Our Club had planned a trip to Sugarloaf. We’d meet at Sugarloaf, ride our horses to the Fish Camp for dinner, return to Sugarloaf on what was supposed to be a nice moonlight ride and then, of course, ride on Sunday before returning home. We’d never been to Sugarloaf before but had heard many time how much fun it was. We were told that the horses didn’t need shoes to ride there, so Melinda and I quickly decided that this would be a fun thing for us to do – just us and, of course, other club members – but we were leaving our men at home!
We loaded up Spottie and Sunni and off we went talking, laughing and having an excellent time – so much so that we passed our turn. We backed up, made our turn and soon arrived at the campground for some primitive camping. . . . . our first primitive camping trip I might add. Prior to this trip, we didn’t realize just how primitive it was. So many times we’d heard primitive used when there was water but no electricity. Well, the campsites at Sugarloaf Mountain are truly primitive – they have neither! Note to self: bring water along for the horses next time so you don’t have to lug buckets back and forth from the pond that is quite a ways from the campsites!
We set up camp when we arrived and saddled up for our ride to the Fish Camp on a beautiful afternoon. We couldn’t have asked for better weather! We hit the trail with the rest of the group, riding mostly roads on our way. Most of the roads were sandy or clay until we came upon quite a few areas of rock. Spottie did fine only a couple of mis-steps from the rocks, but Sunni soon became sore. She’d been trimmed only a couple of days before.
When we made it to the Fish Camp, it was beginning to get very cloudy. The cloud cover was dark and stormy looking. We hoped it would pass while everyone was enjoying dinner together. Little did we know, it was just the beginning.
After dinner, we headed out to mount back up and enjoy a moonlight ride back to the campground. Soon after though, the thunder and lightning began. I then realized all that I had was my lightweight raincoat. I had left my duster on Kirby’s wagon, and he was well ahead of us. Everybody was to stay together, and no one was to be left. I just want to go ahead and say now, thank God for excellent horses. Melinda and I are truly blessed to have such wonderful animals. Soon, you will understand why I say this.
Well, as it turned out, Melinda and I got left behind. I know everyone was trying to get back as quickly as possible, but we couldn’t move fast because of Sunni’s feet. Melinda and I soon found ourselves alone on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm with no place to take shelter. The rain was so hard it was stinging our faces. It was so hard, the horses kept stopping and turning their butts toward the rain. It got to the point we had to get off and walk to get them to move. The water was rushing down the mountain roads like a raging river. The water was up to our knees, and the road was washing out on either side of us.
The horses had stopped again. Melinda was ahead of me with Spottie, and Sunni and I were behind. It was so dark that you could not see your hand in front of your face – except when the lightning popped. The thunder boomed and lightning struck incredibly close to us startling Sunni. She bumped into me pushing me into Spottie who stepped forward. I called Melinda – no answer. I called again – panicked this time – she answered. When Spottie stepped forward, she had pushed Melinda into the washout where the road once was. When I called for her the first time, she was struggling to get back onto the road and out of the washout. The only thing that kept her from being swept down the mountain was Spottie. When she slipped she was able to hold onto Spottie's reins, and Spottie never flinched. Most horses would have freaked having someone's weight pulling on their bridle. Remember what I said about excellent horses?!?!
Finally, a few minutes later, the storm stopped and the sky cleared. It was now a beautiful evening. We continued to walk the girls for awhile. We turned down the road to head back to camp. Melinda wanted to stop for a "soggy" cigarette, so we stopped at a church parking lot. I am not real sure how she got that cigarette lit. While we were standing there talking, we noticed the little "juke joint" we’d passed on the way and realized that we were on the wrong road! I had never been happier that Melinda smoked. (I am usually trying to convince her to quit.) We turned around and headed back the right direction.
We were nervous as we approached the juke joint. The little juke joint was on the right side of the road, so we walked shoulder to shoulder with our horses on the opposite side (and, of course, on their left side). Knives drawn, we quietly walked past trying to go unnoticed. Besides, who would think two saddled horses walking by in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere was strange? As we walked, we soon realized that Sunni’s feet weren’t bothering her anymore. We were back on sandy roads, so I got on her with only the halter and lead rope. I didn’t even worry about tying it to the halter on the other side. Melinda got back on Spottie, and we started on our journey again. Sunni seemed fine. Apparently, the cold water had been therapeutic for her. We rode on laughing and enjoying the night. Soon after, Bobby drove up with a trailer to rescue us. We were glad to see him, but we politely declined. The night was just too pretty, and we weren’t far from camp now.
After riding back in, Thomas and Valerie were kind enough to let us hook up to their generator. Soon, we discovered just how wet we were. We had to help each other peel our clothes off which turned out to be hilarious. I am sure if anyone was standing outside the trailer, they were wondering what in the world all the giggling and laughing was about. Melinda’s duster didn’t help her stay dry at all, so not having my duster with me proved not to matter. We concluded that we’d never been that wet before – not even while in the shower or even the tub!
The next morning, we packed Sunni’s fee with vet wrap and then wrapped them with duct tape. She still seemed to be fine, but I wanted to be on the safe side, and no one had any easy boots. It worked well, and we rode for few hours before heading home.
Our trip, which had all the makings to become disastrous, ended well. I don't know what would have happened - to either of us - had Melinda not been able to hold onto Spottie's reins when she slipped. I couldn't see her and had no idea that she'd slipped for what was probably only a minute, but it seemed like an eternity. Neither one of us scare easily. While standing in that church parking lot though, we both admitted we’d never been more scared. We were very fortunate. Our prayers had been answered, and we obviously had help getting through this "adventure." We agreed then – if you’re scared, say you’re scared!
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