From the President
June is winding down and for most of us it has been a busy but frustrating month. The weatherman has not been kind to those of us that do a little to a lot of farming. Even for those that buy your hay, you know that has been difficult and a major concern for the upcoming winter. As I sit here this morning, it would appear we finally have a window of opportunity to play catch up. Good luck to all!
Several members have been on vacation and traveling. Keith and Donna White spent about three weeks traveling and riding horses in Pennsylvania. My understanding is they hopped around between three different camps. Keith said in addition to beautiful scenery, they saw bear, elk, deer and what Pennsylvania DNR says doesn't exist, a mountain lion.
As most know, a larger group of us traveled to Benezette, Pa. for a week in early June. We stayed at Big Elk Lick camp which is run by a husband and wife team. We were treated like royalty all week. This is a beautiful area with a variety of terrain to ride, but the main draw to this area are the elk. There are more pictures on our Facebook page, but they don't do justice to the real deal. They are an awesome animal. . . All total we rode 100 miles in 5 days.
On Friday afternoon the 21st, Tom and I called for a work detail to clean the trails at Hocking. Several trees had been reported on a couple of the major trails. Seven members showed up to work and we broke up into two crews. Keith and Donna White plus Mike Kempton went one direction, while Tom McGuire, Bryan Black, Margaret Hite and myself went another. After clearing the major trails, most headed home while Tom and I went to the Buckskin Canyon area to cut two large trees we encountered on Memorial Day weekend. Clearing the trees was not an issue, walking up the hill from the bottom of the trail near the creek sucked. I was so sore last Sunday, I felt like an old man. Oh wait, maybe I am!
Tanna on Vacation (horseless)
Last weekend our club had a ride scheduled at AEP McConnelsville. If you watched the news, you know that area of Ohio got hit hard with rain. The Muskingum watershed flooded major sections of Rt 60 south of Zanesville to McConnelsville so the ride was canceled. As an alternative, I announced a day ride at Stone Church which is part of the Wayne National Forest. We had 14 riders show up. Half of those that came rode quarter horses and half rode gaited horses. Several have never been to Stone Church, so I guided the slower riders and Jamie McGuire agreed to guide those that ride a little faster. We rode out at 10 o'clock with the goal to hook back up at camp at 2 to 2:30 for lunch. All went well and both groups had a great ride. I grilled brats on a new portable grill my daughter gave me for fathers day and brought chips. Margaret Hite made a skillet of baked bean plus made brownies and Sandy Sexton made a cake to top off the lunch. The day turned out beautiful and from what I could observe everyone enjoyed the day. Side note: I have included a picture of Tanna who missed this ride because she was on vacation. This picture showed up on facebook. Not exactly sure what part of the sign she was disappointed with, but let's go with no horses allowed.
Our next club ride is scheduled for the 4th of July weekend at Zaleski State Forest. The fourth is on Thursday. We do have the group area reserved and it will open on Wednesday and is reserved through Sunday for those that are looking for a long weekend. You can also camp in the regular camp area if you choose. If you camp in the group area, you will need to bring rope to make a tie line. There are posts, but no cable to tie to. I checked the long-range weather forecast and it looks drier with high temps in the low 80s. About time! Zaleski has traditionally been a favorite destination for our club. I hope to see a large turnout.
As most know, we were given a grant from South Central Power to assist us with a couple of projects at Hocking. The first project to finish hardening the tie lines at the state camp was completed back on May 20th. The second project is to erect six tie rails out on the trails at popular rest areas. A local 4-H club has offered to assist us with some youthful labor. An exact date has not been set, but Tom and I are shooting for July 21st. July was a month the 4-H club indicated they were available plus it was suggested we try to organize this on a weekend. Unfortunately, there are several conflicts so when I get an exact date nailed down, I will send out a notice by e-mail and facebook.
Tom is working with one of the forestry managers to set up a chain saw safety class in early August. When plans are complete, I will post a notice and accept reservations for anyone interested in attending.
Our Labor day ride at Scioto Trails is just around the corner. Be thinking ahead for door prize donations. I will post a ride schedule in the August newsletter, but the long and short is: live music on Saturday night provided by Pete Blevins and at least one of his buds, a Sunday night pot luck and door prize drawing and 50 miles of great trails to ride.
Continue to post your pictures and videos on facebook. I love looking at what the members are doing.
Becky Porter, our state OHCÂ Central Regional Representative will be attending our July club meeting. I encourage as many as possible to attend this meeting to hear from Becky as to what our state organization is currently doing plus to vent any concerns you may have about local issues.Lets pack Fat Cats on July 14th!
Chris
June Trail Photos
