I had decided to make this blog separate and only for the purposes of traveling by horse; however, it leaves too many gaps in postings. With this in mind I have decided to just keep it simple and post anything on here. I don't have too much to say anyway, so why not?
-GW
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Intermediate Update
I have written to a couple of long riders, that have ridden through the states I wish to go through. I am still waiting to receive information from them. I have planned all that I can at this point, until I receive some answers I am looking for.
I will post again when I have something.
Be happy.
-GW
I will post again when I have something.
Be happy.
-GW
Monday, February 11, 2008
A Call from The Long Riders' Guild
I received a call from the founder of The Long Riders' Guild, CuChullaine O'Reilly, this morning.
What a great call. He is a wealth of information. CuChullaine gave me email addresses for some military and ex-military who are currently long riders, or in one case plan on becoming long riders when they retire here shortly.
We went over some issues that I had questions about in my email to him.
1. what is the bear situation? He has not heard of a single problem with bears from any long rider.
2. what issues are associated with changing elevations from sea level to high mountain altitudes? The horse will acclimatize with no problems.
3. what issues have there been with local folks on the back roads? Every decade at least one long rider has been purposely killed. Another concern are backpackers that don't think horses should be on "their" trails. Nevermind that the horses opened those trails and built those trails in recent times, for the backpackers to use. Also, the fact that it is PUBLIC land, not backpacker land. He gave me a couple of instances of interactions with purist backpackers.
I thought my biggest concern was going to be bears and other wild animals. It looks like the 2 legged animal will be the biggest concern. I grew up in south Georgia, where real rednecks existed, where they thought (and probably still do), that the Mason-Dixon line runs through Macon, Georgia. This was before Jeff Foxworthy showed most of the country that rednecks were everywhere. The rednecks that Mr. Foxworthy speaks of, I would classify as "good ole boys". The kind of folks that would run down someone that is minding their own business, is the kind of person that needs to go the way of the Dodo. They are no better than some gang-banger in a large city.
I can see myself about to go off on a tangent that I do not need to pursue at this juncture. I am hoping for the best, but trying to prepare for the worst.
Live free people.
-GW
What a great call. He is a wealth of information. CuChullaine gave me email addresses for some military and ex-military who are currently long riders, or in one case plan on becoming long riders when they retire here shortly.
We went over some issues that I had questions about in my email to him.
1. what is the bear situation? He has not heard of a single problem with bears from any long rider.
2. what issues are associated with changing elevations from sea level to high mountain altitudes? The horse will acclimatize with no problems.
3. what issues have there been with local folks on the back roads? Every decade at least one long rider has been purposely killed. Another concern are backpackers that don't think horses should be on "their" trails. Nevermind that the horses opened those trails and built those trails in recent times, for the backpackers to use. Also, the fact that it is PUBLIC land, not backpacker land. He gave me a couple of instances of interactions with purist backpackers.
I thought my biggest concern was going to be bears and other wild animals. It looks like the 2 legged animal will be the biggest concern. I grew up in south Georgia, where real rednecks existed, where they thought (and probably still do), that the Mason-Dixon line runs through Macon, Georgia. This was before Jeff Foxworthy showed most of the country that rednecks were everywhere. The rednecks that Mr. Foxworthy speaks of, I would classify as "good ole boys". The kind of folks that would run down someone that is minding their own business, is the kind of person that needs to go the way of the Dodo. They are no better than some gang-banger in a large city.
I can see myself about to go off on a tangent that I do not need to pursue at this juncture. I am hoping for the best, but trying to prepare for the worst.
Live free people.
-GW
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wood....Party of One
Just a note.
My daughter may not be taking the trip with me. She has decided that it will be too long in the saddle. With that in mind, we are going to take some shorter trips, which I had planned anyway to whittle down my list of items to take, and to make sure we/I can setup and break camp as efficiently as possible. I mentioned to her about taking a south to north trip, from Texas to Wyoming, in order for her to get 1,000 miles of continuous travel. That will only take about 10 weeks. We will see how that works for her. Maybe she will change her mind.
This is part of my definition of happiness, and may not coincide with hers. That is ok, too.
Be happy.
-GW
My daughter may not be taking the trip with me. She has decided that it will be too long in the saddle. With that in mind, we are going to take some shorter trips, which I had planned anyway to whittle down my list of items to take, and to make sure we/I can setup and break camp as efficiently as possible. I mentioned to her about taking a south to north trip, from Texas to Wyoming, in order for her to get 1,000 miles of continuous travel. That will only take about 10 weeks. We will see how that works for her. Maybe she will change her mind.
