Engineer Mountain: Durango, CO

Today we rode through a hail storm at almost 13,000 feet to the base of Engineer Mountain in Durango, Colorado, with Anne Rapp, who has been leading riders on horseback into the San Juan Mountains for over 25 years through her company Rapp Corral. She led us through the sometimes steep and rocky mountain trails and shared her intimate knowledge of the area.

With several peaks reaching 14,000 feet, riding in the San Juan Mountains can be challenging. We were up to the challenge. Our film crew met Anne at the trail head. She had a pack horse ready for us, something that we need if we are going to ride and film. I rode a paint horse named Cinnamon, who Anne likes to ride on multi-day treks into the mountains.

Anne told us to dress in layers and bring rain gear. Through we were heading out in the morning, the area is known for its afternoon showers and storms. I had no idea the extent of the weather that awaited us on the ride. Stay tuned for more on this ride in the next posting and for now, check out these spectacular photos.

Cattle Drive - Colorado Cattle Co.

If you are visiting the Colorado Cattle Company during a regular week, not one of the special dream weeks, you may find yourself on a cattle drive. We went on one with a pretty large group led by Penny and her husband Mats today. The ranch has about 800 cows and covers over 7000 acres, so there is a lot of land to explore.

It's flat plains in this part of Northern Colorado. We rode up to one point where you could see for miles. It was mostly grassland, with a few canyons scattered about. I was riding a Quarter Horse named Pokey, a horse that I didn't have to worry about running off with me.

When we reached the peak, we all knew that we wanted to venture back here again tomorrow to film the show's open. The Colorado episode is all Western riding at ranches and with an outfitter. The terrain here looks so different than it did in Wyoming. It is vast and what many Europeans think of as typically American.

Our group circled the cows who were staked out near the water tanks. It would be hard to move them from the water. I was told not to look at any of the cows until we were ready to move them. It's an amazing thing about these cows. They are totally calm. You can ride right by them, but the moment that you and your horse look them in the eye, they start to move away.

We had a border collie with us to help us out as our group began the push up the hill and over the peak to move the group. The border collie was fantastic at getting the cows to move on. I kept picking out specific cows and giving them the evil eye. It felt good that with just one look I could get them to move.

Some of the cattle were feistier than others. One large brown cow briefly charged towards the border collie at one point, rattling me for a second. Pokey seemed undaunted, as we continued the push.

We had a sizeable group to move our herd, which made it easier. We didn't have any crazy rogue cattle try too hard to break free from the group. We did hear a lot of moos of protest though. I guess those cattle don't want to move from their grass and water. I probably wouldn't want to either. Well, maybe if I had 7000 acres, I would want a new view once in a while.

Stay tuned for more adventures in Durango, Colorado. We'll ride to Engineer Mountain through a hail storm with Colorado native Anne Rapp and visit Wilderness Trails Ranch. In the meantime, please check out more photos from the Colorado Cattle Company.

Championship Cutting Horses - Colorado Cattle Co.

Today Teddy Johnson was here to work with us, while we worked on separating a cow from its herd. This is not as easy as it may sound. Those cows are pretty fast and savvy.

Tony had a good run on Leana With Style. Tony is a strong guy and at times, even he looked like he was getting tossed around a bit. At other times, he looked like an experienced pro, even though he has only been riding cutting horses for a few days.

I was last again today, so got the chance to watch everyone else go first and learn from them. I definitely needed the help, as I had only been riding cutting horses since yesterday, for a total of about an hour and a half. I hoped that Teddy and Eddie wouldn't be too hard on me.

There are advantages and disadvan- tages of going first, middle or last in cutting horse compe- titions. You don't want to cut out a cow that has already been worked by someone else. You want your cow to be fresh, which means that if you are last, you need to watch the other people ride in the competition and remember which cows have already been worked.

If you are first, you have your pick of cows, but you also may be judged a little more stringently than the other contestants. Going somewhere toward the middle may be good, because you can spot which cows have been cut out and still have your pick of many other cows to work. With this in mind, Eddie helped me target cows that hadn't been worked yet.

I was on the no-name green horse again. We had some problems separating a cow from its friends. Since my horse is not a champion yet, he's a little greener, and I didn't yet have the skills to guide him--we weren't a very menacing pair.

