Something isn’t right here and we all know it. We don’t talk about it much because it is something we think we can’t do anything about. This something is climate change. We don’t know what the old normal or the new normal might be. Is warmer weather normal here for this time of year? Rain? Sunshine? No one has any idea except maybe meteorologists and the obsessive compulsive nerds who keep weather-related records. They are all saying ahh haa. The rest of us are saying, “Well, what do I wear today?”

It’s now unseasonably warm outside. If it gets colder, the slush and mush created by the warm conditions will freeze up. We are wearing cleats on our boots, so it isn’t so bad. And if the horse pen gets icy, we’ll put sand on the slippery areas.

California and the fires there. This, right now is on everyone’s mind. Neil Young is blaming Trump for poor Forest Service management plans. Yeah, we are all screwed. And those who presumably are wiser are saying, “Well, I’ll be long gone when the shit really hits the fan.”

To obsess about this is unhealthy, which is why I am working with Pete on making plans for next spring and summer. It seems to me a long time away, but it’s not. A long time is now an illusion because time is now going by very quickly for me.

So – the plan: Last night Pete showed me a map of British Columbia and said that he found a trail that might go hand-in-hand with our summer plans. It’s called the Grease Trail, and he says it’s historic. It’s 261 or so miles long and is in the central part of the province. The pros of doing this trail greatly outweigh the cons. It’s near Vanderhoof, and there is an Icelandic horse farm there. It’s not far from a pack outfit that might be able to take a look at our pack saddle and if need be, adjust it for Hrimmi who is going to be our pack horse. The trail has a beginning and an end point; at the trip’s end, Pete will be able to take a nearby road back to the starting point and retrieve our truck and trailer. We’ll also have less far to go, which means fewer trailer travel days.

The first disadvantage is that setting up food drops may be difficult. And the second disadvantage is that this trail is not a part of a continuous longer trail. I really wanted to ride a longer route, with the hopes of my going further in the fall.

What’s most important here is that we travel a route that Pete’s happy with. Me, I’ll be happy just to be doing a trip. Raudi is now in her prime, and Tyra and Hrimmi will do well in life in having a trip like this one under their girths. And Tinni will enjoy hanging out with our friend Terri.

We’ve dehydrated some food and soon will get going on the rest. We have to be frugal this winter – but hey, where are we going to go when the roads are icy?

Next: 322. 11/18/18: Let’s hear it for the Bladder Meridian