LOST AND FOUND

Two episodes involving lost horses on the trails ended very differently. But, say the experts, both illustrate how the right precautions can help you avert disaster whether you’re riding the backcountry or suburban trails.

- Merri Melde

In retrospect, I know that I did many things wrong on my pack trip into California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Initially, all was well as I rode my horse, leading a two-pack string, while my boss and a friend hiked behind me. But then I made a basic and irreversible mistake: I didn’t hold onto or securely tie my horses when I dismounted to confer with my boss.

My horses are smart and trained to ground tie, so I wasn’t too worried when they started to walk down the trail away from us. I said “Whoa, boys,” and began to follow. In response, they defiantly picked up a trot. I clearly remember my feeling of disbelief as I watched the dust kicked up from their hooves. Then came a sinking realization as the horses disappeared down the trail---I lost my pack string in the wilderness.

“That’s the first takeaway,” says Laurie Adams, a Camp Sherman, Oregon, resident who for 17 years was a member of the all-volunteer Camp Sherman Hasty Team of Jefferson County Search and Rescue. “Always hold onto your horses.” It seems like commonsense advice, but we let go of our reins or lead ropes all the time, just for a few seconds. And that’s all it takes for disaster to strike.

My next mistake: I had nothing on my person besides a buck knife. The horses were carrying the maps, radio, water, lighter---virtually all the gear needed to sustain three people for seven days in the wild. We were six miles from a trailhead in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, 161,000 acres spanning the high country at the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

“Always have your essentials---or at least the basics---on you in a fanny pack: your phone, GPS, a little food. It does you no good if your horse leaves carrying everything,” Adams says.