Adventures June 23 through June 27

On Tuesday, June 23, Winnie and I set out to conquer Mt. Craigsmor, taking Route 52 over the hill to Pine Bush, NY. Before we began the ascent, Joyce Anderson surprised us at the Ellenville Park with fortifying sandwiches and plenty of water. Winnie had a great attitude about the climb and enjoyed the views of the Hudson Valley below. At one scenic overlook, we met Correctional Officer George Paradise, who smiled when he heard that our ultimate destination is Paradise, CA.

On the downhill side, we met the Schuberts, Ralph Senior and Jr., who brought a bucket of water for Winnie and ran to the local store for ice to cool our drinks (yes, Winnie prefers her water iced on a hot day).
Later on, we met Lucy Muller near an ice cream parlor, who got teary-eyed when she saw how pretty Winnie looked, black coat shining in the sun. She thanked me for rescuing Winnie, and I explained how Winnie has rescued me, not the other way around. All these people and others along the way gave us monetary gifts and encouragement to boost us on. A good thing, because we thought we were doing 15 miles that day, but it turned out to be 18, not to mention the climb over the big hill in the heat of the day (Sorry New York! I have trouble calling the hills in the East "mountains" because I'm from out West, where we have the Rockies and Sierras). Still, we arrived at Roy Czop's place before dark, and he proved a most gracious host for Miss Winnie, who by then was ready to enjoy his lawn and bed down for the night in a comfortable stall. We also want to thank Dr. Gill and his grandson, Andrew Quintana at Gill Standardbred Farm, for providing hay and bedding for Winnie to enjoy that night.

The next day we headed out from Roy's to Redgate Farm in Bloomingburg, NY, which we thought was only 6.5 miles away, but proved to be twice that distance! Winnie's major accomplishment that day was to bravely venture forth into an Interstate 84 underpass with rumbling truck noise overhead. She earned a fat stud muffin on the other side, where we took a break at the Quikway Diner, owned by Redgate Farm's Teek Prasad. Our host was found by fan Cheryl Wolf, who saw us on the road the day before and made numerous calls on our behalf.

We were greeted at Redgate by Margie Sanchez, who paid for motel rooms for Mister Albino and me that night! Kris Klim, another boarder at Redgate, gave me a much appreciated bareback pad for Winnie.

On Thursday, we needed a short hike after two killer days. Luckily our next host lived only 6 miles from Redgate. Tracy and Peter Collins greeted us in Middletown, NY, with refreshing ice tea, followed by a fabulous vegetarian cookout.

Winnie gorged on grass, carrots and apples, while Mister Albino and I enjoyed veggie lasagna, salad, skewered vegetables, corn and the best homemade potato leek soup ever created, courtesy of Tracy's culinary skill!

Right before sunset, a storm started to brew, so we hurried Winnie across the street, where neighbors loaned Winnie their horse's paddock for the night. The next day we enjoyed a hearty breakfast sendoff, and Tracy packed a lunch for us of luscious fruit, salad and cheese.

Friday proved to be a real test of our endurance. Again we underestimated the distance, and 14 miles turned into 16. Before we reached our destination, we were caught in an incredible, thunderous downpour. Lightening streaked the sky and branches flew around us, but Winnie remained calm, which helped calm me down, too. I didn't want to proceed under any power lines during the downpour, so both horse and I stayed put and endured the drenching for at least fifteen or twenty minutes before moving on. I was soaked to the core.

Mister Albino watched helplessly from his position in the follow car and later got stuck himself, due to a fallen tree. After pulling it aside just enough to let Winnie and me through, he had to find another route for the car. He found us a few minutes later, trekking the final half mile toward our destination in Sussex, NJ.

Because Winnie worried Mom by acting reluctant to trek all day yesterday, we are taking a few days off. Winnie is hosted by the lovely MaryAnn Donegan. Today MaryAnn's farrier took a look at Winnie's feet, and evened her off a bit. Her hooves look good, but Winnie seems a bit sore in her back end, so MaryAnn's vet will examine her on Monday. Until then, we are parked and enjoying a much needed rest.