Since I was having trouble with the green horse, a horse that Eddie says will one day be a champion cutter but needs some training, Eddie and Teddy let me ride Leana With Style. Eddie said that I was moving from a Winnebago to a Ferrari.

We quickly went over what I needed to do to ride. I told Eddie and Teddy that I was just going to attempt to do exactly what they told me to do out there. My heart began to race a little as Leana and I rode into the herd to separate a few cows. Eddie told me to focus on the black Angus one, who hadn't been cut yet.

After a little maneuver- ing, Leana and I had the black cow singled out. It was us against the cow.

Once we were ready, Teddy told me to drop my arm. This means that I would stop steering with my reins and use my legs instead. Now, it's hard to describe the order of events that happened next. Leana is a powerhouse.

Leana followed the cow with a vengeance. We took sharp turns, ultra quick stops, and I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride or a broncing bull in a rodeo. I had a huge grin on my face, because the ride was really fun. At one point, we were moving so fast that I started laughing, as I continued to push back on the horn and sink into the saddle.

Teddy had warned me about this. When you are laughing, you can't use your stomach and back muscles, and you need a lot of different muscles to control your horse properly.

Eddie yelled at me to stop laughing and I got really serious. I was not looking to fall off of a champion- ship horse today. It was all happening so fast. I didn't feel scared or unsafe, just that I couldn't believe that I was really riding this awesome performance horse.

I continued to try hard to keep my arm down so that I stayed out of Leana's mouth and let her do her thing. I was also using both legs to guide her forward and either my right or left leg to guide her to turn.

I started to grin again, as I worked with one more cow. I felt exhilarated and really couldn't quite believe that I had just ridden this awesome cutting horse. What an experience!

Tina, Eddie's wife, says that once you ride a cutting horse like these, you'll be hooked. I can totally see why. This game of cutting is not for the weak or timid. It is definitely for those looking for a fast paced challenge. Tony was grinning too as we headed to lunch. He was hooked, and I was wondering when I would be able to ride Leana again. For now, I would just have to remember the feeling and look back at the footage to see how I made it through that rocking ride.

Cutting Horse Dream Week - Colorado Cattle Co.

We're at the Colorado Cattle Company in Northern Colorado to participate in Cutting Horse Dream Week. This is an intensive week of training with cutting horse champion, judge and trainer Teddy Johnson, as well as Tina and Eddie Johnson, top notch trainers who have worked with Teddy and now work at the ranch.

This Dream Week is unique because participants come from diverse backgrounds. No one in our small group is a pro-rider. We are avid Western pleasure riders, English riders from England, cutting horse novices and me, an East Coast English rider. This means that I sometimes need to post that trot, especially after a long day on the trails. We riders are going to have the unique chance to ride a championship cutting horse.

Colorado Cattle Company is a working cattle ranch, meaning that if you visit, you come here to help out on the ranch. You may be on a cattle drive, fixing something or branding a calf. The work varies. If you come for a dream week, which is what we did, you come to fulfill a dream, whether it is being a cowboy, riding a championship cutting horse or riding a bull.

Because we were still in Wyoming when the week started, I missed the first few days of intensive cutting horse training. I was probably the weakest link in the group, too, so I probably could have used the initial training. That's OK. Upon arriving, I jumped into the lessons. When else would I get the chance to ride a championship cutting horse?

Cutting horses are bred and trained to cut or separate individual animals from a herd. They are agile and quick and you have to be pretty balanced in the saddle to ride one of these horses.

Eddie and Tina Johnson were with us on my first day to get us ready for Teddy Johnson's arrival. We started out working a buffalo in the ring. Those buffalo are fast. I was told that I was given a horse who was greener than the others. Everyone else was already on high performance horses. Since I showed up late, I would work with a horse who actually needed some more cutting training.

Great, I thought. I don't even know what I am doing, and I am going to have to tell this horse what to do. The horse was so new that they hadn't even named him yet. I warmed up in the adjoining paddock, while some of the other riders worked with the buffalo.

