Moonlight Escapades

 Sometimes, tragedy strikes and a friend needs a distraction. There's nobody better than horse people to come together at exactly such a time. Besides, we were due for a night ride. This is the story of a random Thursday night.

Nothing to see here.

This was actually a horseback marathon consisting of a regular day ride followed by a parking lot picnic followed by a night ride of epic proportions. Taylor and I ended up doing 17 miles that night. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I left work, swung to the barn, put Lucy in the trailer, stopped to pick up Taylor and Roger, then drove over to the Columbia Trail to meet Angela and Surfer. This was actually the first time Angela and I officially did a trail ride together!

The first ride was actually very normal. We did eight miles, riding down the Columbia Trail to Hoffman Crossing, then returning through the gorge. 

We spent a lot of time moving out. Roger and Lucy in particular seem to enjoy a good canter side by side. At several moments, Taylor and I threw away our stirrups and reins and galloped along cackling like mad.

Coming out of town.

Trail traffic was winding down at the end of the day on a work day.

A beautiful place for a gallop!

Making our way to the Gorge.

It was pretty warm that day so we took advantage of the river on a few occasions. This is something Surfer doesn't have a lot of practice with. He's not at all afraid to go in the water, but Angela does have concerns about him lying down with her on him. She dismounted, which led to Surfer dragging her into the "deep end" a bit. (It probably felt good on a hot day.) By the end of the ride, he was wading in like a good boy. Victory! 

(I couldn't resist a little, "Merlin, no, the rapids!")

After a long hiatus, we made our way slowly through the Gorge and back up to the Columbia Trail, where the wine berries were in full bloom. There, we found Sandy, who was riding out to meet us and would be joining for the second half of our night. 

The four of us rode back to the trailers to give the horses a break.

That night was the full "buck moon". The moon was set to rise around 9:30, so we decided to wait until after that to get back on the horses. In the meantime, we set them up with snacks and water, then had a little picnic of our own under the lights. (The borough park is separate from the Columbia Trail and is open until 11pm. Overnight parking from 2-6am is also allowed by permit. This is a go-to night riding spot for many of our friends.) 

Sandy brought chips and dip for Chip's birthday.

Roger is like, "I've got to stop getting in Dom's trailer..."

Full picnic under the park lights. 

Around 10pm, we got ready for round two. Angela packed Surfer up and went home, stating that he probably didn't have the stamina for another eight miles. The rest of us got on the horses and headed back out. 

In typical Dom fashion, I was full of bad ideas. I told Taylor about Sandy's and my ride to the falls last year. I thought it would be really cool to see the falls under the moonlight. Nobody argued with me and we set off down the main street of town. It was pretty dead on a Thursday night and the street lights made we were very visible. (We also had head lamps.) 

There were a few bars with patrons sitting on the front patios. We triggered several double takes as we jogged down Main Street right before last call. (One guy kept randomly shouting to ask if we wanted water.)

We tucked behind the railway station, then made our way down the little back roads to the sculpture grounds. These were very dark and quite eerie at night and I got goosebumps as we rode along. 

Then we picked up the trail behind the steel mill, which was making a ton of noise in the dark. There is a bridge back there that is a lot for the horses to take in during regular daylight hours. I was very impressed with our steeds as they marched dutifully across in the dark. 

This trail dropped us below the Solitude House. I think we were all somewhat surprised to see lights on inside the historic building. We whispered about the possibility of there being a tenant (though my online search reveals no such facts). 

We rode by as quietly as we could, then followed the base of the dam to the falls. I was hoping to ride right up to the cascade like we did last time, but no such luck. As we rode down to the water's edge, I wondered which of my friends had their headlamp on. It took me a minute to realize that the light was coming from behind and above us. There was a search light panning from the top of the dam. We had definitely been spotted!

We weren't sure if it was the police, a member of the historical society, or a random stranger also out for a night stroll, but we did not want to find out. While there was nothing posted, I'm pretty sure we were not supposed to be there at night. 

"Red lights off," I hissed.

There was a convenient cluster of small trees to our left, and we all squeezed the horses behind it. The horses seemed to sense the urgency of the situation and stood completely stock still for nearly twenty minutes while the light panned back and forth. 

At one point Sandy suggested making a run for it, but I voted for staying put and waiting them out. We had all night, and people are not generally very patient. I suspect whoever it was didn't really want to come down the dam and confront three people on horseback, but the light continued to search for an uncomfortably long time. Luckily, the shadows cast by the tree trunks were excellent camouflage and the roar of the falls hid our whispered conversation. 

