SPRING TRAIL RIDING
There are times the trails need to be left alone
Story and photos By Robert Eversole Trailmeister
Many of our most common questions about trail riding are related to trail conditions. One of the reasons I created www.TrailMeister.com was to provide riders with trail information on trail conditions via links to the land managers as well as user comments regarding how the trails are holding up. Keeping our trails in a ridable condition is ever continuing project. I’m not the trail police but by the same token I’ve spent my share of days on trail work crews and invested a lot of time and energy into building and maintaining trail systems throughout the Pacific Northwest. It irks me to see these areas wrecked by other people (equine and others) that seemingly have no regard for other users. With that in mind here are a few thoughts to help you make a decision about when and where to ride when it’s wet.
Worse for Wear
Yes, horses and mules are well able to handle muddy terrain. But those wonderfully broad hooves can leave the trail much worse for the wear, especially during the spring. Runoff from spring showers can be heavy and intense, leaving trails waterlogged and vulnerable to damage from trail users, including equines.
Many new horse riders aren’t aware that riding in wet and muddy conditions can cause lasting
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damage to a trail. Natural erosion combined with scores of hooves tearing up loose single track can create major headaches not only for trail maintenance crews but also for fellow riders slogging through exposed roots and muddy pits of despair.
Riding a wet trail wrecks it, and if a trail’s wrecked, a couple of things are going to happen. First, other groups will see our hoof prints and look negatively on horse riders, which is the last thing we need in our quest to be seen as legitimate trail users. Second, it destroys the trail to the point where it may no longer be useable.
Of course giving the trails a break isn’t always an easy idea to swallow for some members of our equestrian community. A lot of us tend to think of ourselves as cowboys and talk of responsible riding makes us squirm uncomfortably. This becomes even more difficult when the message changes. 10 years ago it was common to hear that it was ok to ride around muddy spots and other obstacles. That
Riding a wet trail wrecks it