Anybody planning on going on the 2011 XP ride should read this (click on link below) to get an idea of what to expect. Also, because this stuff is a decade old take it with a grain of salt and realize that while some of it still applies there may be parts that don’t. I’m just posting this to give people an idea of what to expect.
It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to have a good relationship with your crew. My advice for anybody going on the 2011 XP is to work out all of the fine details ahead of time. Start out with apologizing in advance for anything that you might do that’ll irritate your crew…because you will no doubt do that. They will probably irritate you as well. Figuring out how to get along will go a long way towards making the trip a lot more enjoyable for everyone.
I will post some thoughts later on planning and preparing for this event based upon what I learned from doing it in 2001. I’ve posted a lot so far that should help. I will also do some reviews and recommendations of GPS’s, map software and other techno type gadgets that will be both useful AND necessary for riders to have. btw – if you get Trail Blazer magazine look in an upcoming issue for my review on the Garmin 550t.
For those that want to enter simply send me an email and I’ll tell you how to do that! Hopefully within the next month I’ll have a bulletin board set up on the XP site where people can go to advertise that they are looking for a crew, or that they want to be a crew, or share an entry, etc.
12-1-99
UPDATES FROM THE DUCK
Sundowner Trailers has just delivered a beautiful new logistics trailer for the ride. We are in the process of outfitting it for use on the trail and for use during the 2000 season. Sundowner is the official trailer of the Pony Express and is making jackets for all the XP riders. If you haven’t filled out a questionnaire and returned it you need to get that done immediately.
We now have a tentative itinerary posted for the ride. THIS IS ONLY A ROUGH DRAFT AT THIS POINT IN TIME AND IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU DO NOT MAKE ANY FIXED PLANS BASED UPON THIS INFORMATION. The itinerary should give you an approximate idea of the general route of the trail and approximate times that we will be at various points along the trail. You will notice on the itinerary that we are planning a day or two extra in the Rush Creek Ranch area. Thanks to an extra effort by Andy Bender, one of the original XP riders, we will do a tour of the Rush Creek Ranch when the trail gets to that vicinity. On the western end, Tom Bowling is working on a suitable way through the sierras. There are only two real problem areas in finding suitable trail between St Joe and Sacramento. One is in the Salt Lake City watershed and the other is down Highway 50 after we enter California. If worse comes to worse we will trailer around these spots. We will keep you posted as the itinerary changes, but this should let you start making some general plans.
We have recently revised the original Invitation to Riders. This new revised announcement for 2001 appears elsewhere on the web page or can be obtained by e-mail from the duck. We have changed the terminology from entry fee to membership to make things more uniform in the future. We will be limiting the ride to members and guests for a number of reasons. There will be provisions for latecomers to participate as guests on a space available basis. Those of you who have not seen a copy of the original Once Upon a Duck should obtain a copy and meditate on it as you contemplate our future endeavor together. It may also behoove you to talk to some of the original XP riders about dealing with ducks. Ducks can become insensitive, sarcastic and downright difficult to deal with when stressed. You should definitely learn how to deal with stressed ducks before this ride begins.
When we started planning for the big ride we made mention of the fact that we plan to do very little, if any, formal trail marking. We will make use of GPS units and maps. We are now using a program called Mac GPS pro that shows a lot of promise for our purposes. While realizing that more people are using PC’ s than Mac’s, there just isn’t anything on PC that works anywhere near as well. We will definitely have good maps and written instructions for daily use with GPS way points entered on them. Although riders can definitely make it through the ride without any GPS assistance, it will certainly be a great benefit for those who do have and know how to use them. There are several reasons to refrain from marking the trail in the standard manner. The first and most obvious is the amount of time that it takes just before the riders come by. Unfortunately, in recent time, it has become almost impossible to put on a ride without having someone pull down or change ribbons. Because of this, it makes it imperative to have someone out in front of the riders checking the marking just before the riders come through. In addition, the riders become completely dependent upon the trail markings and stop using common sense. This is a unique ride in that the pony express trail is well marked as can be followed with a number of available guide books. With current written instructions, maps and GPS units there will be less problems with lost riders than with most rides. Please make the effort to become familiar with the GPS system and try to improve your orienting skills. We will be using topographical maps that have the course written over them.
