TrailMeister's Trail Picks

Wilderness Rides

“Wilderness” Now that’s a word with imagery behind it! When I think of wilderness I think of areas beyond noises of road traffic where the sounds of nature and my horse’s hooves hitting the trail replace the stresses of my daily grind with a tranquility that endures even after I have to, unwillingly, head home.  With 757 designated wilderness areas, virtually everyone in the U.S. has one of these special places within a short drive where they can relax and enjoy an incredible camping and riding experience with their horses or mules.

A common misconception about wilderness areas is that they require years of experience, the ability to sling a manty, and pack a mule to access these special areas. That is just not the case. Many wilderness areas are located remarkably close to “civilization” and more than a few have dedicated equestrian campgrounds established near the wilderness boundary.  These campgrounds offer wonderful starting points day rides into a wilderness area while allowing you to return to the comforts of an established campsite for a hearty meal and a refreshing night’s sleep.

Since the vast majority of equestrian trail riders don’t use pack stock, these wilderness boundary horse camps allow us to experience some of the wonders of wilderness riding.

So let’s hit the trails and visit a few wilderness spots that are especially accommodating to day riders. Our first stop is one of my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest, only a couple of hours from the teeming metropolis of Portland, Oregon.

Washington - Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Indian Heaven Wilderness – Falls Creek Horse Camp

Trailhead Coordinates: 45.966317,-121.845625

Visit the Indian Heaven Wilderness area and you’re in for quite a treat. Lakes, views, forests, and huckleberries, visit at the right time and you’ll understand the Heaven part of the name.

Horse camping here is from the Falls Creek Horse Camp north of the town of Carson and it’s nothing like the positively palatial experience you get at the Kalama Horse Camp to the west or the view festival at the Mount Adams Horse Camp to the east. Falls Creek is small, only 6 or so spots and the camp drive is tight. Tight as in I’d be very wary of taking an LQ rig into the camp. If you have such an outfit it may be best to disperse camp along the access road in one of several meadows north of the horse camp proper.

Riders with rigs capable of the tight turns in the horse campground will find highlines pre-strung with cables, picnic tables, firepits, and a centrally located vault toilet in camp. Water in camp is limited to that found in the eponymous creek, an easy walk just south of camp.

Once you’ve arrived and settled in it’s time to ride, and the riding is good. The Indian Racetrack Trail (#171) is located on the opposite side of forest service road 65 just a bit north of the horse camp entrance. Indian Racetrack will take you into the Indian Heaven Wilderness (remember to sign in) and proceeds through a rather rough and rocky trail to a broad meadow and the Indian Racetrack.

The Indian Heaven and particularly the Indian Racetrack have some great history behind them. For centuries, local native tribes would gather here each summer to partake of the area’s bounty of deer, fish, and huckleberries.  When not hunting, fishing, or berry picking they raced their horses so frequently and with such vigor that the track drummed into the dirt still exists today as a bare depression that runs straight as an arrow for about a quarter of a mile. This is the Indian Racetrack. When we visit we thunder down the racetrack ourselves, at a trot…

A notable viewpoint that is quite near the Indian Racetrack is Red Mountain located southeast of the Racetrack on the opposite end of trail #171 that you started your trek on. From the top of Red Mountain you’ll have wonderful (if not windblown) vista of many of the volcanoes forming our side of the Pacific ring of fire. To the north Mounts Baker and Rainier are clearly visible; to the northwest is Mount St. Helen’s broken cone which is mirrored to the northeast by Mount Adams. A glance to the south will bring Mount Hood as well as California’s Mount Shasta in view.

Our next stop is Jack’s Creek Campground in New Mexico’s Santa Fe National Forest. The Pecos wilderness starts immediately north of the campground and extends for miles and miles!

New Mexico – Santa Fe National Forest – Pecos Wilderness – Jack’s Creek Campground

Trailhead Coordinates: 35.84175, -105.65432

Located at the furthest reaches of State Route 63, near the headwaters of the Pecos River, and only an hour away from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jack’s Creek campground is located in a mountain meadow surrounded by thick aspen groves. The Pecos Wilderness begins just feet away and beckons riders to leave the campground to explore the backcountry and the breezes through the aspen softly whisper “stay a while.”

