Barry Cole and I have worked the past two  weekends on the Trail . Keith Kibler and a friend came from  Illinois to  help  one day.  We have covered about 65 miles of the rides route so  far. It is trimmed, marked and ready to  ride.. Of course limbs and trees may fall on the trail before ride day, but we can ride around them:-)

Here are a few personal  impressions to help  you prepare for the ride. First:  This ride is sneaky hilly. No big steep  dramatic mountains to climb, but lots of steady up and down twisty trail.  There is about 15,000 feet of Elevation  change in the 100  miles. Tevis has about 40,000 feet of elevation change. It will  sneak up on you and your horse if you are not paying attention.

Second:  This ride is technical. Plenty of moving on out trail, but it is single track wooded stuff. Very little trail  you might want to  walk. The walking  stuff comes in short pieces of 100  feet or so . They would be loose rocky places, narrow knee knocker places, coming in and out of tiny creeks where you step  down and then back  up. We will need to follow Julie Suhrs advice. ” Never hurry, Never tarry”. It is rocky. So  if you like putting pads on, or wear boots, do  so here.  There is lots of water on the Trail. Most places it is every mile or two between water. There are a few places where we go  3 miles without hitting water.

This weekend, Ride Manager Barry Cole and myself talked about a few things and his decision was that we will do the first 5 miles out of Bass River Resort on county dirt and gravel  roads then drop onto the Ozark Trail itself. This allows us to  start about 30- minutes earlier, as in shortly before daylight. We should start shortly before 6:00 Am, then sunset is at 7:48 with twilight lasting until 8:15.  When you take out the one hour hold, and the gate and goes, we will have about 12 hours of day light riding time to  get to  Brushy Creek Lodge 75 mile vet check and the one hour hold there.

We also  decided to  use the dirt/gravel  roads we used on Day #2  of the ride last year from the 84mile to the  -93 mile mark. After leaving Brushy Creek, the trail is very technical, and riders will be going slower. So we will  switch over  to  the road at Suttons Bluff after 8 miles of  technical trail to give riders and horses a break.  Another issue was that if we stayed on the Trail after Suttons Bluff, there would be a long 5-6 miles stretch of no water on the trail, and no way to  haul  water to  the trail. On the road, we have 4-5 water crossings in 8 miles. Then we finish up with 7 miles of wooded trail. Don’t worry, there is plenty of technical trail  left:-)

Third.  There is not much grass on the Trail We are in the woods. At the Harmon Springs area , about 9 miles into the ride, there is good grazing. Then pretty much nothing until  the gate and go at mile 20 at the Highway 8 parking area. Then nothing until Hazel Creek Vet Check at Mile 32.

After that there is a few spots with some grass and then good grass at the 50  mile gate and go  at Hwy DD/32 . Then not much until  you get to the  Barton Fen gate and go at  mile 62. Plenty of  grass there.  Then a few spots and good grass where you cross Hwy J  at Mile 72.  This is only  3 miles from the  Brushy Creek Lodge hold. Plenty of grass at Brushy Creek Lodge.

After that there isn’t much grass until you get to  the Sutton Bluff gate and go,  and not much there.  On the road part of the Trail, past Sutton Bluff, there is plenty of grass alongside the road. At the Gate and Go at Mile 93, there is plenty of grass close by.

After riding over 60  miles of the trail this spring,  I am very comfortable that it is a very doable trail. Also that most horses that try to fly down it will wear down and not make it to  the Finish Line. Most riders should plan on being out there for 18-20 hours , including holds. Some riders will need almost the entire 24 hours to  get it done. Remember that at Tevis, about 1/2 of all  the completions are in the last hour. This Trail  may be something like that.

Here is the list of places we plan to have the vet checks.  I am using the mileage numbers on the Ozark Trail  map, and then putting ride mile (RM) numbers. So  the Start is at OT Mile12.5 RM 1. Got it? The best place to  get these free maps is at www.ozarktrail.com. Do  not click  on the maps on the home page. Click on “planner” then on the planner page click on “maps”. They are better on this page. A nice feature is when you pull up an individual  map, then  click on it, it expands bigger for more detail.

Note on Crewing:  Many of these vet check areas are small. We have room for the rig hauling the vets and crewing stuff for crewless riders, but not a lot of big rigs. Also the roads are narrow and twisty. While there is a way to  use only paved roads, this may make you take the long way between vet checks. What you may consider doing if you are crewing is to  drop  your trailer someplace and crew out of a pickup truck.  There are also  many places between the vet checks that a crew could meet riders.  We will  have crew directions up in the next month or so.

