I looked up through the trees and saw the impending darkness.  I’d been riding for over and hour.  That’s not long, but still I was hungry.  I admitted to myself that I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get back to camp, and I wasn’t completely sure if this was the right way.  I’d been on these trails for three days and I gambled that my chocolate-brown Quarter Horse Poco, could figure it out better than I, so I gave him his head. It was maybe forty minutes when Poco walked me out of the forest and into camp.  The forest was Wisconsin’s Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest.  I have ridden these trails several times before with other horses, but never before this week with Poco. I felt Poco still had the trails figured out better than me.  I looked around and once again I had the entire horse camp to myself.  Well….me and Poco anyway.

When you are out for a week with a horse, your horse always comes first. Poco was a bit hot and sweaty.  I climbed down from his handsome 16 hand frame, and stripped him of his saddle, and replaced his bridle with a halter and lead rope.  He had walked me through the forest now it was my time to walk him.  When a check between his front legs told me he was cool enough, I tied him up and ran a brush over his sticky hair.  I pulled a dirty old hoof pick out of my pocket, and one by one I removed the mud and stones from each hoof. I started a campfire before I began the rest of my chores.  Seeing that Poco was cooled off I took his bucket to the water and pumped it full of clean cool liquid.  It looked good.  I put it down and he immediately took one long typical horse drink.  I went to the back of my pickup truck and found the automobile oil drain pan that served as Poco’s grain feeder.  I put in two handfuls of sweet feed and returned for hay.  I decided to give him an entire half a bale.  It would last him all night.  I thought I might treat both of us tomorrow by eating, and then relaxing until well after daylight.  I and especially Poco survived some viscous storms including lightning, high winds and area tornadoes on our first night here.  I slept in the front of my truck so I could keep an eye on my horse. He was amazing!  He simply stood through it all holding his head down so the rain would run off.  I was more nervous than Poco.

It was finally time to fill my own stomach.  I got my battered old cast iron pan out of the truck and opened a can of new potatoes.   I went back to the water pump and filled my jug to the top.  I then opened a can of Vienna Beef and pushed a sharpened stick through most of what was in the can.  I used my hunting knife on my first day to sharpen some sticks and I was proud that I managed to not burn them up since.  I ate an apple and also opened a small can of mixed fruit.  Hmmm, fried potatoes, Vienna Beef, canned fruit and an apple.  I love fruit but it never qualified as dessert to me.  Dessert would be the Hostess Twinkie on the dashboard of my truck.  Yes Twinkie, this isn’t the old west you know.  The Twinkie brought to me thoughts of legendary nature photographer John Netherton.  They say a packaged Twinkie will keep for five years and  Netherton had kept one taped to his dash for that long.  Makes me wonder what they put in a Twinkie. Sadly Netherton died a few years down the road and that makes me wonder if he didn’t finally eat that Twinkie. I washed my potato pan, checked on Poco, and climbed into my outdoor bed which was a pretty nice sleeping bag.  With the campfire only a few feet away, it didn’t take me long to pass into dreamland.

I woke up abruptly.  It was pitch dark except for the area around the embers in the fire circle.  I could swear I heard something growl.  I got up, walked around, noticed a very calm Poco, and satisfied myself that three nights alone in the out-of-doors might have made me a tiny bit jumpy.  I slept for a while with one eye open, and then continued my sleep with  both closed.

Poco and I spent two days more and one more night in the forest before I loaded him in my horse trailer and headed for home.  I have always believed that proving that I could do things on my own (well with Poco‘s help), made me at least a little better at everything I did.  It also makes for great stories to tell. I had been to the Palmyra Horseman’s park before and after this.  I took my great American Saddlebred mare Chicago and my Appaloosa mare Sonny on other occasions as I camped with both small and large groups of friends and family.

For those of you from this area who are into horse camping, the Northern Kettle Moraine also has a horse park.  The Chequamegan National Forest at Smith’s Rapids Bridge also has a horse campground and the area is wild and beautiful.

I publish occasional articles like this in order to give you a respite from the constant barrage of images that I post.  Admittedly I also enjoy sharing those few bits and pieces of my life, that you may find interesting.  This blog has a lot to do with my personal philosophy.  When you see anyone’s philosophy put on display, looking at their life helps to understand where it comes from.

I do appreciate the fact that you have stopped by at Earth Images.  My old website, newsletter, social media postings and so on might have been influenced by the fact that photography was my profession.  There is nothing wrong with that but this time around my posts are about the total love I have for photography, nature, history, adventure and for those who share with me, these and other passions.

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Thanks again and God Bless,  Wayne