The Journey (ePub)

On March 17th of 2015, my wife Rhonda, "Horse-n-Around", and I, the "Wrangler", embarked on an epic journey. My role as Wrangler was to manage all the logistics of our travels, with me driving our new Dodge truck with the "Hilton" attached and meeting my bride along the route wherever possible. She would be either on a Chestnut, a Grey or a Bay, every day riding Northwards on the Pacific Crest Trail, with a start at the Mexican Border and hoping to reach the Canadian border, 2,660 miles away.

Rhonda would ride on some of the most rugged and treacherous trail, and view some of the most spectacular vistas in the West. And I would be driving to the next meeting place at a road or trail junction, all the while seeing that we had ample water, food and fodder for our horses and for ourselves safely packed away in the Hilton. Rhonda would be on the crest of the mountain slopes with me in the valleys and nether lands, looking for a likely spot for an overnight stay with horses in tow.

Rhonda rode nearly 1,450 miles on the PCT, entirely alone except for the first 3 miles, the last 53 miles when I was able to join her, and for a week when our dear friend Gerry was able to ride and support her. It was a well thought out plan, but not a perfect plan because at every twist in the road or bend in the trail we never knew what we would encounter. But that's the adventure part of the story, isn't it?

Rhonda said it best, "Will I ever go back and finish those miles I missed? I can't say so yet. I'll have to see how I feel in the future. This was a big year for Pat & I because I turned 60, Pat turns 70 & we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. I'm glad I was able to undertake this adventure at this time. I owe a huge "THANK YOU" to my husband, Patrick, for all the support, both mentally and physically, that he gave me as I worked my way through the challenges of this trail. I'm so very pleased that he rode with me at the end!"

"Thank you everyone for joining us on our way." R