My idea of down time involves solidarity and nature. Luckily I live in the Blue Ridge Valley, smack between two mountain chains, locally referred to as National Park and National Forest, where I can spend my day in the saddle listening to nature and the clop of my pony’s hooves.
Shenandoah National Park http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm
A short drive in one direction brings me to one of the gated entrances to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. Shenandoah has well tended and well mapped trails as well as maintained paved roads. National Park closes when weather has made the roads or trails unsafe. It requires an entrance fee (the yearly pass is a good deal if you plan to visit more than 2 days out of a year) and is rather popular and often heavily trafficked by other nature goers. This is ok if you don’t like being out in the middle of nowhere completely on your own, if you are the type that tends to get lost or turned around, or if you want to plan out a hike/ride that includes a detailed description of terrain and distance. National Park also requires dogs to be leashed, and it requires visitors to stay on marked trails.
George Washington and Jefferson National Forest http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/gwj/home
A short drive in the other direction takes me to the more rugged National Forest. It is less formal than National Park and has a lot of access points. It is not gated, there is no cost to enter and users are unlikely to see a park ranger during their visit. The roads are often gravel, sometimes potholed, and not always wide enough for two vehicles to pass easily. The roads and trails close very infrequently, requiring visitors to be aware of conditions on their own. With an extensive trail and fire road network, National Forest is a multi use park that allows hikers, bikers, horse riders, hunters and campers alike and does not require dogs on leashes or users to stay on preexisting trails (although creating new trails is prohibited). In exchange for lack of an entrance fee, many of the trails are not well marked or obsessively maintained. On most of my visits to this park, I have not seen another person during my stay.
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Being comfortable in the outdoors, reading a map, and equipped with a reasonably adequate sense of direction, I am content not seeing other people on my excursions, hence my need for solidarity. I also enjoy taking my dog, Daisy, with me when I go on trail rides and since it’s pretty hard to keep a dog on a leash from the back of a horse, taking Daisy is just not possible in National Park. So although there are a few specific trails I plan to venture on in National Park, I tend to frequent National Forest most often.
Simon - August 2011
Friend Carol Ann and her pony Zeke - November 2011
Ash and Daisy - on the "Bear Ride" - June 2011
But if you do ride the trails in the same area as me, it may be interesting to read my trail reports because I plan to include the current condition of the trail. It is also possible that I might mention a ride you haven’t tried before, which can be exciting too.
I do most of my trail riding in the mounted games-off-season, which covers most of the winter, and that means I should have quite a few trail reports to post over the next few months.
Blue Ridge Pony 