best tent camping in usa image
Valerie
I am planning on driving through Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho & Wyoming. I am mostly wanting to view the natural wonders & check out different national parks. I am planning to buy the $30/year national park pass. I am going to sleep in my car/camp out with tent on every night except for one night in Vegas I plan to get a hotel. I am planning on doing this over the course of 2 weeks. Any & all advice would be appreciated as well :)
Answer
Man that is a huge chunk of real estate to cover in two weeks : w/o actually looking it up I'd betcha that you're looking at 6000 miles ; possibly more
Realistically you're gonna be driving about 400 mpd which isn't the worst idea in the world bc there iS a lot that you can see from the road
Something that you haven''t mentioned is when you plan to do this : while that trip is barely do-able in the middle of summer it becomes impossible in winter
With those kinds of miles and those kinds of roads you're gonna need to rent comfortable biggish car like a Ford Taurus or a Toyota Camry
National Park Passes are $ 80.00 not $ 30.00.
Many NP campsites will charge you a fee ; The way that you get around that is to use the National Forests that often abut the NP and camp for free -usually
Man that is a huge chunk of real estate to cover in two weeks : w/o actually looking it up I'd betcha that you're looking at 6000 miles ; possibly more
Realistically you're gonna be driving about 400 mpd which isn't the worst idea in the world bc there iS a lot that you can see from the road
Something that you haven''t mentioned is when you plan to do this : while that trip is barely do-able in the middle of summer it becomes impossible in winter
With those kinds of miles and those kinds of roads you're gonna need to rent comfortable biggish car like a Ford Taurus or a Toyota Camry
National Park Passes are $ 80.00 not $ 30.00.
Many NP campsites will charge you a fee ; The way that you get around that is to use the National Forests that often abut the NP and camp for free -usually
How do I prepare for riding a horse many weeks and months?
dragonbree
I'm starting to plan a ride across country, solo, one horse. I need everyone's advice.
I have experience riding, but my riding and knowledge of horse care/health needs improving for this, no doubt. I figure on 6 months of full-time planning and riding and more advanced riding lessons, and 1 month with a horse vet so I can learn the basics. I'm not worried about the various discomforts (to me) of many months on the road: I've spent many years in difficult living situations outside of the USA.
But I am having some serious problems in making some basic calculations. I REALIZE EVERY HORSE IS DIFFERENT. But I wanted to run some figures past all of you to see what you thought.
First: I'll be looking at gaited breeds with a reputation for endurance (a Saddlebred or Creme & White, probably) of about 1200lbs. and train him / work with him for six months. Thoughts?
Second: I'm thinking that with the right horse we can cover 100 miles per week...20 miles per day (at whatever speed he wishes) for 5 days, and then a 2-day rest. Your thoughts?
Third: At 1200lbs I'm thinking he can comfortably carry 240lbs (20%), especially if 95% of our time is walking. I am 160lb: that leaves 80lbs for: kit/gear (tent, clothing, etc) at 25lbs; saddle & bridal at 30lbs; and high caloric feed (something like Purina Amplify) at 20lbs (3lbs/day as supplement to forage) that I would resupply each week; water at 8lbs each day. I realize my numbers are off because 3lbs of Purina Amplify along with daily forage isn't going to do it...or could it? It's hard to get reliable information on diet balance because so many 'experts' are people selling a supplemental product. If indeed a horse's intake must be 50% supplementation (non-forage) as so many people say, how is it that people take multi-day rides without carrying 12 pounds of feed for EACH day? Answer #1: they have a second horse to carry it. OK, but is that my only option? Do people really go on a 3-day ride with 36lbs of feed for each horse they have? I find that hard to believe. Sorry, but horse nutrition is what I am most ignorant about.
Fourth: Sleeping in the evening. Do any of you have any experience in what type of configuration works best for a rider and his horse when sleeping in the open? I believe in the kindness of strangers along the way, but don't rely on it. I have 'high-tech' lightweight camping gear, but I'm wondering about my partner: face him toward me, alongside, pointing outward? Any tips on his protection at night, when we have no shelter? Dry and level, yes. But what about threats from other animals? In the past I have driven three modular aluminum poles (very lightweight) into the ground (they stand about 3 feet high after being driven) to establish a triangular perimeter and wrap a 1/8" yellow-orange nylon chord (with red 'feathers' every two feet) around the perimeter six times at 6" height intervals. I also have have very small portable motion detectors that cover the perimeter. Any comments? Other suggestions? And what have you used to protect your partner from the elements (wind, rain) that you thought worked best, when 'stuck' outdoors?
