August 28, 1995
Well, we made it! After a little trip around Lewiston we didn't plan. Oh well, we're none the worse for the wear. We've got a decent spot to set up camp. We're a little distance from the water and restrooms. But, I don't imagine the walk will hurt me or Bonnie. We managed to get the fence set up. It's not electric so I hope the horses stay in it. I doubt Marie will. We got the tent set up and managed to get the stove fired up. We cooked a delicious meal of Dinty Moore beef stew. Yummmmmm...... Well, it was easy anyway. Annie Chaloux introduced us around. Everyone seems friendly. Stan is in the the trailer next to us. He's 80+ years old!! Everyone brought their dogs. Wish I'd brought Sam, he'd have loved it. We started packing what we would need for the over-nighter at the Shaw's camp. We all gathered over at Marianne's trailer for an evening around the bug candle. There were no campfires allowed due the the dry weather we've had. We headed back to camp around 9:30 PM. Hope we get some sleep.
August 29, 1995
Well, not much sleep. The morning started at about 4:00 AM with my horse loose (it just figures) I hope I don't have to tie her the whole time we're here. Bonnie's horse Shannon was a good girl and stayed inside the fence. We couldn't get the stove started this morning. It wouldn't hold pressure. We talked Annie into heating some water for us so we could have coffee and I could have some oatmeal. By the time we took care of that, finished packing for the over-nighter, and saddled up, we were in a bit of a rush. That put poor Bonnie into a mental overload. We managed though. Nancy Weeks let us load our stuff into her trailer to be trucked over to the camp. It was a nice ride to the camp. We stopped for lunch at Horseshoe Lake. The trail was rough in some spots but not too bad. The camp here is quite a heathen affair but it's on a real nice piece of property on a peninsula of Horseshoe Pond. Marianne set up her tent out on the dock. Maybe we'll cut it loose tonight. (snicker, snicker) Bonnie and I are sleeping on the porch of the camp with a whole pig pile of other people including Sue's dog Papa Dog. It rained some on the ride to camp. Bonnie left her raincoat with the stuff being trucked over on the trailer, so, she's really roughing it. We had take out pizza for supper. Bonnie had an Italian. Nancy Weeks made a blueberry cobbler which was delicious. We set up a highline for the horses and hung a hay bag between them. I hope they stay put for the night. Bonnie and I stayed up a while and visited with everyone then headed off to bed.
August 30, 1995
Up early. the horses had stayed put, yeah! They skinned down a few trees but that's all. Annie provided coffee and Nancy some muffins and fruit. We got off to an early start (there's a rumor going around that Bonnie slept with some dog last night!) We went up to an old mine site on some mountain today. We stopped at the top to have lunch and met up with the group that had gone back to base camp last night. Linda Temple had arrived this morning and was with them. The view from the mountain was real nice. It's been a real nice day. Linda had brought her own stove with her so we were able to cook our own supper tonight. La-Choy sweet and sour chicken. Another culinary delight. Linda's son drove up with her. Some friends of his were meeting him here to do some bike riding. Marie has managed to clean out the fence twice now trying to roll. We're going to have to tie them tonight. Marie has also formed an unreasonable attachment to Shannon all of the sudden. If Shannon is out of her sight for a second, she goes nuts! I made her follow behind on the ride home from where we had lunch and what a bad girl she was. She bucked, reared, danced and about everything else you can think of. I finally had to get off and walk her in hand for a while. She settled down some after a while but she was not happy at all. Neither was Shannon. Marie got so rattled at one point that we actualy walked right past Shannon and Marie never even realized it with all her hollering and carrying on. We were quite a way ahead when Shannon finally answered her and Marie nearly turned herself inside out trying to turn around and get back to her. It was a rather stressful ride. We've also had problems with bees. They seem especially fond of one woman that is riding a white horse. Linda's son's friends were late showing up so he finally called them. They had gotten into an accident in Auburn on the way up. I guess everyone is going to be ok. Just some bumps and bruises. Bert, Linda's son, is upset and wants to go home right away. We had quite a time setting up Linda's tent. It's an old one and she's never set it up before. WE finally managed after a few false starts. We tied the horses up for the night.
August 31, 1995
Marie managed to escape again, the rotten creature! She untied herself somehow. I had tied her with a neck rope running through her halter as she has a habit of rubbing her halter off so I though I was safe. I apparently didn't get the knot tied properly on the tree and she got it undone. Bonnie woke me up asking if we should be hearing the sound of a horse slurping water near our tent. NOT! Too bad she didn't go visit the beautiful paint stallion at the end of the field. We were right on the ball this morning and managed to be ready on time. We rode to the top of Adam's Mountain. It as beautiful and another great day. The trail up and back was great riding with real nice sturdy bridges. Linda worried about her son. She decided to leave in the evening but then one of her son's friends came and picked him up so she could stay. We had a pot luck supper. I made Pasta Primavera. There was a lot of great food. I ate like a pig. Bonnie and Linda were more civilized. Since we couldn't have a campfire, Annie got permission to go up the the lodge for the evening. It's very nice there. We played charades which was interesting. I don't think Linda was very impressed but she's a good sport.
Sept 1, 1995
We went to the Stoneham Rescue for a buffet breakfast they put on for us this morning and it was very good. The horses actually stayed tied last night and we got a full nights sleep. Linda's horse, Mac, was a real brat this morning. Linda had to walk him out before trying to ride him. Today's ride was a long one and stressful for the horses. We must have stopped a hundred times due to people looking for their dogs. I really wish people would leave their dogs in camp. The trail into Emerald Pool was a hiking trail and real rough going for the horses. We also had to clean the manure off it on the way out which created more standing around and waiting. From there we split up into two groups going back to camp. The slower riders going back the way we had come. The riders that wanted to move out faster went back along a six mile dirt road. We went with the fast group. Poor Sue had a very fast ride back to camp when she lost control of her horse. Poor Marianne got swarmed by bees on the hiking trail and fell off her horse. Thankfully she was ok if a bit rattled. We were very happy to get back to camp. We had already packed up most everying that morning before riding so we only had to load up the horses and head out. All in all we really had a great time.
