Well, Max and I are back from our yearly pilgrimage to Morro Bay...four days of riding pleasure while camping at Montana de Oro State Park which, so far, has been spared from the threat of being closed like a lot of other California State Parks due to budgetary shortfalls.
This year was especially good and the weather even cooperated. Although it was overcast and foggy for the first two days, it was much better afterwards and the skies would clear out by the mid to late afternoon. Nothing like sun and surf!
Max and I arrived relatively late last Thursday and by the time I'd set up camp and fed Max, it was too late to do any riding. However, a friend and I got an early start the next day. We decided to ride in the mountains so we selected a trail- this time the Bloody Nose Trail (because of the height but don't let it scare you! :-)).
We picked up the trail outside of camp and after descending into a small valley, we rapidly began to climb, the trail turning into a series of long steps at several points. Max was a bit excited to get out and he definitely wanted to keep up with my fiend's horse- my friend and I ride a lot of trails together and his horse tends to be the Alpha and Max is content to follow along.
After about an hour or so, the trail had progressed to a ridgeline and it gave us some wonderful views of Morro Bay and the surrounding contrydie. The trail finally ended by a cove and we followed another trail that roughly parallels the one major road leading through the area and has a panoramic view of the ocean. Unfortunately, my crummy cell phone camera wasn't working so I wasn't able to get any pictures here.
Basically, we followed a loop and after about three and a half hours, we made our way back into camp. Overall, Max did very well and while he'd gotten a workout, his physical conditioning was excellent and had prepared him well for this challenge.
The next day, we headed to the estuary located behind the beach and then followed one of the access trails onto the beach. The sand on the access trails is pretty deep and we tried to select the one trail that was the easiest on the horses (but they're all pretty deep- horses are gonig to get a workout no matter what.
U expected Max to be a bit antsy about the beach, especially since we did very little beach riding last year but I needn't have worried- Max was pretty jaded about the whole thing and his only reaction was to try and sniff the water more closely. My friend's horse was a lot more hesitant about the water so I rode Max closest to the water. What was funny was my friend's horse kept trying to get close to Max, which meant that he was getting closer to the water. Go figure. :-)
After walking about a mile or so on the beach, we headed inland again and gradually made our way back towards our camp, taking the long way through the estuary. While people may think that the estuary is boring, I find it relaxing and peaceful and the dunes provide a sound barrier so you can't even hear the surf.
The nex day found ourselves, along with most of the group I was camping with, down on the beach again. Everyone took the opportunity to acclimate their horses to the surf and I have to say that Max performed flawlessly, I even trotted and galloped through the surg and got in deep enough to cover the toes of my boots. The galloping part was especially exiciting and although the waves were breaking close to shore (it was high tide), Max wasn't fazed one bit. Go Max!
Overall, this was one of the best trips I've ever had and it seems that Max is finally settling down- although sometimes he'd want to not stay in one place, I forced him to stand in place on the beach and he ultimately complied (it's all in the seat!). Also, absent was any jigging, even in a large group of horses and even when some were getting upset over the surf- and I was gratelful for that!
As an aside, it was interesting to watch Thor get his first introduction to the surf- he wasn't a happy pony but he made some progress.
I look forward to returning next year. :-)
Looking down on Morro Bay on Max.
The group heading to the beach- Max and I rode drag going down to the beach.
Max and I on the beach- it had started to cloud over when this pisture was taken.
More on the beach with Max...
A better look at Morro Bay.
On the Cable Trail heading towards the beach...
Start of the Bloody Nose Trail- we came accross a couple of deer here.
Max eating after a long day on the trail.
