Back in 2015, in a post called “In My Back Yard Part II,” I described an area that was missed by the glaciers. Called the Driftless Area, or technically the Paleozoic Plateau, its characteristics are of ridges and valleys varying as much as 1200 feet in vertical altitude, with winding and steep roads serving mostly farm equipment and, in my case, motorcycles. I’ve visited a couple of times on the Kawasaki this year, most recently with my partner in road-crime, Randy.
But even more recently, I joined my horse-glamping wife for a tour on horse back. Quite a contrast.
On the other hand, in the OF (organic fuel) version of riding, the challenge (for me) is to hang on as my horse leaps (canters) up a steep hill or avoids rocks by walking through bushes and trees along the side of rocky trails.
In both cases, the scenery is second to none and the ride is exhilarating.
The horse-glamping tour came from an interest in trying a newly constructed horse campground in Governor Dodge State Park near Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The Park lies in the Driftless Area, as noted in the name of its 15 mile, circumvential trail called the Driftless Trail. Eighteen of twenty brand-spanking new camping sites are fully powered so that the riders with horse trailers that have living quarters for humans can run their air conditioners, televisions, and refrigerators while horses recuperate in their own individual corral pens.
Horses (and some riders) need to recuperate because the trails consist of a series of climbs and descents, some of them quite steep. Why would a rider tire from these “hills”? Well, if you’re not quite so experienced, and not quite in shape, it might be because the way a horse typically handles a climb is in a manner that reduces the time of the climb. In other words, they at least trot and often a canter up those hills. If a horse is trying to make a point to the less experienced rider, he may choose a choppy cadence in his trot (really fast walk) that increases the vertical of each step, thereby increasing the impact of the saddle on the seat of the rider. Or, in a canter if the less experienced rider starts to lean to one side because of temporary balance issues, the horse may communicate his displeasure by twisting a little bit to further challenge the riders balance. None of these maneuvers threatens safety, but they do cause not-commonly-used muscles to tire, making the end of day fireside chair all that much harder to climb out of when you want to fetch that next beer.
This kind of riding and glamping is my wife’s definition of heaven. And to keep me enthused, she keeps the rides relatively short, and the fireside relaxation (recovery) periods long. As an experienced rider she does not, however, need to take advantage of those resting periods much. Instead, as there is much work to be done to maintain the OF riding vehicles, she’s up and about replenishing Organic Fuel, cleaning up the byproduct of OF consumption and processing, and maintaining equipment. She’s moving and working most of the time, without complaint. In fact, usually with a smile and humming her favorite Disney tune, never casting a judgmental frown as I nurse my aching whatever and sip my beer.
The ride is certainly worth it. The tops of those climbs often expose endless vistas that overlook lots of valleys, some with lakes formed by dams made long ago. The trails alternate from grass to sand to rocky surfaces that pass through walnut groves, prairies, oak savannas, and marshes. Unlike FF riding, it’s all done at a speed that allows you to identify nearby birds and fauna, hear the wildlife, and smell the changing topography. Other than the very occasional hikers or oncoming horse riders, there’s no worry of traffic or detours. Trail maps are posted at most intersections, making GPS superfluous.
Quite a contrast to FF riding. The Driftless area provides a fantastic riding Mecca for both modes of transportation.
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