Now is the time to start giving some hard thought as to what kind of rig you are planning on using. Although Smokey Killen was able to successfully travel to rides in a Cadillac convertible and a two horse trailer, you will probably want a little more comfort. If you are an experienced multi day rider, you know what you need. Those with less experience should make a real effort to inform yourself.
One of the major lessons that we learned in previous rides was the importance of compatibility between riders and crews. Riders should expect to hit bottom somewhere between 3 to 10 days into the ride. Sometime during that period everything will come together for the riders and their crews, or the team is doomed to failure. One of the great pleasures of doing an adventure of this sort is that for a certain period of time all of ones focus is directed towards a single goal. The crews are an important part of the team and can make or break an effort. If crew members are unable or unwilling to to place their riders wants and needs at the top of the priority list, there will be trouble ahead. This is a difficult adventure and the emotional and physical stresses will take its toll on everyone. A couple of months of isolation on a deserted island or perhaps a cruise on a submarine should test your compatibility.
We have been working on the trail and have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of dirt roads available in the eastern part of the trail. Between the time that we did the ride in 1976 and 1979 there was a great deal of paving done to the rural roads in eastern Kansas and Nebraska. There was a real concern that by now most of the farm roads in that area would have been hard surfaced. Much to our pleasant surprise, there has been very little activity in that area. We anticipate being able to ride on dirt surfaces most of the way. There are a number of secondary farm roads and canal banks that offer excellent footing for the horses.
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12-15-00
XP NEWS RELEASE
Here we are at the eve of the new millennium and the 2001 riders are finalizing their plans for next year. I have been asked to offer some advice on planning and will attempt to do so. First of all, everyone should remember what we are planning and take note of the differences that will be inherent in this unique event. The main difference between next year’s event and the previous events is our attempt to make it fit the AERC format. This is going to cause some problems with the mileage as it is impossible to find a camp exactly 50 miles apart for the entire distance of the trail. We have been unbelievably successful in coming very close, but there will be some days that we will have to do some creative planning to fit AERC’s rules. We have usually done this by either trailering to a campsite off of the trail and returning to the trail the following morning, or by deviating off the trail to a camp that will take us slightly off of our intended course. My general philosophy has been to try to find the best horse trail or road that comes as close as possible to the original trail. I am pleased with the effort so far. In eastern Kansas and Nebraska the existing roads are laid out on mile grids that match the section lines of the rural farms. I have generally looked for the poorest vehicle roads that offer a number of trail intercepts. I have been successful in finding some really nice roads that stay within a few miles of the original route and will certainly offer the modern riders a similar experience to the pioneers. The main difference between now and then is the amount of timber that has grown up in the area. After getting into central Nebraska we have found a number of irrigation canals that offer really great horse roads along their banks. While many have been worried about the conditions in the east, I found the first real challenge to be in the area of Casper, Wyoming. Between Glendo and Casper there has been a great deal of land transfer with an accompanying abundance of new fences. The changes of land ownership, along with new roads and railroads made it hard to find a suitable trail. I eventually found a route into Glenrock and found the side of the highway on into Casper suitable but boring. What became the first real obstacle was at the east end of Casper. I spent two days trying to find a way through town and was completely foiled. There is absolutely no physical way to get through Casper Wyoming without traveling over some very busy and dangerous streets. All of the recent trail travelers have had to go through Casper with a parade permit. Although this would be a possibility, I felt that it would not suit our purposes. I have therefore committed to making our first significant deviation at Glendo, Wyoming. From Glendo we will travel to the southwest towards the mountain village of Esterbrook. From there we will head west along the south slopes of Casper Mountain through northern Albany county and the Shirley Basin. We will pick up a stock drive trail that will bring us back down to the Platte River west of Casper. The area is still remote and will offer us an experience similar to that of our pioneer forefathers. After crossing the Platte, we will rejoin the Pony trail west of Casper and continue toward South Pass. We will be able to follow much of the original trail all the way to Sweetwater