This year, I was scheduled to take a trip out to Mongolia to ride the Mongolian ponies, visit with nomads, learn from the famed eagle hunters of the Altai Mountains, and generally expand my horizons. Sadly, the virus made this impossible. So I did something else - went on an adventure through Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia with my horse for the first time. While I have done plenty of camping and pack trips with horses, this was my first trip hauling and camping with my own. It was the perfect type of vacation for these times; I came into relatively close contact with only 5 friends, and spent most of my time outdoors. I stayed safe with my masks and hand sanitizer, as I do at home, and it was all quite easy.
My horse, Quervo, is a mustang, a horse born out in the wilds of the Oregon high desert, captured when he was around 3 or 4, and started under saddle by the inmate program at Canon City Correctional Facility in Canon City, CO (watch the documentary, The Wild Horse Redemption, to learn about this program). He is bred to be a hardy horse, and he proved it on this trip. While he clearly wondered what we were doing when we started, he figured it out and took good care of himself, and I gained a new level of respect for him by the end of our journey.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
I miss the mountains. So visiting the Smoky Mountains was like taking a breath of fresh air for me. Seeing the mountains on the horizon, feeling the clay and stone under my feet instead of sand, and hiking along a mountain river were all much needed rehabilitation for me. I stayed at a property that rented out cabins and a couple of campsites, owned by a lovely woman who had lived there for over 40 years. The trails were challenging, fun, and beautiful. One day, when my horse got the day off, I went hiking on a popular river trail, and saw a bear family crossing the river. I stopped several times at the river's edge, soaking my feet or meditating to the sound of the water. It is a National Park I have never been to before, and will definitely return to in the future!
South Mountains State Park, NC
My next stop was in central North Carolina, at a mountain that is a branch of the Blue Ridge mountains. This was my least favorite stop, although the campground was absolutely beautiful! It happed to be a rainy several days, and the equestrian trails were not my favorite kind. But as I rode, it looked like the hiking trails were much more interesting, and I may have stayed a bit to hike to the waterfalls if the weather had been different. Quervo was definitely glamping at this site, while I roughed it in my tent in the rain!
Here I really practiced slowing down, taking some time to read, consider, and simply breathe. I had my phone, of course, but I mostly used it to take these pictures, and I avoided all of the other distractions it could have provided.
Southern Pines, NC
After leaving South Mountains State Park, I headed over to Southern Pines, NC, to visit some friends. Quervo got a little space in my friend's barn, and I got a little space in her barn apartment. It was nice to get a short break from the tent, get to wash my clothes and eat fresh food, and most of all, see some people I had not seen for a while. I was too busy to take pictures!
Hard Labor State Park, GA
My final stop on this trip was at Hard Labor State Park, just east of Atlanta. It is not the most inviting name for a park, but it turned out to be a wonderful place. Beautiful trails, a nice campground, and two excellent ambassadors for the visiting horses! Two resident roosters accompanied Quervo everywhere, even sleeping above his stall each night. Which was nice for him, since he was the only horse at the campground during our stay. At Hard Labor, I was really able to relax and just be, without feeling the pressure of a racing mind. I saw wild pigs, a variety of interesting mushrooms, and all kinds of birds on our trail rides. I look forward to returning to this park again, perhaps on my way back up to the Smokies!
I know that for me, it is essential to take some time every year to "live" outside for a while, to connect to the larger world in which I live. I believe that is important for all of us, so we don't inadvertently become the center of the universe, but an important part of it. I am grateful that my life has afforded me the opportunity to take this trip, to have a fantastic horse with whom to share it, and kind friends to visit with on the way. I encourage you to go on your adventure - whatever it looks like - when you can!
