[pct-l] Thru-riding, north to south

[Dorian]

Mendorider,

it seems that in fact I have underestimated the difficulty of the PCT. I
will just look if some parts can be safely integrated in my route. Thank you
to have bring my foot back to the ground. PCT seems far too isolated and
hardcore for what I'm planning. I think that the official PCT website should
emphasise a bit on this :)

Still, if you had the patience to point me parts of the PCT that are
managable, it would be interesting for me. For information, with two horses,
I should be able to be autonomous for 6 nights, if I'm able to find enough
graze.

To be honest, I'm searching for good contacts able to advise me a bit, and
moreover for a good starting point. Any help in these matters would be
trully appreciated. But perhaps this is a bit too off topic on this list...

Dorian

2011/5/10 Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>

>  Dorian,
>
> You are GREATLY underestimating the difficulty of thru-riding the PCT. Over
> the years many horses and mules have suffered and sometimes died of colic,
> have been seriously injured, and have fallen to their deaths on the PCT. In
> 2009 two riders started the PCT from the border of Mexico. Both had
> accidents. One horse fell 50' off the trail and was badly injured. The other
> rider, sadly, killed both horses when they fell several hundred feet. The
> rider was rescued by helicopter - it was her third rescue. There are some
> parts that you could ride safely. I have ridden more than 2000 miles of it
> and have been to both borders. No colic. No injuries. I hope to be able to
> finish the Sierra part this summer.
>
> I am a member of the Long Riders Guild and have ridden over 46,000 miles in
> nearly 29 years.  At the request of the Guild I have written an article for
> their website  on the subject of advice to equestrians wishing to ride on
> the PCT. I suggest that you should start your research by reading it at:
>   thelongridersguild.com-advice/pct
>
> We now have a stockmans forum on Postholer.  You can access the forum and
> other information by typing in:         edandersonpct
>
> I don't know of any feed stores on or near the PCT. You will definitely
> need a truck and trailer - and perhaps someone to meet you at road
> crossings.
>
> In several places it would be safer to not bring a second horse. I hope
> that you realize that not all horses are equally capable of being ridden on
> the PCT. I have written about what you should be looking for in a horse.
>
> You need to do a LOT of research if you are seriously considering riding a
> lot of miles on the PCT.
>
> MendoRider
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Dorian <dorian.bannier at gmail.com>
> *To:* pct-l at backcountry.net
> *Sent:* Mon, May 9, 2011 10:46:54 AM
> *Subject:* [pct-l] Thru-riding, north to south
>
> Hello everybody, I'm new there, I just subscribed today.
>
>
> My name is Dorian, and I will be coming in USA in one month to try to
> thru-ride from north to south. I'm a very experienced rider, and I decided
> some times ago to have a 6 months break to do such a trip. To be honest, I
> did not know about the PCT before yesterday, but it seems to fit perfectly
> well what I want to do. Of course, if some parts appear to me to difficult
> for the horses or for me, I'll just find an other way around these parts.
>
> I don't want to bother you, but I would like to ask few questions :
>
> - Firstly, I will need to buy the two horses I will need to do this trip.
> If
> any of you know a good ranch or farm near the north of the trail that would
> allow me to gather these two horses and take a week or two to train them a
> bit and get to know them, that would be wonderful.
> - It's a bit the same problem : is it easy to access the beginning of the
> PCT without following a big road for hours? I would prefer to access it
>
> directly riding rather than having to pay for the transportation of the two
> horses.
> - I read that there are few feed stores near the trails. Is it still
> possible to make the whole trip (or most of it, like I said, I'm willing to
> ditch from the trail for some parts if needed) without a supply angel?
>
> Thank you all.
>
> Dorian
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
>