Mountain Trails Again! (Who would have thought?)

Amazingly the Ponderosa Trail has dried out enough to get around the six mile loop without sliding off the mountain! Yay! I was hoping against hope to get back up there but I honestly figured the snow and rain would have messed it up in for the year. Glad I was wrong!

Flyboy crossed the river like a pro-boy and attacked the mountain like a real trooper. The sticky-but-not-too-slidey mud-covered trail did not slow him down. He just dug in and climbed. There were three of us today and Fly was happy in the back or middle, but wasn't keen on leading out again. At least we know what we need to work on. His confidence is growing, though. I can tell a big difference in his relaxation and forwardness. I am sure he will continue to progress and will take the lead eventually. He doesn't mind getting left behind, and he doesn't crowd the horse in front of him. He is no groupie, and that makes me happy!

On the way down through the wet shady side of a meadow we encountered a good-sized black-mud bog. We tried to cross in several places, but there was no good place. It was very wet and deep.We finally had to backtrack and take a little detour to get around it. We still had a few boggy spots to cross, but Fly was cool with the mud and his Easyboot Gloves stayed put. My friend Gail's horse was wearing Old Mac G2's and they also stayed on in the seriously sucky mud. Gotta love the boots!

The rest of the way down was quite rocky and steep. Fly handled himself pretty well. He is learning. He is earning my trust as well and I am starting to feel like he will soon be ready for the Red Rock Pasture Trail. If we don't get up there in the next week or two we will lose the chance for this year. It's a gorgeous trail, one of my favorites, quite technical in places, lots of creek crossings (21 to be exact!), and an eight mile trip. I'm voting we try it next week.