Heading Out on the Trail
April 13, 2005
Hi Everyone,
Well Peter and I made it to San Diego and let the horses decompress for a week at Theresa Neese's place—San Diego Equine Sports and Training Center. Theresa proved to be extremely helpful and generous--she donated the boarding of Val and Rocky for the week and went way beyond the call of duty, providing much assistance in that first week. We began our journey at the Featherstone Christian Camp with another set of terrific hosts, George and Doris Hoyt. We finally ended up on the trail on Thursday, April 7. The trail turned out to be extremely elusive. All the entrances we tried to access were closed, as we found out later, with good reason. The Sea to Sea Trail which has a beautiful website, ended up not really existing. The trail was, well, dangerously steep, up and down from sea level to four thousand feet elevations, mountain after mountain, It was no wider at times than two feet. It was one of the most terrifying and overwhelming experiences we've ever encountered. Picture a goat, atop a craggy mountain slope, on a narrow rocky trail. Peter ended up walking for thirty-five miles. He called himself my midget sherpa. I was so thankful he was able to walk and guide us through the whole thing. We finally made it to Saddleback Mountain, where the trail was once again closed due to dangerous conditions. The wildfires in 2003 and then all the rain had reduced the trails to nothing more than cavernous, rocky ledges. We ended up heading up Eagle Peak Road which took us into the town of Julian, CA. We road in four days after we had started, weary, tired, filthy, hungry....and emotionally spent.
Julian is a throw back from the the old midwest. Not much has spoiled the town, although it attracts its share of tourists, which is what we encountered that late Sunday afternoon. We had no idea where we would go or what we would do. We ended up hitching up at the Sheriff's office. The local sheriff hooked us up with Suzanne Porter and Wayne Moretti of Country Carriages. Suzanne was in the middle of providing horse drawn carriages down the main street of Julian, but graciously offered us her in-town stable where we unloaded and took care of our weary companions, Val and Rocky. The stable was perfect and we were staying with local celebrities—for those "Desparate Housewives" fans, Wayne and Frankie, the horse, were featured on last Sunday's funeral episode. But you couldn't meet more down to earth people than Suzanne and Wayne. As it turns out Wayne is a horsepacker and as we pulled in, he was returning from a ride with his brother, Phil, where they both were planning a future long ride---the Pacific Crest Trail. They were fascinated by what we had just gone through and what we were trying to accomplish. For the past three days, Suanne and Wayne have put the horses up, free of charge, nutured the horses and us, and even fixed our trampled gear.
Peter, however, was spent and had achieved his goal of getting me through that rough first leg of our journey. The trip had taken it's toll on him, and he realized that this was more than he could handle. Southwest Airlines contributed a ticket for Peter to return home, and Theresa drove up to Julian to take him to the airport. Letting him go has been the hardest thing I have had to do on this trip thus far. I am so grateful that he was with me. I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for his company, his resourcefulness and guidance, and for that I will be forever grateful.
The next leg of my journey starts at 7 a.m. tomorrow. I'm rested, as are the horses, and Wayne is riding with me for the next two days up to the desert. It'll take me two days to cross the desert, but the Indian Reservation has offered to make a water drop for me and to put me up for the night once I reach the other side. I will keep you all posted when I have service again. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers--
Love to all,
Linda :)