点评:Wow, what an authentic, real life experience of journeying into the wilderness on horseback- or should I say muleback! Sally was a wonderful mule and as surefooted as they say! I felt so able to be present and witness the shifting light of the day and the rare and beautiful wildflowers (a favorite of mine) in the Gila Wilderness from the back of my steady steed. I slept so well after the long day rides and woke refreshed and ready to go again at dawn. As a person acustomed to boring backpacking food that I have to carry myself, I was delighted to have real milk in my coffee and butter on my toast. What a treat! I enjoyed how the plans of the trip evolved and changed based on he knowledge the crew had of the area and the weather- this was a living, changing real life journey, not some dude ranch style packaged and predictable experience designed for your typical traveler who wants a pre-determined concept of comfort and certainty that checks all the usual boxes. Those places exist and would probably be fun too, but this was a real adventure!
The horses were all so well cared for that some could even be released to wander around the camp area- this was astonishing to me and really spoke to the leader Jim's connection and care of his animals. I learned so much from Jim, who must have grown tired of all my questions about how he managed and got to know such a large heard of individual personalities. I will certainly be back when I am able to explore more of the area! What a treat!
翻译:哇,骑马进入荒野是多么真实、真实的体验——或者我应该说骡背!莎莉是一头很棒的骡子,正如人们所说的那样脚步稳健!我感觉自己能够坐在稳定的骏马背上,见证一天中不断变化的光线和希拉荒野中稀有而美丽的野花(我最喜欢的)。经过一整天的骑行后,我睡得很好,醒来后神清气爽,准备在黎明时再次出发。作为一个习惯了必须自己携带的无聊背包食物的人,我很高兴咖啡里有真正的牛奶,吐司上有黄油。真是一种享受!我很喜欢这次旅行的计划是如何根据工作人员对该地区和天气的了解而演变和改变的——这是一次生动的、不断变化的现实生活旅程,而不是为典型的旅行者设计的一些花花公子牧场风格的打包和可预测的体验。想要一个预先确定的舒适性和确定性概念,检查所有常见的方框。这些地方确实存在,而且可能也会很有趣,但这是一次真正的冒险!
这些马都得到了很好的照顾,有些甚至可以被放出来在营地周围闲逛——这让我感到惊讶,也真正体现了领导者吉姆对他的动物的联系和照顾。我从吉姆那里学到了很多东西,他一定已经厌倦了我关于他如何管理和了解如此多的个人人物的所有问题。当我能够探索更多该地区时,我一定会回来的!真是一种享受!