On the Road Again: Continued Endurance Conditioning

After most of a week's break following the Owyhee Fandango LD (ride story here), Aaruba and I hit the trails again on Saturday. He was full of...ummm...brio (how's that for a euphamism!) and ready to check out the BLM land just 6 miles from home.

I'm excited to have discovered the network of dirt tracks on these sage-covered hills, particularly because they give us a place to trot for miles over the kind of terrain we encountered at the Eagle Extreme and in the Owyhee Canyonlands -- steep inclines, rough ground, and long stretches of relatively level trail on the ridges.

Unfortunately, a lot of folks come to these same hills for target practice. The land is riddled with junk. People will shoot anything, it seems. We passed bullet-riddled tires, mattresses, electronics, appliances, badgers, ground squirrels, and even a chocolate lab. We also came upon several small groups of people clustered around pickups and jeeps, blasting away. Thankfully, they were kind enough to stop shooting so we could pass, all flared nostrils and bulging eyes, and I only had to short circuit one near-bolt.

I was hoping to ride a good 20 miles or so, but an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in and I decided that returning to the trailer early was preferable to getting barbequed by lightening. Travis, who had been sighting in his new rifle while I rode, was ready to go home.

Aaruba, on the other hand, could have used the mileage. Guess what we'll be doing this evening...What a life!

___________

It's carnival time again! Be sure to drop by MiKael's Mania for links to favorite posts from The Barb Wire and many other horse bloggers.