Station on the Sweetwater River. There have been a number of land transfers along the Sweetwater that has dictated finding a better route. I was able to travel up the Seminoe Cut Off which is a National Historic Trail just to the south of the pony trail. This route saved a couple of days or more from the pony trail and it saved four crossings of the Sweetwater, which would be no easy matter even for modern riders. The banks of the river are steep and the old trail crossings are washed out. The wash outs, along with the numerous new fences make the Seminoe route much better. I found it to be a great trail that remains exactly as it has for centuries. As we get close to the summit of South Pass we will rejoin the pony trail and continue west on a good trail until we reach the intercept with I 80 near the town of Granger, Wyoming. From there to the border of Utah, and then on down to Echo Junction, the trail basically sucks. While there are plenty of dirt roads, many of them have been “improved”, which means that they have had some form of road base or gravel placed on them. After crossing the state line and coming down into Echo canyon, there is no option other than to ride the side of the old highway. From Echo Junction to Camp Floyd the trail is no longer passable for horses. Basically all of the trail in Utah from Cache Cave near the Wyoming border to a point about 10 miles west of Fairfield has been paved and the lands along it have been developed. The lands on the eastern side of Salt Lake are part of the city watershed and are closed to animal use. The trail down Immigration Canyon is metropolitan Salt Lake and the trail south out of town follows State Street and goes through the state prison in Bluffdale. Fortunately, we have a solid base of XP riders who live in the areas east of Salt Lake and they have come to our rescue. Once we get to Echo Junction we will deviate to the south on a new rail trail that will take us into Park City. We will camp on the outskirts of the city and then do a couple of beautiful days through the Wasatch Mountains that will eventually put us in northern Utah County. After resting there for a couple of days we will trailer over the trail for about 20 miles to Camp Floyd at Fairfield where we will follow the general route of our traditional point to point rides into Carson City. After careful consideration, I have decided to end the ride on the outskirts of Carson City on Saturday night. Our present plans are to travel by trailer over the original route into old Sacramento where we will have a final banquet in Old Town. All attempts at finding a suitable route failed to offer a viable solution. While it is true that we were able to travel the original route in the past, one must remember that we were not under the constraints of an AERC format. The Sierra Nevada mountains remain a formidable obstacle to westward progression and have only been tamed through a narrow corridor by the modern road builders. To try and run a fifty mile endurance ride through this mechanized corridor would be foolish and dangerous. While there are options open to individuals that might be suitable, one must remember that any areas suitable for horse and foot travel has been closed off to competitive events. Ah, the price we pay for progress. Those who feel terribly disappointed can take the following week to ride along the old Capital to Capital route to the start of the Tevis, where they can really finish up a pioneer experience by completing the Tevis a week after the 2001 ride. Should you pursue this option, the Duck will be thinking of your trek through the heat of the canyons and will pray for you as he relaxes on his boat, fishing in the cool waters of Southeast Alaska
Well, the above trail synopsis should give you all something to plan around. Now let us take up the subject of what to expect the ride to provide. I refer you to the original copy of Once Upon A Duck, which has been published elsewhere on this web site. Expect nothing other than the barest of basics. This ride will bear no resemblance to our popular and relaxing XP rides. Do not plan on a shower trailer and free lunches. Plan on figuring out your needs before hand and taking care of yourselves. This does not mean that you will have to subject yourself to weeks on end of torture, but it will be your responsibility to figure out what is important to you. If you are planning on a relaxing vacation, riding your horse along the byways of America, when everything is right, you can do that. If you plan on riding every day and are along for the competition, you will need to plan differently. Those who plan to do the latter had best be prepared for all kinds of set backs. There are a number of things that I will have little or no control of. All that I can do is to be guided by my basic principles. Those of you who remember the early days of the point to point rides will be well prepared. In the old days we improvised at will and often came up with some innovative solutions. One of these was to stay in camp during a snow storm while we rode back to the east for a ways and then retraced our steps into camp for lunch. While we don’t really expect snow during the ride it is not unheard of in the South Pass area. We do expect rain, which can be heavy and devastating. Tornadoes are a possibility and the deepest and slickest mud you have ever seen