Tony, a cop from the town over, is in the clinic with his wife. They are both on high earning, award-winning horses. Tony rocks on his horse, Leana with Style, an 8-year-old mare, who has won a lot of money. Leana is owned by Lowell Den Besten, who has brought a couple of the winning horses for us to ride. Leana is a powerful horse, who bounds after the buffalo with speed and accuracy. Tony looks elated as he comes back from working the buffalo.

Angela, a British woman who usually rides English, but travels extensively to ride on vacations, is on a champion as well. She is getting used to riding Western, like me. Angela does well as her horse turns sharply and backs up to stop the buffalo from getting by. Everyone is grinning as they come out of the ring.

I enter the ring, not expecting to be able to do much. "He's a little green, so you're going to have to help him along," Eddie says.

Eddie shows me how to steer. I am used to sitting up pretty straight and Eddie tells me to sit on my pockets and slouch a little. I should hold on by pushing back against the saddle and keep my toes up. Ah, keep my toes up, like in English riding. This, thankfully, I can do. You want to keep toes up, and thus your heels down, on a cutting horse, so that you don't fly forward. This is key.

I was starting to catch on to some of the basics while working with the buffalo. I had to keep telling myself to hold my arm more forward and steer a bit, stopping when the buffalo stopped and backing up a little before turning. When the horse was in his zone, I simply put down my left hand, which was holding the reins, and let the horse do his thing.

From the buffalo, we head to the indoor arena, to work on chasing a mechanical flag. Cutting horses are bred to cut cattle from the herd. They are like the border collie of the horse world.

My green horse and I did much better in the controlled environment of the indoor arena with the mechanical flag. I am attempting to soak in as much information on the proper technique for riding these horses as possible, because tomorrow, I will be riding in front of Teddy Johnson and working with a real cow. It should be interesting and certainly a challenge. Check back to see if I can hack it on a championship cutting horse and in the meantime, please check out more photos from the Colorado Cattle Company.

Fly-Fishing at T Cross Ranch

I am a beginning fly-fisherman. I've had one lesson in Wyoming prior to this at a place known for its great fly fishing, and I did not catch anything. The instructor didn't either, but maybe that's because I was talking too much during the lesson. Those trout are skiddish!

This time Phil was taking me out for a fly fishing lesson and to hopefully catch fish. We began by practicing my casting technique out in the field, so that we wouldn't scare the fish down at the creek. Horse Creek is stocked with Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Cutthroat Trout. There are multiple pools on the creek that Phil says hold some big fish, so we're going to hit those and test our luck.

Phil gives guests at T Cross Ranch lessons in fishing or you can go out on you own. It's catch and release, using barbless hooks. Guests can keep some fish for meals if they wish, but we're putting them back, as salmon is on the menu for dinner.

Within a minute, Phil has caught his first fish, a colorful Brook Trout. He has also challenged me to a fish catching contest. I can't refuse a challenge and decide that we're not leaving until we catch a fish.

Phil gives me some helpful tips, like casting between 10 and 2 o'clock. We are striving to emulate a fly, so that the fish will want to bite on our line. We're using dry flies. Please don't ask me which kind, because Phil has a colorful multitude of bright and furry plastic flies. He even ties some of his own.

We move to a new pool down the creek and put on our polarized sunglasses, in order to try to see the fish. I spot one and begin to cast its way, hoping to make it my big win. The fish bites, but I am unsuccessful in reeling him in. You have to be fast to catch these fish!

The clouds are rolling in and a cold breeze begins to blow, making it harder to cast my line out. After hooking myself a few times, I'm sort of ready to give up and head in for dinner. I don't think that Phil, who has already caught three fish, is going to let me leave T Cross without catching a fish, so it may be now or never.

I head to a further pool for another try. This time, I get a bite and quickly reel the fish in. It's a 10-inch Brook Trout, and I couldn't be happier. I actually can't believe how great I feel from catching this fish. It's my first fly fish catch. I've been fishing before. Recently I went fishing in North Carolina and once went deep sea fishing in Florida, but usually ended up chatting more than trying to fish. Today, the focus was fly fishing and catching a fish--success!

You have to be stealthy to catch those fish, but I can see how it's addictive. Tune in for my next entries on learning to ride championship cutting horses at the Colorado Cattle Company in Northern Colorado and check out more photos from T Cross ranch. Also, check out our recent press from our Western adventures.

