medium
duration: 3 - 6 hours
Length: 14 km/ 8miles; 17 km/10miles; 20 km/ 12miles
costs: $175 / $195 /$210
Very scenic trail, exploring the Pacific Crest Trail with some challenges. This trail is for everyone with riding experience.
After a short meet and greed, riders meet with a riding instructor in our riding arena.
Every barn has some rules on how to approach and treat the horses. We have our own way, and we are requiring for all our first time riders to follow our rules, to partner up with your assigned horse. A guide will instruct/ educate you at first on the ground/ and in the saddle, while presenting you with a detailed set of riding cues, before you mount. All riders will work the horses short on the ground, to prepare a bond, before we allow them to mount. After you mount all riders practice the walk, trot, backing up, as well as rain cues, riding around cones and barrels! This process will take half an hour of your time, but more importantly it allows riders to team up with the horses, and the horses with the riders.
Afterwards, we head out on the trail.
Our ride begins with a slow warm up trot, to prepare our horses muscles for a long climb. Arrived on the ridge, we reached 5120 feet, the horses get a moment to relax. Riders will find some scenic and unique photo opportunity’s viewing a desert landscape and the surrounding foothills.
Once we hit the trailhead of the epic Pacific Crest Trail, some sections of the upcoming four miles skilled, well balanced riders enjoy the possibility of long trot sequences. This world famous path leads us through an ancient forest of a mixture of Jeffrey, Ponderosa Pines, Manzanita, Oak Trees, and crossing also some magical meadows.
Approaching Burnt Peak junction, riders find a possibility to add another five or seven adventurous miles, if they wish to head on this ride. Riders want to end heading down on a beautiful shady fire road. The trailer is waiting down at the parking lot!( 14km$175)
If you continue: Climbing up on the back of a mountain spine, we often crossing the path of a wind tunnel, which comes over from the ocean and heats down in to the windy desert. We are riding on top of this ridge by fabulous views, dropping down after half a mile to continue for the next three miles on a challenging PCT.
The drop down to Pine Canyon Road leads us trough to Lower Shake Campground.
An old trail offers some opportunities for some cantering( great footing) heading west up a canyon. If riders are solid enough and saddle safe, and they wish that this is what they want to do, we could divert the trail after arrived in Lower Shake Campground and take this long version to head to the trailer.( 20 km, $210)
Otherwise the shady, tree covered, very narrow and challenging trail leads us to the trail head on the road, where the trailer is already waiting.( 18km, $195)
