Now this was a treat for a confirmed hiker. We rode horses. Talk about an easy way to get out on the trails. I got to look around and enjoy the scenery and let the horse worry about staying on the trail and avoid nasty cactus and do all the work climbing in and out of washes. Why haven’t I traded in my hiking boots for cowboy boots? Okay realistically I hike in a few places no sane horse would want to go. Let’s face it; I haven’t met a horse yet that can climb a cliff. Granted I have ridden a few that might try but I’m sure that isn’t a good idea. However there are a good number of trails out in and around the Superstitions that are horse friendly and I highly recommend giving horse riding a try out there.
We went out to Donnelly’s D-Spur ranch for our trail ride. http://www.dondonnelly.com/Home.html This is out on PeraltaTrail which is just a few miles out of Apache Junction heading SE on the 60. They run a well organized place out there with real good horses and trail guides. They have horses for any rider no matter if you are an expert like me who has never been bucked off a horse (okay I don’t count the times I jumped off); or someone who has never ridden before. The wranglers will take good care of you. An added bonus is they have longhorn cattle out there and you might see some really really big longhorns.
This reminds me of a hike I took out this way one time and I was traveling fast and light so I caught up to a string of horse riders. The trail was narrow so I had to follow one horse that had an awful gas problem. I about got horse vapored to death before I could pass them. I guess that’s what you call passing gas. Now when you are riding all that is behind you. This is beautiful country out here and riding a fine horse just adds to the pleasure of exploring it.
If you keep going past The D-Spur Ranch you will get to Peralta trailhead where there are a number of fantastic hiking trails to take. Some are even horse friendly. www.examiner.com/article/hike-bluff-springs-trail
Happy trails cowboy.
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