Article and photos by Allanna Jackson 

The warm, dry weather in the White Mountains continued into mid-February. The 12th of February was an unseasonably warm 60 degrees with sunshine and a light wind — a perfect day for a horseback ride, especially since the weather forecast predicted a stormy weekend.

Velvet got worriedly excited watching me hitch the horse trailer, not knowing what I was planning. She dashed around in circles in her corral, keeping a close eye on Cinnamon and me. Meanwhile, Cinnamon observed the trailer hitching from the far side of her corral. I did my usual pre-trip inspection of the truck’s fluid levels and the lights and tires on the whole rig.

Velvet eagerly met me at her gate. Cinnamon came to her gate more slowly. I gave both horses a quick grooming, then led them to the trailer. To my surprise, Velvet jumped in first! Cinnamon climbed in next. I finished securing everything for travel and took the horses up to Springs Trail.

There was one white SUV in the parking lot when we arrived. A couple returned from their hike just after I had unloaded the horses. They greeted me cheerfully and mentioned there were a few muddy spots on the trail. The man commented on my having two horses with me, wondering if one was a spare in case of a “flat tire”. I explained I was going to ride one and lead the other. After our friendly chat, they got into their vehicle and departed. Velvet, Cinnamon and I had the trailhead to ourselves.

I saddled and booted Cinnamon, and we set off leading Velvet. The new rollover bicycle gate is right beside the old horse gate, just beyond the trailhead kiosk. Cinnamon sidestepped to the horse gate to help me open it, then walked through. Velvet followed her. We turned around and Cinnamon helped me close the gate.

We found the first slightly muddy spot only a few feet down the trail, but it was only tacky on the surface. The horses walked briskly as we followed the trail down and around into the Thompson Creek Canyon between markers Springs Trail 1 and 2 (S1 and S2). Velvet carefully picked her way across the rocky creek crossing, not quite following Cinnamon’s route. Thompson Creek is just after S1. The trail climbs up and down the canyon wall, following the creek from S2 to S4. Cinnamon was cautious on the descents, but we still made good time on this portion of the trail. I was pleasantly surprised to see pools of water in the creek in all the usual places and concluded they must be fed by Thompson Spring. There was ice on the pools in the shadiest spots.

After climbing out of the canyon, for reasons known only to the horses, they slowed down on the smooth relatively flat section of trail between S4 and S6. Cinnamon looked up and down the power-line easement as we crossed it after S5. I nudged her along a little faster going toward the junction with Old Hatchery Trail and Pinetop Spring near S6. After several false alarms, my camera announced its battery was empty and quit.

Pinetop Spring was dry. It is identifiable by several broken and overturned concrete boxes, remnants of the long-defunct Pinetop Fish Hatchery, for which the Old Hatchery Trail is named.

After S6, the trail crosses Billy Creek, then follows the creek to S8. Velvet lagged a little in this section. I woke them up by asking Cinnamon to run walk along the smooth section of trail after S7. Velvet, who inherited 7 different gaits, shuffled around among several of them including a high-stepping trot as she followed Cinnamon or came up beside her.

Both horses carefully crossed the wooden bridges near S9. We followed the trail through the forest, where we found a few more slightly muddy spots. We descended into the canyon, crossed Billy Creek again, and climbed up the other side near S10. This section was rocky, so the horses slowed down to find the best footing. We strolled along through the forest back toward the trailhead.

I saw a white SUV in the trailhead parking lot as we approached S13. It looked quite similar to the vehicle we’d seen when we arrived, but I was sure it was a different car. After S13, we saw a couple with walking sticks slowly making their way back toward the trailhead from the direction of S1. They greeted us, and the lady offered to open the gate for my horses. I told her, “We can get it.” I stopped the horses. We waited for the other people to go through. After the man had carefully stepped across the bottom crossbar of the gate and gone on toward the kiosk, the lady continued holding the gate wide open. I thanked her as I rode the horses through. Cinnamon stepped neatly over the crossbar with all four feet. Velvet followed, dragging her hind toes on the bar with a slight ding. After we were all safely clear of the gate, the lady closed it. I thanked her again and rode the horses over to the trailer. The couple got into their white SUV and departed. I unsaddled and groomed the horses, loaded them into the trailer, and went home.



We were only a quarter mile from the house when I felt the trailer’s left front wheel-bearing seize. When I went to unload the horses, I caught a whiff of hot oil from that wheel. My horse trailer had to be repaired before it could be used again. Over the past 40 years, this trailer’s left front wheel bearings have repeatedly over-tightened themselves and destroyed two axles during normal use. This time I’ve asked the mechanics to figure out why because I’ve had no trouble with the other three wheels. A horse trailer that is not ready to hitch, load the horses, and go is useless for trail riding or an evacuation.