[pct-l] A "Salute" to Ed "MendoRider-Hiker"

[Reinhold Metzger]

Ed,...43,000 miles on horseback....it staggers my imagination.
You are the  "Scott Williamson"  of  "Horsemen"......I will bow in your 
presense....and Primo's also.

BTW...what is the age of Primo  and what is the life expectancy of horses?

That was a great trip report....looks like you and Primo make a great 
team and shared some great adventures together.

Hope to meet you and Primo on the trail someday.

JMT Reinhold
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Ed...."MendoRider-Hiker" wrote:
There has been recent posts on these subjects.
For those who might be curious, I thought I'd post in on my approach to 
riding the PCT with my horse.
It actually took four years - although we reached Canada at the end of 
the second.
Then I had to return to the PCT to ride the Sections between Horseshoe 
Meadows and Sierra City, which I had trailered around in 2008 to avoid 
the snow.
During my journey, I never stayed in a motel.
I only ate in restaurants twice - once at McDonalds, Cajon Pass ( I rode 
Primo through the drive-thru there), and also at Vermillion Valley 
Resort (great food there).
The only real foraging along the trail was by my horse, Primo, as he 
grazed while we were in our camps and also all along the trail whereever 
he saw something that he wanted to eat.
I did a LOT of research and planning before attempting the PCT.
I had the benefit of having already ridden about 43,000 miles, 
including horse camping in back country places with just one horse.
I had also done a lot of backpacking.
I did 99% of my foraging before starting each year.
I foraged along the aisles of Super Markets, Costco, and Health Food 
Stores.
I bought all of my food ahead of time.
I also dehydrated some of my food myself.
I bought all of the special processed horse feed that would supplement 
what Primo would eat, in addition to his grazing, while we on the trail.
I did a little foraging for myself along the trail too - a few wild 
plants that I was familiar with, berries, and trout.
That was probably just 1% of what I ate.
To RESUPPLY, I planned a resupply box or cache for each location and 
boxed all food before starting mine and Primo's.
Each box was marked with the planned resupply location.
While passing through S. Cal., I recall that I cached ( buried and 
camouflaged) four times ( I always carefully re-camouflaged the spot 
after recovering a cache), was met by my wife four times, by a friend 
once, dropped off at the Equestrian Center at Warner Springs, and sent a 
resupply box to Kennedy Meadows.
After restarting from Sierra City, I had decided that caching was, for 
me, the best, and most predictable way of going.
A big advantage was that it did not require that I be on a schedule and 
was therefore safer (trying to stay on a time schedule with a horse can 
be risky) and allowed much greater flexibility- I could take a "0"day on 
the trail if I discovered a great place to camp.
It took a lot of research and pre-planning to find safe places to leave 
Primo while I would drive my rig north, sometimes several hundred miles, 
caching along the way, and then park it in a safe and pre-planned 
location near the trail where I could also leave Primo after I rode him 
there.
Then, I would hitch-hike back to where I had left him, saddle up, and 
ride north, recovering my resupply caches as I went, to where I had 
parked my well-stocked camper and horse trailer.
After getting there I would usually take a "0" day in my van camper (I 
designed and built it myself), which is fully self-contained with solar 
recharging and water heating.
Then I would leave Primo and all of my supplies and equipment, 
and repeat the strategy that is described above.
My last cache was at the Ranger Station at Harts Pass.
 From there I rode to the border and back, and then down towards Mazama, 
where I had last parked my rig.
A part of my way of going on the trail was to hike, leading my horse.
Of course, I got much needed and appreciated help from other 
equestrians, Rangers, Back Country Horsemen, hiker-friends.
In addition to my hitch-hiking, I was sometimes offered rides.
The journey would have been very difficult without their help.
For example, I arranged to be trailered around the dangerous for stock 
"Little Giant" part of the Section K detour in Washington.
One of my planned stops was at Hiker Hide-Away. So, I covered most of 
the distance between Mexico and Canada three ways: by driving, riding, 
being offered a ride,or hitch-hiking, and sometimes, when available, 
taking buses.
It never took longer than a day to return south to Primo - and, while 
hitching, I always carried my knapsack with my sleeping bag and what I 
would need if I had to spend the night in some remote location.
The HYOH philosophy is the reality.
Each person who hikes or rides on the PCT will choose, or end up 
doing, what is best - or what circumstances dictate.
A thru in one season, a thru achieved in multiple seasons, Sections, a 
part of a Section, hikes or rides of just one special part of the PCT, a 
record attempt, a yo-yo, a journey including all of the towns along the 
way.
However you go - the important thing is that you go!
MendoRider-Hiker