Night mode on my phone is pretty impressive.

I just hoped whoever it was wouldn't suddenly appear beside us. I would have peed my pants. 

Eventually, our pal with the spotlight moved on. By this point, our eyes had adjusted completely to the dark. It helped that the moon above was super bright. We tiptoed out of our hiding spot, took a moment to scope out the surroundings, then galloped like mad across the dam and off the property.

There was one minor hiccup. The exit to the parking lot features a barricade in the form of a low hanging chain with a metal "no vehicles" sign hanging in the middle. In the daylight, this would have been no problem, but I was skeptical in the dark. There was a way around the chain barrier. You could go past the posts on the right and squeeze next to the porta potty. It was pretty narrow with a steep, slippery bank to one side. 

We all dismounted. Sandy showed Fina the sign and the chain, then dramatically high stepped over it to lead the way. Fina just... didn't pick up her feet. She hit the chain with both front legs and back legs, sending it flying with a deafening clatter. Then it came swinging back for more! Nobody was injured, but it was not the stealthiest getaway we've ever made.

I led Lucy around and Roger followed behind Taylor. Then we used the guard rail to remount. 

We wound up heading down River Road to Cokesbury and eventually the Gorge. We had our head lamps on and only one car passed us, but I still did not love being on the road in the middle of the night. I was very glad when we reached the trail a short while later.

The ride through the Gorge was absolutely brilliant. I lack the words to describe the sheer beauty of that night. The horses picked their way along and the sound of hoof beats echoed off the cliffs on either side. The river rushed and gurgled in the night. The path was dappled with moonlight and sycamore trunks gleamed in the dark. The fireflies came out, adding another layer of magic. We spent a lot of time talking about how beautiful it all was and just soaking it in. At one point, we passed a mimosa tree and it smelled divine. We also stopped in the river again for a bit, which the horses enjoyed as much as we did.

Fina is in the water here.

Riding up Hoffman's Crossing to the Columbia Trail was less scary than the previous bit of road riding and we picked up a trot to get it over with quickly. 

The crushed white stone of the Columbia Trail glowed in the moonlight so visibility was actually really good even without headlamps. Next thing I knew, we were picking up the pace. Then we were cantering. Then we were gaining speed until we were at a gallop. Fina left us in the dust and Roger and Lucy matched strides again while Taylor and I giggled some more. 

If you have never galloped your horse under the light of a full moon, I highly recommend trying it.

Something weird did happen as we galloped along. To the right of the trail, in the woods, there were two men in tan backpacks with head lamps on. They were digging a rather large hole. In the middle of the night. They looked up as we passed, probably startled to see horses passing by. They didn't ask us what we were doing. We didn't ask them what they were doing. In fact, no words were exchanged. But when we pulled up a while later, I said, "I have some follow up questions..."

Soon after that, we rode across the railroad bridge, which meant we came clear of the trees high up off the ground. The moon shone like someone had put a spotlight on in the sky. It was amazing.

We could see the moon glinting off the river far below.

The rest of our ride was uneventful and stunning. We were riding towards the moon and it cast rays of light through the trees, reflecting off the white stone at the horses' feet. We could hear the crickets and the frogs in the trees and the trickle of water in the forest around us. It brought me back to the start of Tevis six years ago. It was definitely a Rider's Moon.

Seriously, the moon was so bright.

Before I knew it, we had reached the end of the trail. It was half past midnight when our adventure wound down. We paused in the center of Main Street, looking down over the slumbering town, and I found myself feeling very grateful for the good horses that carried us and the friends they have brought into my life.

Coming back into the park.

Not getting towed or ticketed is always a plus.

A short while later, we parted ways. Sandy led the way out of the parking and we followed her partway home before our routes split off. I dropped Roger and Taylor at the end of their driveway, then shipped Lucy home. I hosed her off under the moonlight before putting her back out with the herd. 

Then I stood in the driveway just soaking up the moonlight and thinking, "I need to do more of this..."

The moon shining over the garden at the barn.

It was after 2am by the time I parked the truck at home and slipped up the stairs to our apartment. I had to be up for work just a few hours later, but it was worth being a little sleepy the next day. Night riding is forever one of my favorite things, and this has definitely been one of my top memories so far this year.