| The Horses seam to have gotten along ok, and we are happy to have Brent with us, who turns out to be a very likeable guy that fits well into our small group. We get up at 6 and i make coffee and oatmeal for our breakfast. This is going to be our staple for the next 30 days, just like the Cliff bar, to back up at around 11 am and Italian salami and smoked Gouda with Nan bread plus Nuts and dried fruit for lunch. We fill our bottles with water from the many creeks we encounter and have no problems not filtering it. In my front bags i have all the 1aid stuff, electronics for the Garmin, farrier tools, and repair kit, silver tape and gall salve, moskito and bear spray, plus extra rope and gloves, a rabid skin and a water bag. In my side bags i have all the food and cocking gear, plus my personal stuff, like clothing, Sleeping mat and down bags. In my roll, there is my rain gear, military poncho, a second set of boots and replacement Duplos. (https://www.duplo-usa.com/). Tina is carrying the fencing equipment plus the lunch food and Brent is carrying the tarp and feed for his horse. We are still following Jackpine river to Ptarmigan Lake and the trail is very muddy and deep. We have to cross the River several times, and it is not always clear, where the trail continues on the other side. The water is very silty, you cannot see how deep it is, and all of us went swimming at one point with our horses. Tina riding Ahi, who is only about 13 hands, decided to strip down and walk across, to find out how deep it is. After another 25 km we decide to camp at a ranger station and set up the fence on the other side of the creek, where there is good grass, hoping that the tree falls, dont bother the horses to much. Rodeo and Charley fight it out with each other and Charley hits the fence, taking it down and running off. The other two following, but they just end up on our side of the creek grasing on fresh but very short green grass. We decide to take the fence over to where the horses are and fence them in there. We cook our mountain house freeze dried food over the fire and sleep under the roof of the Ranger station. |