This is part of my definition of happiness, and may not coincide with hers. That is ok, too.
Be happy.
-GW
Friday, February 8, 2008
Alternate Route
I have been looking at another way of going to Montana, without going through the Gulf Coast states. I think I may like this better. We will be in the southern version of mountains with this route.
View Larger Map
Be happy.
-GW
View Larger Map
Be happy.
-GW
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The Long Riders' Guild
The Long Riders Guild is an organization for people who have ridden at least 1,000 continuous miles, on a single journey, on horseback. I read that the there are less than 200 verifiable long riders alive in the world. Of those, around 50 have a recognized long ride in the United States. Those 50 are not all US citizens, or residents. I am not sure of the number that are, but let us say that 30 are. There are almost 300 million people in the United States. So less than 0.0000001 of a percent of the population has done this (1 person out of 10,000,000 people).
That is a staggering number of people who have no idea of what real freedom is.
My motivation for this ride is not commercial or ego driven in nature. My motivation is to discover what else is out there...to feel, to see, to experience in such a unique way. I have been in combat, been an executive in the corporate world, and traveled a great deal of the world, either for corporate or military reasons. My own country I have driven, from coast to coast, on numerous occassions...but I have never SEEN the country that I love so much. How can you see it going 80 mph, driving from dawn to dusk?
I believe this will be a truly wonderful experience. I am hopeful that my daughter will go with me on this trip, as we currently have it planned. I am not sure that I will be leaving from Georgia. I have been across the southern states so much that I fear it will be quite boring. I may start from Texas, but that has not been set in stone. I still have about 14 months before the planned departure.
Be happy people.
-GW
That is a staggering number of people who have no idea of what real freedom is.
My motivation for this ride is not commercial or ego driven in nature. My motivation is to discover what else is out there...to feel, to see, to experience in such a unique way. I have been in combat, been an executive in the corporate world, and traveled a great deal of the world, either for corporate or military reasons. My own country I have driven, from coast to coast, on numerous occassions...but I have never SEEN the country that I love so much. How can you see it going 80 mph, driving from dawn to dusk?
I believe this will be a truly wonderful experience. I am hopeful that my daughter will go with me on this trip, as we currently have it planned. I am not sure that I will be leaving from Georgia. I have been across the southern states so much that I fear it will be quite boring. I may start from Texas, but that has not been set in stone. I still have about 14 months before the planned departure.
Be happy people.
-GW
The Rifle
I will be taking a couple of firearms with me. The main one I am concerned about is something for bears. Now, I have no intention of hunting a bear, and like most people would prefer to see them from afar, maybe take a picture or two, and move on with my business while allowing them to keep taking care of theirs. That being said, I know that there have been instances where some folks tried to do the same, and even more where they didn't know the bear was there until they were drug out of their tent at night.
I have seen no mention by any equine travelers on bears in the western US; however, I know they are there. I am not sure if their is some unspoken thing about it, but I plan on my daughter and I making it back in one piece, or at least trying my damnedest to make it happen. I will definitely not go gently into that good night.
All of this being said, the rifle shown above is what I will be purchasing, getting proficient with, and making sure our horses and pack animals get familiar with. I have fired many weapons in the past, both in the military and as a civilian. I know I can handle the weapon, but getting it into action in just a few seconds will be required to make it worthwhile. I will see how it works for me.
Be happy.
-GW
Sunday, February 3, 2008
First Post
I decided to start a new blog dedicated only to horse travels. I am planning a trip from Georgia to Montana. My daughter and I will be going before she takes off to college in 2009. It will take awhile for planning and to gather the disposable funds for the trip.
I plan on taking the route shown below. I know it is a circuitous route, but I will be carrying weapons and I want to stay in the states that have reciprocity with Georgia's Conceal Carry Permit; especially since my teenage daughter is going with me.
There does not seem to be too much info on planning a trip like this on the web. The only reference I can find for packing for a trip like this is people who have completed treks, and published books about it. I know there are those that do it for the fun of it, I just need to find them.
View Larger Map
Enjoy life.
-GW
I plan on taking the route shown below. I know it is a circuitous route, but I will be carrying weapons and I want to stay in the states that have reciprocity with Georgia's Conceal Carry Permit; especially since my teenage daughter is going with me.
There does not seem to be too much info on planning a trip like this on the web. The only reference I can find for packing for a trip like this is people who have completed treks, and published books about it. I know there are those that do it for the fun of it, I just need to find them.
View Larger Map
Enjoy life.
-GW
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