[pct-l] Haulin Ass...

[Georgi Heitman]

....Sadie, her big Tennessee Walker mule and Monte, her bigger T. W. gelding, (longest legs I've ever seen on a horse), arrived in Old Station on about September 22, spent one night at the resort where there are corrals, but no cafe.  She came here for dinner and before she left for her motel room, we'd arranged for the transfer of her stock to my neighbor's corral the next morning.  My neighbors were in AK right then, but no matter, they like horses.  She didn't quite take a zero day, Mary, another neighbor with horses and I, after absconding with Mary's husband's faithful Smokey Joe, rode from the Trailhead at the Hat Creek Resort to Subway Cave with her and her four-footed friends.  Sadie was able to 'slack pack' the whole four miles as I had her panniers in my van.  She almost skipped along down the trail.  At the end of our trip, we were trailered back to my place by Mary's husband, Jack, and we had a very pleasant day of rest.  Squatch dropped in, stayed long enough to interview his first equestrian PCT rider, take videos of Sadie, on her back, rolling around in the dirt and dried grass of the corral, all four legs waving around in different directions (if you've never seen a horse scratch it's back, you've missed a good show) and break a chair.  Haulin Ass, aka Angel, is trying to update the information available from the PCT regarding equestrian-friendly town stops, Trail Angels, etc, in hopes of seeing more riders attempting the PCT.  She'd met some great folks who were ready to haul  water and (certified clean of noxious or non-native plantlife) fodder to her, trailer her and her stock from the trail to distant town stops, etc.  She was also being supported every couple of weeks by her fiancé, who was a ferrier (horse shoe-er), and would drive from San Diego!!!! to where ever she was and bring her supplies, grain, etc.   We had an opportunity to meet her Michael later after Angel and Co. had left the trail, he's a great guy!!  
Anyway, the following day,  approx. 9/25, Mary and Jack showed up again with their horse trailer and we took the trio back to the trail.  Watching Angel load Sadie's two huge panniers was fascinating...she had a set of scales, she weighed everything that was going in them so she could balance the weight equally between the two.  Each pannier carried roughly 80 lb's, which, if she was by herself, she had to wrestle up and in to place and latch to Sadie's packframe (Tennessee Walkers are some of the tallest riding horses around, Sadie, tho a mule and only half T. W., was no exception).  The panniers were about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long, maybe 18 to 22 or so inches deep and stuck out from Sadie's packframe about a foot or 14 inches, were of heavy plastic or maybe Kevlar-type material...not light, that's for sure!!  She loaded up, there were photos taken, hugs given and she and her pals headed north across the Rim.  They were to meet that evening with horsey-type T.A's from Redding who were supplying her with water and fodder. at the microwave station.  Hauling Ass and Co. were planning to make it to Ashland this season and to do the rest of Oregon and Washington next summer.  By Nov., however, they'd made it to just out of Weed when they ran into snow and sleet, so bad that footing became a real problem.  She couldn't reach Mary and Jack, so called on the Redding couple, who went immediately to fetch them back.  Michael also set out from San Diego and met them the next day in Redding.  They all came through here on their way to CO., where Michael has property.  At that point, the game plan for next summer remains the same, only they will start from the Weed area instead of Ashland.
Sooo, this is long, I know, but while I've talked to one other rider on the trail over the last four or five years, I'd never seen up close and personal, all that's involved and I wanted to share.  I'd also like to say that I am filled with admiration for this young lady.  She never once spoke in the singular about the trip they were on, only in the plural, "we did this" or "we did that",  never "I".  She checked her stock's feet and for saddle or packframe sores every day, was so concerned for her 'family', that a tender spot was worth a days rest.  I think she told Squatch about the incident with the bees, maybe he'll include it in his latest DVD. pretty funny, but scary too.  She put her animal's welfare before her own, hoisted those awkward and heavy panniers almost 5 feet up in order to place them on Sadie's packframe (at least the days of diamond-hitching loads on pack animals are pretty much past), and tossed her saddle on Monte, who stood at about 17 hands (a hand is four inches) at the withers, or the shoulders. Angel traveled slower than your average hiker... for while she grained her stock both morning and night, she can't carry alfalfa or hay and grain alone isn't enough.  When something eatable is found along the way, usually spotted by Sadie, who is allowed to roam free when away from civilization, the opportunity to graze is never overlooked.  It's too important to keep her stock healthy!  They average 13 to 17 miles a day.  I found them truly amazing!!   
Now...opening Pandora's Box...I'd like to air my take regarding horses on the trail.  Last June I commented on this same subject on PCT Forums after some folks objected to horse apples on the trail.  I loved the support I got from Jonabee and others. I suspect that in SoCal, there are more horses in the form of day riders that use the PCT.  But, hear this folks...the PCT, in California anyway, was made by horses for horses and foot travelers.  There is no way a trail the length of this state could have been laid out nor could it be maintained today without the use of horseflesh.  The Montes and the Sadies of this world allow trail maintainers to reach remote areas of the trail and to pack into these areas the chainsaws, the explosives, the picks and shovels, etc. needed to keep these sections of the trail open to you...the foot traveler.  They haul the supplies, food and water to allow these volunteer trail maintainers the opportunity to stay out for several days or even weeks, the time needed to complete whatever the goal they've set for themselves.  Anyone who's hiked the Hat Creek Rim can attest to the fact that hauling a chainsaw, fuel, and the CDF-required shovel along with even just the water they need to carry would be an almost impossible burden.  At least, around here, they no longer have to carry a fire extinguisher as well.  The hiker who runs into someone on horseback especially if that horse is carrying tools should give the rider his or her heartfelt thanks that this rider is out there, making life easier for that hiker and those who follow.  And step around the sweet-smelling droppings that are left by the stock.  And should remember that this trail was designed for both the horse and the hiker, so get over it or go find another trail if horse pucky bothers you so.  
And to the sobo hiker who left Old Station quite late in the season and saw fit to write graffiti regarding no horses (or motorized vehicles, with which I sympathize) on the trail,on the blaze markers for days and days.  I'm really disappointed that you chose to spend your time this way.  To my almost certain knowledge, only one or maybe two other hikers saw your ravings, and at least in this area, your eyesores are gone...removed by PCT riders who, from the backs of their horses, replaced them with fresh markers too high up trees for you and your black marking pen to reach, unless you're into stilts!  Shame on you....
Thank you all for your time,
Georgi
Trail Angel, Old Station
P.S.  Reinhold, my friend....did I read you correctly?  Did you really threaten to consign someone (Switchback) to being a Trail Angel?  Is that a punishment?  Why?  What have all those others of my ilk and I done so wrong?  As for me, I'm having the time of my life...all summer long I grin from sunup to well after dark....more people should have to serve this kind of punishment!!!!!
G.