This Trail has lots of water crossings, make sure to  get your mount to  drink at these. We will also  have some horse water at the vet checks, .

Trot by at OT Mile 22, RM 9.5: This is just so  anybody in trouble can stop and fix it, drop off stuff, use a potty etc. No pulse, no  CRI. Just trot by and wave hello.

Gate and Go at Hwy 8 Trailhead.  OT Mile #33. RM 20. Pulse down, trot out, vet exam, CRI etc. Crews should easily be able to  meet you there. Hay will be there and there should be grazing also. Plan on treating it as a short (15-20 minute) hold to feed your mount.

Hold at Hazel Creek Trailhead.  OT Mile 45. RM 33. One hour hold.

Gate and Go at Hwy DD Trailhead. OT Mile 62.5   RM 50. Pulse down, Trot out, CRI, feed your steed, grazing there, use the potty, grab more water, Again treat as a mini hold of 15-20  minutes.

Gate and Go at Barton Fen,:  OT Mile 75, RM 63. Grazing there, feed the rascals, take 10-15 minutes, You are 12 1/2 miles from a one hour hold.

Brushy Creek Lodge: OT Mile 87.5  RM 75.. One hour hold. Use the potty, take a shower if you like, lounge in the hot tub, kick back in the John Wayne room and watch the big screen TV. The 75′s complete here. The 100′s have 25 more miles to  go.    This is where we will  haul back  to  from the 100  finish line.

Sutton Bluff Gate and Go. OT Mile 96, RM 84  . By now you know the drill.  Pulse down trot, CRI etc. Feed the ponies, use the potty,  some grazing here, grab a jacket if it is cooling off.

Freemans ATV Camp. OT Mile 106. RM 93. Gate and  go. grazing, potties, etc.

THE FINISH!!!  Hwy PP/Hwy 72 Trailhead.  OT Mile 113. RM Mile 100!!! Completion exam. As we get full trailer loads, we can haul  back  to  Brushy Creek, or wait for the other riders, which ever people prefer.

Note this is tentative depending on weather and access. But it should be very close to  what we will be doing. We will post more trail photos in the next month or so.

Now we are having fun!

Paul

On Friday, January28th, I went out to  see how the  Trails Unlimited folks were getting along repairing the storm damage to the trail.  They had worked hard for almost a month and got a little over 7 miles of trail  rebuilt.  In these photos, when you see a cut off tree stump, that used to  be a big rootball and hole on the trail.

They cut trees down, moved debris well off the trail  area, and filled in root ball holes.

They made the trail  wide enough for an atv to  get through. They were using a small  bulldozer, mini excavator and an ATV with a drag flex harrow. 

They tipped up  stumps into the holes, packed dirt in there and moved on.

4 wheeler ATV dragging the flex tine harrow on the trail. (Me driving)

This gives you an idea of the devastation in some areas.  It was hard going. They usually lifted the fallen debris and moved it further off trail. In steep hillsides they couldn’t do  this as much.  But it still  a tremendous improvement.

I walked 3 1/2 miles of the trail  doing finishing hand limb lopping to  get the small  stuff, and low hanging branches.

There are areas where they didn’t get the equipment in, but did massive chainsaw work to  open up  the  the trail and move debris. There is still work to  be done there, but it will be fine for our ride on April 23rd.

See You there

Paul

Here are a few of the special Rules that will apply to  this ride.

#1) You are pretty much on your own. Crewing, people food and water, horse feed, etc. You are pretty much on your own. There will be a trailer following along and leapfrogging ahead to the vet checks and the gate and goes. There should be plenty of natural water and green grass along the way. There will be a vet. There will be a trailer to haul those who get pulled back  to Brushy Creek Lodge. There will be no porta pottys.  There may be an RV with a bathroom that you can use. If you have a crew that is fine. If you don’t have a crew, you can either stash stuff along the way, or hope that somebody will carry stuff for you. Plan for having to 100% take care of yourself and your horse, then any help  you do  get will be a welcome bonus:-)

#2) Whiners, Mean people, and Rude people will be left behind to be eaten by Bears.

FAQ”s ( Frequently Asked Questions).

Q: If I am whining, mean, or rude will  Ride Management provide the Bears that eat me?

A: See Rule #1. Riders must provide their own Bears if they wish to  be eaten by a Bear, or take what is available in the woods to be eaten by:-)

Q:  Will the Trail be well  marked?

A: The Ozark Trail is permanently marked. There are a few places where illegal ATV trails have been made and run alongside or intersect with the Trail. There are few places where there is a spur trail that goes off the main Trail.  We will  have pink survey tape to mark those places.  South of Brushy Creek, the last  25 miles has no  illegal  trails crossing the Trail.  If there needs to be a detour along the Trail after dark, we will  put out a few glowsticks. Not a glowstick every few yards, but a few.

