depending on the stay, is also advised. When you go with packers like Paul Walther of Cottonwood, you get fed well and the meal just might include fresh trout from the nearby lake. He is known for his wilderness cuisine; main dishes and desserts.

Warm clothing and bedding for the cool nights is imperative, especially in early spring and late fall.

Packers haul everything in and out including the kitchen sink. No kidding! They have cook stoves with ovens, lawn chairs, even inflatable boats.

I remember one trip up to Adams Lake in the Trinity Mountains. Yes, the guys on the ride packed in a boat. I was there and I couldn’t believe it.

We headed up the Adam’s Lake trailhead for a day ride and all was going pretty good until about the half-way point.

That’s when I heard somebody up ahead of me shouting “Bees, ground bees.”

Well, if you are in the lead, the chances of getting stung are much less as you can ride off in a hurry. If you are in the back, you might get by with a sting or two if the bees have a chance to settle back down. But, if you are in the middle of the bunch, look out because if you don’t’ get bucked off, you just might need some mud or baking soda to soothe those fiery stings.

We managed to survive with little damage. My horse got stung and bucked a few times, but I stayed with him. He spent most the rest of the ride swishing his tail, a reaction to the sting, I guessed.

I was closer to the rear than some whose animals pitched a tizzy fit more than mine, but the riders and packs stayed in place through it all.

Arriving at the lake, an inflatable boat was unpacked and set up after we released the fingerling trout we had packed in.

Oh, yeah, that group always made the annual “Fish Plant” trip to the Trinity Mountains for the California Department of Fish and Game.

For all the effort packing a boat in, the fishing was pretty lousy. Probably because it was high noon by the time the guys got on the water.

Fishing is better in the morning and evening hours, I’ve always been told.

But we had our lunch and came back with a great story about deflating that boat.

It was a calamity, as the girls on the trip were responsible for letting the air out of the boat by flopping on top of it over and over again.

And somewhere, I still have the photos to remember that part of the trip.