trip cancelled

Butch's rope burn was worse again yesterday morning. I asked myself, if I were at home, would I ride him?

The answer: No.
I'd call the vet and give him time to heal.

Instead of hauling to Colorado City, TX, I asked Lee to turn around and haul us back to my rig at John & Lois' place in Salt Flat.

I took Butch home today.


Thank you to everyone who has helped me & Butch mule on this attempted ride, everyone who has lifted us up with your support and encouragement and belief; to John and Lois, you incorrigible enablers! for seeing me off at the beginning and being there in every way possible throughout; Annie for the half-chaps and britchen; to the MTR Texans who planned to host or meet up, maybe next ride; thank you to Darren, Lee, Cathy, for your endless patience, good humor and refusal to accept any excuses when I needed a good kick in the butt, and for biting yer tongues & letting me make my own mistakes and learn the hard way when needed; thank you to JoAnn and Joyce for showing me true Texas hospitality, welcoming me into your homes and treating me as one of the family; to Charlie and Drue Stanford and family, and all the hands at the Collier ranch; to the good folks of Seminole, especially Meriya; to Bo, who I still hope to meet; to anyone I'm forgetting right now only cuz I'm old and it's late at nite; and to all those at home in Arizona (plus Lee and Mel in CA) who have given your love and support since the planning began... from Betty's Mule Shower to Sally's printouts to Tom's chaps to Jan's holding mail to Jack's cat sitting, to all my friends who spent so many hours of listening cheerfully to my obsession. And finally, thank you and much love to my Mom, Dad and brothers for your support even after you realized what I was actually planning to do!

I could not have gotten this far without all of you.

Next one will go better...

trial run con't.

Upshot is... I was so mad as we went out the gate I was telling Butch he better speak Spanish, but he redeemed himself completely. He went the whole 16 miles without making any scenes, at a good steady walk, behaving like a gentleman every time I got off and on. We had a great ride and when we pulled in, his only sweat was under the saddle pad (and he wasn't dehydrated - he drank plenty at every opportunity).

About an hour into the ride, I finally let go of the idea of trading for the molly mule. I've messed around long enough, far too long in fact. I'm taking Butch. He's a good good mule, I know him, and he knows me. We'll try it again together.

So... restart tomorrow!  Said my goodbyes to new friends the Kleins, packed up, Kathy leaves for her home up north and Lee will trailer us out to our new starting point tomorrow. Doing it more wisely this time - have places to stay lined up for all but one night of the next two weeks.

If you're reading - thank you for following the ride - posting might be spotty for a while.

All the best to you and yours!

Final trial run - overnight, 16 miles packed

Butch seemed to have recovered from his temporary insanity - the 20-30 lbs he lost pacing appears to have been mostly water weight (he was drenched in sweat, hardly ate or drank for a night & day). He filled out a lot after a day of hydrating. He still looks thinner to me than I'd like, but he's so raw boned and now buffed up, it's hard to tell how much is lean muscle.

Anyway, mule calm, leg fine, cut healing, so I decided to take him for one last test before deciding whether or not to continue. Lee arranged for me to camp out on the land of a friend of his, 16 miles away down mostly deserted rural roads. Lee trailered us there late yesterday afternoon. I set up camp with Lee coaching me on how best to stay organized and set up/take down efficiently (advice I promptly ignored and then ended up rooting around in my bags in the dark, of course). I slathered Butch's lead rope with nasty-tasting fly goop so he wouldn't chew it in half, tied him and hobbled him and went to bed. He did well.

This morning (after comedy of newbie camping errors we won't dignify by describing), finally camp all rolled up, time to saddle and pack my mule. My mule had other ideas. He moved. He fidgeted. When I corrected him he came up with  new tactic, backing up. He shook himself after I put on his pads, while I went to grab the saddle, shaking them out of place. I manage to get the saddle on, start cinching, and he swings his butt toward me and feigns biting at a fly, dislodging the saddle position. Pull off saddle and pads and start over...

Packing actually went a little better. By that time I'd corrected him enough, or he'd been shocked enough by the level of profanity his person gave vent to, that he stood fairly still. I discovered, however, that Butch is even taller than I imagined, or I'm shorter. I couldn't reach the top of his cantle bag to tighten the straps or attach the canteens. So I re-rigged the canteens and bucket over the horn. Feeling quite pleased with myself, I untied Butch and proceeded to mount.

Attempt to mount, that is.

Getting on tall Butch with all the packs is a complicated yoga move in the best of circumstances. Butch decided to make it even more complicated by adding the extra challenge of a moving target. He stood stock still as I put my foot in the stirrup, then every time, the instant he felt me hoist myself...

he'd start walking. Or turning. Or backing up.

More colorful vocabulary, much pulling of riens and turning of mule, round and round and round.
And, finally, we're off.

To be continued [time to go feed] ---

about healed

Quick note -  swelling completely gone, Butch's leg looks fine. Burn wound much improved, still very tender to the touch but healing up.

Isolated Butch night before last by moving pen buddies across the street, and my mule lost his mind again. Better today, grooming calmed him down, loaded all his packs and rode him a ways. By the time we returned his ears were flopping. Tonight camping out alone with him (in a safe location) to see how he handles it.

limbo

Everything is in limbo while we wait.