are a certainty. While we don’t expect any problems with land owners and government agencies along the way, we will occasionally be faced with last minute changes such as having to pick up and leave our campsite on a minutes notice and go find another one for the evening. We will be potentially presented with all of the obstacles that your pioneer forefathers faced. Some of them prospered, having a good time as they did it. Others failed and are buried along the way. This is a great event and will offer you every kind of opportunity to succeed or fail. I have been able to pull myself out of the occasional bouts of deep depression created by agreeing to this project by remembering how little I have promised. If all else fails, we can always ride along the Interstate and do loop rides through the corn fields. We will have the basics, a couple of vets, although not of the high quality as our original chicken inspector, and a qualified ride secretary, if she doesn’t bolt and run before the ride. Imagine yourself showing up at a ride, a long ways from home and finding that the ride had been canceled. The sanction was still in tact and the vet was there and willing to work. Could the group get together and pull off a ride? You bet they could and they have in the past. Some of the greatest experiences of my life have been had during those kind of events. In fact, that is exactly what the Great American Horse Race and the first Pony Express races were all about. Consider this while you plan your trip. While you are away from the heat of the competition plan on how you will handle these upsets. You should pay particular attention to the selection of a crew. Remember that Murphy’s Law dictates that the only person with water on Wednesday is the crew for the rider that you offended on Tuesday. I have heard of riders who are planning on bringing two bed room trailers, complete with all of the accessories. A little history lesson here would be informative. Back in 1975, I thought I invented the idea of a horse trailer with a camper in it when I built the old green trailer (now white), that I still use on the XP rides. It is 22 feet long on the floor. It is quite modest by modern standards but was looked on as monster in the mid seventies. Many questioned my sanity in trying to get something that big into ride camps. During the 76 ride, we ran into a little Kansas shower while staying at Log Chain Station. Fortunately, the station was owned by a farmer named “Frenchie” Leveritt, who came to our rescue. He had the biggest 8 wheel drive tractor that I had ever seen and was still unable to pull out the green trailer. It was only after he got his neighbor to hook on to the front of his tractor that we were able to get to a county road that was passable. It is possible to get into real trouble with some of these big rigs. Here again, if you are along for a nice ride, you don’t have to move in the mud and adversity. If I were planning on making a real competitive effort, I would use a regular cab 4×4 truck with an Alaskan, or similar pop up camper, pulling a two horse slant load with a small tack room in front. I would leave the corrals behind and use sky hooks to tie the horses to the trailer. I would raise up the truck and equip it with a set of aggressive oversize all terrain tires. I would do a spring over conversion, or something similar on the trailer. I would try to have at least two spare tires, preferably ones that would fit either the truck or the trailer. I would carry at least a 9000 pound winch which would fit into a receiver in the front or the back. I would carry chains for all four drive wheels. I would try to outfit the truck and trailer as I would if I were supporting a Baja racer.
I would bring two good horses and try to have someone along the route taking care of any other spare horses that I had. Spare horses that were being kept somewhere near the middle of the ride could be delivered in a day no matter where you were on the trail. A great deal of worry has gone into the hay situation, but I wouldn’t worry about it as I feed hay cubes which can probably be bought along the way. The first 1500 miles of the ride is going right through the farm belt of America and hay is in abundance unless some very strange climatic event occurs. I would bring enough to get by for a few weeks if necessary. You can always rent a storage shed somewhere along the way and leave off your extra hay and grain. Everyone will have to decide for themselves how to handle it and what it will take to feel comfortable. I would want to have all of my tack issues resolved by the first of the year. Last minute changes rarely are best. I would keep everything as simple as possible and try to do everything I could to reduce stress. Imagine how much easier it will be to get into camp, tie the horse to the trailer, pull up a chair and have a cold beer. Consider how the size of your rig will dictate the availability of a good camp site. Visualize how far some will have to park from the official ride trailers if everyone has a mega-rig.
Some of the bloated capitalist pigs will wear themselves out just getting around the campsite. Well now you have my opinion, which along with a dollar and a quarter will get you a cheap cup of coffee. Should you choose to plan your event exactly as I described don’t blame me if it doesn’t work, it is only a suggestion.
