Hello
I spoke with Dirk on Friday and the gang is doing well as they are on their way towards Thunder Bay. Dirk was noticing that as they move up north, the spring season is about 3 weeks behind central Ontario. Where they are right now, the fiddleheads are just coming out although all the bugs you can imagine are in plentiful supply. They are being plagued with deerflies and horseflies which can be horribly annoying as they buzz around your face and can give a very painful bite. They have been spraying themselves and the horses, but still the bugs are bad and they have to sleep with their heads covered. On the road where it’s breezy, the bugs are less of a problem. They had been warned by others that the bugs will only get worse and that they have been known to literally chase moose out of the bush…it’ll be interesting to hear of the horse’s reactions if they see a moose. Dirk was remarking that the horses are still a bit spooked by any cows that are a different colour than the black and white Holsteins that they are used to!
I had asked Dirk how they sleep ’cause they have no mattresses or sleeping pads with them (!). Dirk said that they use the horse blankets and their duster coats underneath them and put another blanket on top. They have to cover their heads from the bugs and use their saddles as pillows. They sleep quite lightly and each takes turns getting up to tend the fire where they are allowed to build one. When they are in the bush, the horses are penned in with their portable fence which is essentially a very long (1000 ft) length of rope. The horses are very well trained and won’t cross a rope. Of course when they can, the horses are pastured in a friendly farmer’s field and everyone can sleep better! They are very much looking forward to a real bed at the end of the journey.
I tried to get their exact route out of Dirk but he wasn’t quite sure. They will be taking highway 2 in Manitoba and then Highway 13 in Saskatchewan which leads into B.C.
As it’s behind season, it’s still too cold to jump in the lakes or rivers for a real good wash up. The boys fill up their water bottles when they can and are able to at least brush teeth and get their faces clean. I didn’t delve into the great details of their hygiene. Some things are best left as a mystery….
They’ve already had to change the horses’ shoes. A friendly farmer called his ferrier who came to see the horses and re-shoe them with shoes that the guys had brought with them. They reckon the horses will need new shoes every three weeks. Dirk said that the shoes were so worn in the front that they could have snapped them in two with their hands easily!
Along the way people have been super kind and generous to the boys. Around the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) people kept saying…”Hey aren’t you guys something to do with the Mantracker? The Mantracker’s assistant Phil lives around here…” See http://www.mantracker.ca/ So of course the guys went to visit Phil and had a good chat. Seems Phil’s wife is experienced with horses and fed and watered them while the boys chatted with Phil. They’ve met a lot of generous souls along the way who’ve brought the horses sweet feed, hay and water. Gotta love them Canadians eh?!
Apparently both guys have lost a few pounds. Natural enough since their diets consist mostly of beans and fish…beans, beans, the magical fruit…I guess you could say the boys are on their own kind of musical ride…..groan!
Anyways…that’s all for now…I’ll post as I get more news. Ride on! Jane Hubbard