Q: How will I know if I and my horse are ready for this type of event?

A: If you have to ask, that should be your first clue that you may not be. This will not be an easy ride to quit. We will be in isolated country. We will be a long ways from anything. If you get sore, tired, sick, etc, you will still be better off riding to the finish. If you quit at 40-50 miles, it may take 5-6 more hours to get you back to camp. That is assuming that everything goes well, and we have no problems.

Q: But if I can talk somebody into coming and crewing, and pampering me, I am allowed to do  that?

A:  Yes you can. However,watch out for Trail Pirates, who have been known to loot and pillage other peoples goodies:-)

When we did the Ozark Trail Ride in  September, 2010,  we had zero  completions in the 75 and 100 mile rides. There was some talk that this trail was too  difficult and that a horse and rider team could not ride fast enough to complete a 100 mile ride in the allowed 24 hours. I disagree with this concept.  My intention was to come back and ride the 100 miles in 24 hours or less,  just to  prove it could be done. I mentioned this to  some folks, and before we realized it, we had several other people wanting to come along. The date of April  23rd, 2011 was selected as the most likely and available date.

Originally it was not going to  be a sanctioned ride. But folks suggested that we go ahead and sanction it. Barry and Linda Cole were gracious enough to volunteer as Ride Managers. Since we were in this deep we decided to go  all out. We are doing the 100 miles as a point to point ride starting near Bass River Resort which is at the 13 mile mark  on the Ozark Trail. We will  go  down the trail stopping for gate and goes and holds along the way.   We will  also have a 75 mile distance offered with the option to elevate to 100 miles. The 75 will  start in the same place and time as the 100 and will  finish at Brushy Creek Lodge. The 100 will  continue on 25 miles past Brushy Creek. Entries will  be limited to  15. Pre-Entry will be required.

The Forest Service has contracted to re-build 40 miles of the trail  repairing the root ball holes and logs in the way. This work should be completed well  before the ride. Even if the work isn’t completed, we are still riding.

Just so  we are perfectly clear on this point: This will  not be a race. It will be an Endurance ride. This is a very difficult trail, and should not be taken lightly. It is highly technical and has many hills. Prepare for it as if you would for  Tevis or the Old Dominion 100. You will mostly be on your own as far as taking care of yourself. This is going to be  less than No Frills. There will be no  porta potties, armies of volunteers handing you nice stuff, pop up  tents, chairs etc etc  unless you bring them yourself.  If you think that you or your horse are not ready for a Tevis or Old Dominion type of trail you should not come, because you will not enjoy this trip. You should use as much hoof protection as you would for a ride on those type of trails. You and your horse should be as fit and prepared as you would for those type of trails. The Trail is a full 100 miles long. We will not ride 85 miles and call it good. You will not get done in 10-12 hours. Plan on doing 16-22 hours of riding.  This will  not be like a normal AERC ride.  This will be much more like that first trip Wendall Robie and few friends took about 56 years ago, when they decided to ride from Lake Tahoe to Auburn just to prove it could be done. We are going to ride 100 miles from The Bass River Resort trail  head to the Hwy 72 trail head….. just to prove it can be done.

The trail  is permanently marked. In the weeks before the ride, we will  go and use pink tape for areas of possible confusion.  To give you an idea, we estimate that we will  use less than 2 rolls of survey tape for the entire 100  miles. There will be very few glow sticks at night. That part of the trail is pretty simple to follow. If you want to  see at night, you will need to carry a light.

More details to follow in the next few months

Well  we got through it.  One horse was treated for dehydration and fatigue. A couple others were given minor treatment after the ride.

It was a really pretty place to  ride, and we could not have asked for a more welcoming and helpful  land owner.   The Brushy Creek  owners and employees all  went well  beyond the call  of duty to make this work  for us. Unfortunately the fairly low number of entries made it where the ride will not return next year. At least with myself and Patsy managing it.

Thanks to  all who volunteered and helped us get through it.

Paul N. Sidio

We are sitting on go now. Trails are trimmed. Folks are starting to  show up. Stable gear Tack is here . John Nowell  will  be taking photos. Farriers will be here.  The hot tub is toasty  warm.  The weather should be perfect. The creeks are running and we are getting some rain tonight which will  soften up the roads we will ride on.

We will be posting ride updates on Endurance.net and on the Yahoo AERC members forum. 100  mile updates will also go on the yahoo  New 100 Mile riders group.

We should have two  great days of riding

Paul