With our 35th Anniversary coming up this year, Lee & I were looking for an awesome ride to commemorate it-Yes! Let’s GO for it! Every 3 years the Double Cross happens so it was coming up this September so we set our sights on it and rode every chance we got so we could make the 25 +/- miles every day for 21 days. We sent in our money and marked the trophy box, figured up all the supplies we needed, horse feed and hay, dog food and our food, figured up fuel and Lee set up the stopovers for our trip.
So off we go, loading up our two Missouri Foxtrotter geldings- Eagle’s Rockin’ Granite- 15 years old & Kate’s 007- 10 years old- leaving Sept 5th and drove to Campground Stables in Altamont, Illinois. Nice place, safe and secure big stalls. There, to our surprise, we met 3 others traveling to the ride! Amy, Becky & Galen from Oklahoma. The next day we all left and we traveled to a little layover outside of Flint, Mi. Thursday Sept 7 we arrived at River Road Camp about 1:30pm and settled in nicely behind our new OK. friends!
Trail Boss Gale checked us and our horses in and we visited and got our things ready for the next days ride. At 6pm Gale rounded everyone up for the pot luck with MTRA cooking hot dogs. So much good food to eat! At the meeting they explained the next days trails and then we ate. Everyone was excited about tomorrow! Rain was coming in so we blanketed the horses and went to bed. So begins our RIDE!
Sept 8- 17 miles-this is a 2 way ride, you can ride to the lake or from the lake. We chose to ride to the lake so our friends used our trailer to drive to the lake parking lot. Starting at 9am- 38 degrees & drizzle off we go following the blue dots/horseshoes/markers through the forests of poplar, birch, maple and pine- beautiful tall trees & the leaves glistening in the rain with the sunlight dancing on them. Nice easy, sandy terrain, the trails quiet except for the rain as we wound through the forest; beautiful ferns everywhere with colorful mushrooms popping out here and there. Saw several ant hills & had to watch for badger holes. The candy fairy, Donna, had gotten out early and left candy along the trail to help the newbies see the markers so they could recognize which way to go. Once in the town of Oscoda, we rode through residential areas to get to the lake. Rose & her friends, as they passed us going the other way, had already informed us that Lake Huron was rolling! After we crossed the busy highway & rode beside the boardwalk- There it was, waves crashing & spraying everywhere! Awesome! So windy and cold, but Seven marched right into the water at my urging and tried to get a drink but the waves were crashing & then going back out so quickly that it was just sand before he could get very many sips. He seemed so puzzled! Granite was in the lake but not happy- the water was really cold! We saw the OK. riders coming so we waited to take their pictures in the water. Their horses all looked at those waves and said NO WAY! Then one after another they all got their feet wet so we all left, loaded up and drove back to camp to get ready for Saturdays ride! 7pm meeting the trail boss told us to watch out for bees on the trail, about the trail and lunch would be served for the next 4 days for a donation. Tomorrow will be a high of 57 but no rain!
horseshoes/markers through the forests of poplar, birch,
maple and pine- beautiful tall trees & the leaves
glistening in the rain with the sunlight dancing on them.
Nice easy, sandy terrain, the trails quiet except for the
rain as we wound through the forest; beautiful ferns
everywhere with colorful mushrooms popping out here
and there. Saw several ant hills & had to watch for
badger holes. The candy fairy, Donna, had gotten out
early and left candy along the trail to help the newbies
see the markers so they could recognize which way to
go. Once in the town of Oscoda, we rode through
residential areas to get to the lake. Rose & her friends,
as they passed us going the other way, had already
informed us that Lake Huron was rolling! After we
crossed the busy highway & rode beside the boardwalk-
There it was, waves crashing & spraying everywhere!
Awesome! So windy and cold, but Seven marched right
into the water at my urging and tried to get a drink but
the waves were crashing & then going back out so
quickly that it was just sand before he could get very
many sips. He seemed so puzzled! Granite was in the
lake but not happy- the water was really cold! We saw
the OK. riders coming so we waited to take their pictures
in the water. Their horses all looked at those waves and
said NO WAY! Then one after another they all got their
feet wet so we all left, loaded up and drove back to camp
to get ready for Saturdays ride! 7pm meeting the trail
boss told us to watch out for bees on the trail, about the
trail and lunch would be served for the next 4 days for
a donation. Tomorrow will be a high of 57 but no rain!
Saturday- 19.1 Up and feed horses and us, pull highline,
saddle and scatter manure – all by headlamps and
flashlights. This would be our mornings for our entire
ride. Lee is our Rig Jumper so he and Pistol get in the
truck and follow the bus to the next camp while I watch
the horses. The Big Blue MTRA bus driven by Barb- brings
all the rig jumpers back to camp where they saddle their
horses and hit the trail- some fast, some slow, groups or
single riders. 36 degrees when we rode out at 8am. We waited for all the bucking horses & fast horses to leave before starting off, we just took our time & let our horses pick their way down the trail as it was going to be a long day of riding. Beautiful forests today- trees everywhere, winding trails in the pines- lunch was served – hot ham & cheese, cookies, chips and drinks. Just an hour or so from camp! Coming into the camp area we could tell we were high & the valley was deep but the trees were so thick we couldn’t see. Fed the horses & our supper was beef stew & our OK friends had burgers, we visited with them while we ate & then the folks from Vermont Jeanie & Mike came over & we all visited- enjoyable- then to the meeting - water on the trail unlike today- that is good 27.3 miles to McKinley & a long bus ride for the rig jumpers like Lee tomorrow-Good Night!
Michigan Shore to Shore
500 miles by Cindy Fonken
Trail Boss Gale checked us and our horses in and we visited and got our things ready for the next days ride. At 6pm Gale rounded everyone up for the pot luck with MTRA cooking hot dogs. So much good food to eat! At the meeting they explained the next days trails and then we ate. Everyone was excited about tomorrow! Rain was coming in so we blanketed the horses and went to bed. So begins our RIDE!
Sept 8- 17 miles. This is a 2 way ride, you can ride to the lake or from the lake. We chose to ride to the lake so our friends used our trailer to drive to the lake parking lot. Starting at 9am- 38 degrees & drizzle off we go following the blue dots/horseshoes/markers through the forests of poplar, birch, maple and pine- beautiful tall trees & the leaves glistening in the rain with the sunlight dancing on them. Nice easy, sandy terrain, the trails quiet except for the rain as we wound through the forest; beautiful ferns everywhere with colorful mushrooms popping out here and there. Saw several ant hills & had to watch for badger holes. The candy fairy, Donna, had gotten out early and left candy along the trail to help the newbies see the markers so they could recognize which way to go. Once in the town of Oscoda, we rode through residential areas to get to the lake. Rose & her friends, as they passed us going the other way, had already informed us that Lake Huron was rolling! After we crossed the busy highway & rode beside the boardwalk- There it was, waves crashing & spraying everywhere! Awesome! So windy and cold, but Seven marched right into the water at my urging and tried to get a drink but the waves were crashing & then going back out so quickly that it was just sand before he could get very many sips. He seemed so puzzled! Granite was in the lake but not happy- the water was really cold! We saw the OK. riders coming so we waited to take their pictures in the water. Their horses all looked at those waves and said NO WAY! Then one after another they all got their feet wet so we all left, loaded up and drove back to camp to get ready for Saturdays ride! 7pm meeting the trail boss told us to watch out for bees on the trail, about the trail and lunch would be served for the next 4 days for a donation. Tomorrow will be a high of 57 but no rain!
42 / Sport and Trail Magazine
Lee and Cindy Fonken on their 500 mile ride