On the rope!Oh yeah, we did some wicked good rides this past season and I'm going to tell you why and how and throw in some of the the really good stuff that makes a great ride. You might think you've got a good idea what makes a super ride but I assure you you don't! I guess if you start the ride and get home with everyone that started and no broken bones you're on the way but there's a whole more to a great ride than meets the eye.
Rides come in every imagineable form you can and can't envision. I've had some good rides right in the round pen as an example. Getting that first ride under your belt on an eight year old green mare can be a great ride. I had a mare named Josey Wales back at our place this past summer and I can think of one training session that got western on the far side of the pen and didn't stop until she she stopped, putting the fear of God into me initially, but then leaving me with a rush of achievement and adrenaline, having survived one more back breaking bullet from a horse I should have spent more time with on the ground. That was a short ride but you got to do them once in a while. Those kind of rides keep you honest, you learn from them and become a better hand. You don't get to that point in your career by riding only the good ones. But you're got to be careful cause the wrong kind of wreck can do you some damage. I've spent more than a couple weeks in hospitals as a result of bad rides. That's no fun. By the same token, if you can figure out how to make a young, green horse better, you'll make yourself better as well. Be that as it may, although that ride lasted maybe twenty seconds, it was a good one, and obviously, I haven't forgotten about it.
Well, there's more. I haven't ever done a ride, with or without company, and in real good country, that I haven't always had my eyes wide open, looking, like a hawk, for critters. Over the years, I couldn't count the number of grizzlies I've seen from the back of a horse. Probably well more than a few hundred. A bunch for sure. And in all shapes and sizes, some way off and some too damned close for comfort. In all that time I've only had one poor encounter with ursus horriblis from the back of a horse and to this day I still can't figure out why and I assure that we didn't stick around to ponder the experience. My late wife Lora and I were horseback on Autumn Creek on our first ride since we'd gotten married, several weeks prior in early June. Autumn Creek (Crik) is a spectacular gem of country just a few mile to the east of us. It unfolds from the top of Marias Pass westward to just above the ranch in Glacier National Park. And in case you didn't follow that, Autumn Creek is about in our backyard. I've ridden, skied, and hiked that drainage countless times and even did a TV show there with ESPN sports called Photo Safari years ago. The ride down Autumn Creek is always a good one cause it's easy on the eyes and yes, full of big game, ie; elk, deer, sheep, goats, moose, and even some of the rarer stuff like griz, wolves, lynx, and wolverine, et al. And as cool as that country is, plus being in the park, I rarely see people in it. Hell, I think they're scared of the bears. I've seen four adult griz in a day on the six mile ride. And that doesn't count the bears you don't see! Well, to make a long story shorter, after riding a few miles in a primarily lodgepole pine forest, that drainage opens up and looks a whole lot like similar type country in Alaska. You can see a few miles in three directions and the "seeing" is good. Hell, it's as good as you can get.I don't remember what or how much we saw on the ride in question, atleast up to the point, about four to five miles down the trail and there, four hundred yards across the creek and up against a stand of quaking aspen is a sow and an older cub grizzly. And they're looking directly ahead, in our direction. At that distance I doubt if the two of them knew what we were but they sure as hell knew we were something. Cause, here they come and I kid you not. I'm watching this scene play itself out and I'm thinking, four hundred, three hundred, two hundred, and "honey, let's get the hell out of here." And so we did. In a hurry. We hit a lope, crossed the creek, then an opening, and turned our horses and faced up. I don't know about you but I like to face my aggressors and bring it on for better or worse. We'd put some distance between us and the bears I think so let's see what's what. To this day, I have no idea what started that rumble nor did we ever see hide or hair of that pair of bears again, and we made no effort to find out. But they were pissed off at whatever they thought we were and I suspect anxious to see us leave! And so another "bullet" dodged and the excitement, experience, and memory of another great ride etched into that less than nimble brain of mine.
I think it's too tough to call what the best ride I was on this past season. There were some real good days moving cattle on the Rumney Ranch with Beau Michael, his wife Suzy, Dutch, and the boys up close to the Canadian border. I always love riding with the Johnson boys, Tuck and Collan, on their place just east of town. And then spending some time with Mouse Hall down on the Two Medicine Breaks and River never dissappoints. If you're riding in good country, on a good horse, and in even better country, you can't lose. But, I'll tell you this..................
Diana (my new girlfriend!) and I spent a day with Bill and Chris Perkins in the Buffalo Lakes country of the Two Medicine and that was as good a day as you could have. They turned out to be really fine folks. They rode well enough but were even better compadres. We just got along well. Plus, the day was perfect, the horses were well behaved, and yes, we had one conflict free encounter with a big boar grizzly. I think the combination of all three elements just added up to one of those riding days where life is just smooth. Not only were we covering the country real well but when I did manage to see that big bear two hundred yards ahead I could tell pretty quickly he was a massive headed male with no axe to grind. I could tell he had some idea we were there but he didn't seem bothered in any case and continued eating berries by the mouthful while occasionally glancing up in our direction. I'll bet he was pushing 800 pounds, a massive brute. Chris and Bill were getting a good look at their first grizzly and what a look we had. For atleast ten minutes the four of us horseback watched that big sumbitch go about his way. He did finally catch our scent real good and hit a canter in the opposite direction. And that's the perfect end to that type of encounter with a potentially dangerous animal like a griz. We didn't want anything but a good look at him and all he wanted was lots of space between him and us. It all worked out and we got some good pics as well. You can't beat that.Well, I'll sure relay to you in the future some less than satisfying rides I've been on but for starters what you've just read is a good way to begin. As I've always said, "the only good ride is the one that gets you home safely." Getting bucked off or chased by a bear is OK if you make it out in one piece but the older you get the less likely it is that getting in a jackpot is gonna put a smile on your face. Been there, done that. Stay tuned!
There's that big griz!