Located amongst the aspen and fir of the upper reaches of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Jack’s Creek has lots of open space and excellent access to the Pecos Wilderness.  The campsites are a mixture of open and sunny or tree lined and shady. To catch the Aspens turning to gold in the fall is a real treat as well as a beautiful experience. Regardless of when you camp and ride here, Jack’s Creek has outstanding views of the surrounding mountains readily available from each of the 8 dedicated horse camping spots.

Amenities at the campground are limited to vault toilets, potable water, and pipe corrals for your stock.

Rides from camp range from a short jaunt around Round Mountain, situated just north of the campground to extended stays in the backcountry.   A quick ride of only a couple of hours starts at camp and heads north on Beatty’s Trail #25. You’ll have an immediate steep climb to the top of the ridge overlooking camp and then the trail will level out. Less than a mile from camp you’ll come to come the intersection of Jack’s Creek Trail #257. Rein right, or left, either way will take you around the base of Round Mountain and back to this intersection.

Georgia - Chattahoochee National Forest - Cohutta Wilderness - Cottonwood Patch Campground

Trailhead Coordinates: 34.980596, -84.638828

Camp along the Conasauga River at the Cottonwood Patch Campground and you’ll be less than a mile from the Cohutta Wilderness area and the trailhead to the Jack’s River Trail.

 The Cohutta wilderness is found in northwestern Georgia and lays contiguous to the Big Frog Wilderness of Southern Tennessee. The Cohuttas are unique in having round, flat-topped ridges and peaks carpeted with lush ferns. The Cohutta is another example of a wilderness area that is quite close to a major metropolitan area; only an hour away from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Cohutta’s are also an example of a newer wilderness area. Where our previous two examples have trails that are not far removed from elk tracks, some of the Cohutta trails, and Jack’s River Trail in particular, are former railbeds that are suitable for carts and buggies for the driving enthusiasts among us.

Cottonwood Patch is the most primitive campground of those we’ve visited this month with no designated campsites. Instead, the area is defined by a large open field with fire rings scattered throughout and vault toilets and potable water centrally located. Hitching rails and a water trough are available for your stock.

Departing immediately from the campground is the 12 mile Iron Mountain Trail. The trail begins by fording the Conasauga River and wanders past grassy wildlife openings as it winds its way up a spur ridge of Iron Mountain.This multi-use trail is open to horses, mountain bikers and hikers, be prepared for company. But, of course, we’re more interested in visiting the wilderness from camp. For that simply follow Forest Service Road 16 north of camp for about 800 meters to the Cisco trailhead of the Jack’s River Trail.

Jack’s River Trail has the distinction of being both the longest, 16.7 miles, and the wettest trail in the Cohutta wilderness with 42 river crossings on this re-purposed railroad bed. Don’t be fooled into thinking that an old railroad bed equals easy riding as the Jack’s River drops through rocky gorges and along with the river fords offers a challenge for most riders.

A Few Notes on Wilderness Riding.  Whether you head out for a day, a weekend, or more, of adventure in the wilderness there are several very important things to remember to make your ride safe and even more enjoyable.

• Before you leave home take the time to learn about any restrictions and regulations that may in effect by contacting the ranger district responsible for the wilderness area that you’re planning on visiting.
• Wilderness areas aren’t Disney World. A wilderness area is managed to protect the area not to protect you. When you ride in a wilderness area you are ultimately responsible for your own safety
• Carry and know how to use a map and compass – You can refer to the June 2011 edition of TrailBlazer for some great tips on this!
• Practice Leave No Trace (LNT) protocols, the wilderness, as vast as it is, is still a finite resource and we need to minimize our impact on it so that our children can also experience

Have a wonderful and wild month of riding adventures as you enjoy the fall riding season wherever you may be. I’m looking forward to next month when we carry on with our quest for more great riding areas across the nation.  As always, for more information on these and other equestrian riding destinations throughout the U.S. please visit www.TrailMeister.com the largest source of free validated trail and trailhead information, for trail riders as well as trail maps to keep you on the right path.