The swelling is way down on Butch's left hind, but the hairless area has become a moist, lightly oozing wound, and I can tell now it is most likely a rope burn. When I hobbled him to a tree on the last ride, there was a stake hidden in the long grass that he got the poly rope hung up on. His left hind was only caught for a moment, but he did jerk it, and I think that one-second jerk is what caused both the burn and the leg strain. I was afraid the situation was much more serious, but thankfully it appears the stocking up (swelling) is only due to a mild injury, healing quickly. Butch is feeling fine now, bored, making mischief and playing with the gate. He's putting full wieght on his foot. No limp at all. Right now I'm more concerned about the burn.

So I treat him 3x/day with exercise (leading down the road), meds and 20 minutes of hosing, and wait... and watch... and wait.

Butch is sore, summer is here

Yesterday had Butch in a working trot for longer than he's used to; last night I noticed the area in back of his left hind foot just above the coronet band had all the hair rubbed off with pink skin showing. It didn't appear tender but I put salve on it anyway.

This morning the bare crack is tender; he's favoring that foot a bit, both hind pasterns are slightly swollen and he's walking slowly on all four feet. (No heat in his feet, thankfully.) Lee says it's to be expected, just like a person being sore the day after a heavy workout, but I am concerned. Seems to me we built Butch up to this point pretty carefully, yesterday was not much more than the day before. I am wondering, again, if Butch has what it takes for this journey. If I'm asking too much of him. Next couple days will give some idea.

I ran the hose on his legs for a while, reapplied salve to the crack and gave Butch the day off. Re-evaluate tomorrow.

The summer heat has set in. Yesterday by the time Butch & I returned to the barn it was 105. I had planned to be beyond the west Texas desert by now! We'll just have to deal with it... turns out Lee and Kathy are too busy now to leave for thier own trip next week and help with water/feed caching. If we can't be dropped off beyond the water-danger zone (as far as towns being close enough together to avoid being stranded, waterless) I'll either have to go back to get my rig and haul us to an entirely different destination (if I can plan a new trip in such a short time), or haul us back home.

boot camp update

Boot camp is going well. Butch has put on wieght and is fit; we're doing average 12-13 miles every morning, and another 2-3 in late afternoon. Practice miles, local rural roads. We rode next to a train twice, and the second time Butch didn't spook until the two engines on the end went clanging by. He no longer shies from huge tanker trucks. Best of all, he stands still for grooming, saddling, and mounting, and for the minimal packs I've had on him so far. Next we do the rides with full packs.

Tomorrow the plan is to go over my entire camping/pack setup, making any adjustments needed. Hope to leave for re-start by the weekend.

Kidnapped!

Darren, Kathy and Floyd (Lee)

A few posts back I mentioned meeting packer Floyd Lee Morton and Kathy at cowboy church, and them offering to help coach me on packing. They came by the next evening with thier horses & mule, bringing a decker packsaddle to show me, and rode with me & Darren for about 10 miles out on the ranch. They left me a cared and said, please call with any questions.

Day before yesterday, worked with Butch mostly on the ground. He saddled up more quietly, but after a short ride was a stinker about standing still to be unsaddled, so we put him on the hot walker to ponder the strange ways of humans for a few hours.

When I went to take him off he tried to shove me and pull the lead away. He got backed up, tied to another post and left for a couple more hours.... I had concerns about this, and about Butch ponying another animal on the road, after the big spooks over oil rigs going by on the narrow dirt road. Also questions about the weight Butch is carrying.

So that night, I phoned Lee to ask his advice. After we talk a while Kathy gets on, says "Can we call you back in a few minutes?" 5 minutes later I pick up the phone and hear:

"We want you to come stay with us for a while. Lee knows every inch of that country along your route. We can get you and your mule pack-ready, go over your gear, and teach you what you need to know. He's gonna go over the details of the route with you, and help you plan stopovers. Then we'd like to do some overnight camping anyway, so we'll all go out to the grasslands before we send you on your way. So when do you want us to come pick you up?"

Dumbfounded, I stuttered out something about helping Darren the next morning before I leave. They said they'd come around noon next day. I hung up the phone, looking around for some kind of reality check - it seemed so unreal! I stepped outside the trailer in a state of cheerful shock. How could this be?

When Lee and Kathy came the next morning, we all - they and Darren, D's best friend who has been working on the ranch, and Charlie (the ranch owner)'s 2 sons who work there also - stood around telling stories for a bit. Then the boys (yes, I can call them that - they're all younger than me) all gave me goodbye hugs (cowboy hugs!) and wished me well. After we had delivered Butch to his new pen and gotten back to the house, I hesitated at the suggestion I unfold the sleeping couch.

"It's okay, I can sleep on the couch in my sleeping bag."

"Are you sure? The bed is a whole lot more comfortable. So are sheets."

"Well, it's just... I decamp so often, I've learned it's not wise to unpack and get all situated."

"Oh, heck, just settle in. You've been kidnapped. You're gonna be here a while!"

That night Lee grilled steaks, Kathy and I made salads, and we all sat around the dinner table howling over Lee's stories - from pack trip for vegetarian college dudettes to wax smuggling over the border - his life is a book in itself...

This morning Kathy and I did a timed ride on Butch to guage his trekking gait while Lee went to town. Tonight we're all decompressing from the work week. Tomorrow longer AM ride, groundwork, Lee goes over my tack and probably takes Butch for an evening ride.

I have given up on any semblance of a schedule. We'll start again when we're ready. We'll get there when we get there.

Life is meant to be savored as it is lived. Viva la vida!