Mar 13 2024
We Should Start a YouTube Channel
"Subscribe to Endurance Riding!"
The older I get, the more I value the importance of two things: being outdoors and building community.
Yesterday afternoon, two of my clients volunteered to help me clear some trail next door at the 500 acre ranch we have the privilege of riding on. As we are gearing up for the upcoming endurance season, there are a couple trails in particular I want us to train on and I knew these trails had been overgrown in the past.
Addison, Deborah, and I headed out as soon as Addy got out of school. The trail was wet from the morning’s rain, but the fog in the distance and the moss covered trees and rocks made for a beautiful landscape. It felt as though we had escaped to a fairytale land on the coast.
We headed down the trail in the side by side with power tools and pruners in tow and when we approached the first low hanging branches, Deborah jumped in the back to fire up the chain saw and get to work as I kept my foot on the brake. As we continued on the trail, stopping at each job, I was in awe watching 72 year old Deborah climb in and out of the back and handle the power tools better than most anybody I had seen. I remember looking at 14 year old Addy and saying, “Man, I want to be like Deborah when I grow up.”
About an hour and a half into our adventure, with still plenty of daylight left, I spotted a new trail and suggested we drive a little way down it to see where it might lead. We were no more than a half mile down that trail when I high centered the side by side and got us stuck. Mistake number one.
After assessing the situation, we decided the best thing to do was winch out, until we realized my winch was jammed. With no other option, I made the decision to leave Addy and Deborah with the vehicle and hike out to the neighbor’s house to borrow a shovel or two. It was a short hike but did include me hoofing it up a steep incline.
About thirty minutes later, I returned with two shovels. Addy and Deborah got to work, and I got behind the wheel. Shortly afterward – voilà – we were free! There was nowhere to safely turn around, so I carefully backed us up down the trail before being able to make what must have been a 20 point turn.
As we were driving down the easy trail to freedom, I got my passenger tires up on the embankment next to us, causing the side by side to feel like it was going to tip over on its driver’s side. As it was happening, Deborah yelled out, “Gosh, girl, what are you doing?!”
I responded with, “I don’t know!” and lots of nervous laughter. Without power steering, I had just failed to turn the wheel enough to meet the curve of the trail. Mistake number two.
As Deborah was telling me to carefully back up off the embankment, I was yelling that I needed my seat belt on as I was afraid I was going to fall out of the vehicle. I was pulling at the seat belt and telling Addy to fasten it. Addy was yelling that the seat belt wouldn’t reach over my puffy jacket and Deborah was yelling to back the vehicle up.
In the end, we got the seat belt on, we backed up slowly, and we were on our way, but not before the three of us erupted in laughter.
“We should really start a YouTube channel. I am telling you; we would get 1 million likes!”
More laughter.
We made it home in time to see an incredible sunset beyond the horse paddocks on my own property. I stood and watched that sunset for a while, watching the clouds dance in the sky until I could no longer make out their shapes. I was filled with gratitude — for the great outdoors which surround me, the community which holds me up, and the laughter which provides the best medicine.