There have apparently been some rumors that the trail was going to be properly marked and I would like to dispel that silly notion right now. I will be using all of my trail markings on the Schellbourne ride and don’t want to bother with it on this event. We will define the course by the use of written instructions and maps. Remember that this is a point to point ride that is going somewhere. Just as you follow written directions and maps to get to a ride, you will be following the same kind of thing as you go along on your horses. As an additional safeguard I have tried to create a GPS waypoint at every turn. These waypoints will be shown on a map and will be coordinated to the written directions. The GPS units will make your life much easier and I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to make use of this great technological breakthrough. Here again, laptop computers equipped with a simple mapping program will add to your enjoyment. I have made valuable use of the Delorme Street Atlas program. This basic street atlas has all of the detail that we need for this event. While it is possible to use the topo maps, they are unnecessary for our use. I have equipped all of the official ride vehicles with a low band radio system. These units will offer communication for up to 70 miles in the right conditions. I found a good deal through Discount Two Way Radio, in southern California who can supply additional radios to anyone who wants to be able to stay in touch with the ride management. Anyone wanting one of these units can call 1-800-895-5122 and ask Ben to set them up with an XP radio. A rig with a laptop and a Delorme atlas connected to a GPS would be able to pinpoint its location and get help with directions at any time. A rider with a GPS and a phone would be able to stay connected with his or her crew and call in support in short order.
I have been reluctant to publish anything more than a tentative itinerary for a number of reasons, not the least of which is my desire to prevent someone from creating a problem for the ride in advance. While we don’t have any specific areas of concern, there are numerous groups who would have concerns with our event. The results of this last election show how bitterly divided this country has become. We will be traveling through an area of the country that is in the midst of a genuine farm crisis. I have heard some insensitive, off hand comments made by some of my riders and crews that could and would create some real problems in rural America. I have lost some local lands on the XP rides in Utah and Nevada, due to comments made by people associated with the ride. Everyone should remember that we are going to be going into the backyards of rural America and many of those people are suffering financially. Sometimes the offhand comments of someone driving a hundred thousand dollar rig, on an extended vacation can be taken in the wrong light by someone who has just lost the family farm. Food doesn’t originate in the grocery store, nor does water come from the faucet. I will not have the time to find a new campsite and reroute the trail because someone has misrepresented what we are doing. I was asked to recreate the original pony express rides and that is what I have tried to do. As I have approached people along the way, I have represented our group as a riding club that has grown out of the groups that rode the trail in 76 and 79. I have found that the great majority of the XP riders are out to have a good ride and have little concern with the competitive nature of the event. The vast majority of our 2001 riders have expressed the desire to see the country from the back of a horse and could care less about their placing. Visualize yourself as a farmer with a large pasture amenable to hosting our camp. Would you be more likely to agree to let us camp if we were a family oriented riding club trying to recreate a historic event or a group of racers engaged in the greatest horse race of all time, racing over the pony trail at breakneck speed? I assure you, the low profile approach is less offensive. While all of us have a great deal of experience in riding 50 miles a day and realize that man and horse have been doing it for centuries, most of the everyday men on the street will be astonished to find that we are attempting something of this order. They fail to realize that most of these horses won’t be doing any more than they do during the regular ride season. A rider with two horses will only be riding one horse three days a week and the other one will be going two. If they alternate weeks that means that a single horse will only be going five days in two weeks. Riders with more horses will not even be doing that much. When you consider that these horses will be in the immediate presence of at least four or five veterinarians throughout the trip, they are in no danger at all. To some extent, we really are the only ones who realize that our multi day horses are the best cared for and happiest equines on the planet.
It is important for everyone to realize that this is a club event and that everyone will have to either be a member of the XP Riders or be a sponsored guest. There will be opportunities for club members who don’t want to ride the entire days ride to serve as official drag riders. We will keep track of those segments of rider mileage for club records only. Anyone wanting AERC points will have to adhere to AERC rules during each days event. Let’s keep a low profile going in and we can do all the bragging in the world when we are through. Yes Virginia, there really is a Duck and he really is going to lead the XP riders across the Pony Trail next summer. You didn’t ever doubt it did you?
Sincerely,
F.W. Duck
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