T Cross Ranch - Dubois, WY

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about "The Disappear- ing Dude Ranch," by Conor Dougherty (July 7, 2006). The article said that due to rising land prices, many ranchers are selling their ranches and the new owners aren't necessarily hip to keeping them the same. Dougherty also looked into the changes that ranchers are making, like adding spas and other amenities to attract the modern traveler. I am happy to say if you are looking for an authentic dude ranch experience, I have just found a true one. The T Cross Ranch outside of Dubois, Wyoming, is it. You won't find a spa here. Just a third generation ranching family, raising their fourth generation on the ranch, plus good horses, fishing, food and scenic landscapes.

I started out riding with a group of about 10 other riders on Hank, a Quarter Horse. Mark took us around various parts of the ranch, including over to Beaver Pond, through Horse Creek and up to a spot with views of the glacier covered Wind River Mountains and the highest peak in Wyoming. I talked with some of the other riders, many of whom had been to the ranch before, which is not a surprise. Generations of guests have been coming to T Cross.

Mark explained more about the area and the variety of terrain for riding. Rides go out in the morning and afternoon. There are full day rides twice a week on one of the ranch's string of some 60 horses. With around 25 guests, you can be sure that you'll have your choice of mounts. The ranch sits at around 8,000 feet and you can climb to over 12,000 feet while riding. There are also cattle drives, gymkhana events, square dancing in town and the rodeo.

Gretchen and Mark really make guests feel at home. Each cabin is cozy and historic, as is the main lodge, where guests gather for meals. Staying a T Cross will take you back to a simpler time. As I snuggled into my bed surrounded by the cool night air, I knew that I was in for a good night's rest. I wouldn't wake up until the breakfast bell rang. Yes, there is a bell. It has probably been ringing for decades, letting hungry dudes and dudettes know that it's time to eat.

If you are planning a visit to T Cross, you'll want to plan on a week. You may also to consider a T Cross pack trip, which I didn't try, but which is another popular guest choice. Staying on the ranch for a week will leave you mighty relaxed. We didn't even stay the whole week, and I left feeling better. With no cell phone, TV or internet, you'll really have the chance to get away from it all. Happy trails!

Tune in for my next entry on fly fishing at T Cross Ranch. Will I be able to catch a wiley Brook Trout? That is the question.

Jackson Hole Pack Trip - The Ride Home

The camp site at Willow Creek is set up with spacious white canvas tents with cots and mattresses, so though you are roughing it, you are at least roughing it comfortably. Be prepared to bathe in the creek on this pack trip, but also enjoy fly fishing for native trout, riding on the myriad of trails that branch out from camp and hiking and dining on home-cooked campfire meals.

Bob Barlow, who runs these trips, is a great fly fisherman. His mother, who helps out at camp and cooks the meals, told me that Bob has had a rod in his hands since he was a child. I believe it as Bob takes me down from camp to Willow Creek for a fly-fishing lesson.

I would label Bob as the samurai fisherman. You have to sneak up on the fish, he tells me as he stealthily stalks toward the water and begins to fluidly wave his arm to cast out a dry fly into a pool, where a trout was spotted. We wears polarized sunglasses, in order to see the fish in the water and begins to explain the variety of flies that one can use to fish. There are a lot.

The campsite is located in a large meadow in a valley. Willow Creek winds through the valley and is steps away from the campsite. Bob usually takes a group of about four at a time, but today he has a group of eight. We all cook hot dogs over the open fire and enjoy lunch in the shade of a nearby tree. As we are preparing to take our ride back to the trail head, Bob's mom is cooking up spaghetti.

The rest of the group is staying a few more days, but we have to head back to head on to another Wyoming destination. The ride back takes us on a different trail. At a little over 8 miles, it's a bit shorter than the way in, but no less scenic.

There is a forest fire somewhere in the vicinity, which is why, Dale tells us, they are getting these really pink sunsets. With the Tetons in the background and the sun setting, the sky looks like it's on fire. We stop to take in the views. Jack nibbles on some grass below and I can't believe how beautiful the land is here in the state of Wyoming.

Stay tuned for my next blog entry about riding at T Cross Ranch, an authentic dude ranch outside of Dubois, WY!