ANY and ALL thoughts that you have on this would be GREATLY appreciated! If your opinion/comment is based on real experience, please share that with me. Thank you!
Answer
If predators are an issue, then you're a lot more at risk than your horse.
If you put your horse in a triangular space like you described, it'll take about two nights for the horse to realize it can lean on your cord 'fence' and push it down, then step over it.
I taught my traveling partner to graze in hobbles and let him wander and graze until I was ready to sleep (on the nights I camped out with him), then I tied him with the rope *just* long enough to touch the ground, but not for him to step over it. He would lie down and sleep. I slept lightly but restfully - I was aware of his movements near me and anything else going on around us.
Just tie the horse in a safe place and in a safe way (when you have to tie up), and he'll shift around as it suits him.
One time he was grazing a rich clover patch in a tiny paddock (about 20' square) attached to the barn where I was sleeping, on a farm that hadn't had livestock on it for years. He was one of those horses that slobbered heavily after eating white clover. I was sleeping on the barn floor, and he wandered in after getting his belly full. I half-woke, looked up at him and said hi, and he found a morsel of grass/clover in his mouth, so started chewing again. SPLOP! A lovely green blob of saliva landed on my cheek. "Thank you, my dear horse!"
He was raised in electric fencing, so he had healthy respect for anything that looked like a thin, smooth wire. One night he stayed in a small pasture that had electric fencing, but the charger wasn't working. I led him around the perimeter and periodically reached out to touch the cold wire, saying BZZZT! and jumping back as if I'd been shocked. This area was about an acre, I guess, with lots of grass and he was hungry/tired enough not to test the fence. Another night we stayed at a fairground and he was in an arena without a gate. I had a spool of nylon mason's line (~3/32" diameter twisted twine) and I strung it about 4 times across the gate opening, then warned him about the vicious jolt that awaited a careless horse. There was a bit of grass in there, and a friendly local horseman gave us almost half a bale of hay for him to eat his fill overnight.
I started the trip with a lightweight waterproof tarp, and during one storm I got off and led him, covered from neck to tail with this tarp. One other time we got caught in a storm in suburbia, and even though a kind person let us stand in their garage during the worst of it, my saddle got drenched. Not fun. For several days afterward, it was not fun, riding in a wet saddle.
Don't use a suede seat saddle. It will act like a sponge. Smooth leather will at least shed some of the water that gets on it, and it can be improved with the right conditioning products.
If predators are an issue, then you're a lot more at risk than your horse.
If you put your horse in a triangular space like you described, it'll take about two nights for the horse to realize it can lean on your cord 'fence' and push it down, then step over it.
I taught my traveling partner to graze in hobbles and let him wander and graze until I was ready to sleep (on the nights I camped out with him), then I tied him with the rope *just* long enough to touch the ground, but not for him to step over it. He would lie down and sleep. I slept lightly but restfully - I was aware of his movements near me and anything else going on around us.
Just tie the horse in a safe place and in a safe way (when you have to tie up), and he'll shift around as it suits him.
One time he was grazing a rich clover patch in a tiny paddock (about 20' square) attached to the barn where I was sleeping, on a farm that hadn't had livestock on it for years. He was one of those horses that slobbered heavily after eating white clover. I was sleeping on the barn floor, and he wandered in after getting his belly full. I half-woke, looked up at him and said hi, and he found a morsel of grass/clover in his mouth, so started chewing again. SPLOP! A lovely green blob of saliva landed on my cheek. "Thank you, my dear horse!"
He was raised in electric fencing, so he had healthy respect for anything that looked like a thin, smooth wire. One night he stayed in a small pasture that had electric fencing, but the charger wasn't working. I led him around the perimeter and periodically reached out to touch the cold wire, saying BZZZT! and jumping back as if I'd been shocked. This area was about an acre, I guess, with lots of grass and he was hungry/tired enough not to test the fence. Another night we stayed at a fairground and he was in an arena without a gate. I had a spool of nylon mason's line (~3/32" diameter twisted twine) and I strung it about 4 times across the gate opening, then warned him about the vicious jolt that awaited a careless horse. There was a bit of grass in there, and a friendly local horseman gave us almost half a bale of hay for him to eat his fill overnight.
I started the trip with a lightweight waterproof tarp, and during one storm I got off and led him, covered from neck to tail with this tarp. One other time we got caught in a storm in suburbia, and even though a kind person let us stand in their garage during the worst of it, my saddle got drenched. Not fun. For several days afterward, it was not fun, riding in a wet saddle.
Don't use a suede seat saddle. It will act like a sponge. Smooth leather will at least shed some of the water that gets on it, and it can be improved with the right conditioning products.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
No comments:
Post a Comment