Travels with Charlie
Western art comes to life on the Charles M. Russell Trail in northern Montana.
Hobble How-To’s
Train your horse to master the essential skill of wearing hobbles.
March 2011 “Western Horseman”
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Tag Archives: ryan t bell
Joel Nelson: The Horses and the Words
Story by Ryan T. Bell/ Photography by Ross Hecox
West Texas horseman Joel Nelson reflects on the poetic life and how it feels to be a man who has willingly submitted to his muse.
On an unseasonably cool July morning in the Davis Mountains of southwest Texas, Joel Nelson drives through a pasture of Corriente cattle. He recently drilled a well in the pasture, so he’s checking to make sure that water is flowing properly before the heat of the day arrives to parch the cattle.
Maybe it’s the repetitive nature of the chore, but Nelson is in a pensive frame of mind. He recites a favorite quote by the poet Stanley Kunitz:
“If we want to know what it felt like to be alive at any given moment in the long odyssey of the race, it is to poetry we must turn.”
“Boy,” he says, “that nails what poetry means in about as few words as you could hope to get it said in.”
Backcountry Blaze
When wildfire strikes, follow these 5 tips to escape the backcountry unscathed.
Fact: Wildfire can outrun a horse.
Fact: The temperature of a grassfire can reach upwards of one thousand degrees.
Fact: Smoke inhalation is the greatest threat wildfire poses to equine health.
If these fire facts don’t grab your attention, here’s one that will. 2010 is forcasted to be one of the worst fire season in recent history. Bizarre weather patterns, drought, and forests ravaged by pine beetle infestation will make Smokey a nervous bear this summer.
I spoke with five experts to learn what steps a horseman should take if a wildfire breaks out while he is in the backcountry.
A New Twist to Leave No Trace
It’s time for backcountry horsemen to embrace catch-and-release fishing.
Trail riding and lake fishing go together like, well, fresh-caught trout cooked over a campfire with lemon and butter. So the first time I returned a living trout to a mountain lake, my inner-hunter asked, “What’s the point?” while my stomach grumbled, “There goes dinner.” Fishing regulations allowed me to keep the trout, but I’d noticed over the years that my favorite lake had fewer and fewer fish. So, I released my catch to swim another day.
It turns out, diminishing fish populations are an issue facing mountain lakes across the American West. In the past year, major backcountry areas in California and Washington have cut back their fish stocking programs. Why are they picking a fight with fish?
BI: Know When to Hold ‘Em
Horseback poker – a charitable event coming to a trail near you.
Horses and the card game poker were a recipe for mayhem in the Wild West. But not today. Horseback poker rides are now charitable events during which trail riders enjoy a day in the backcountry while raising money for a worthy cause. And, as I discovered on a ride last spring in Virginia City, Montana, the events are a good way to bomb-proof a saddle horse under crowded trail conditions.
BI: Synthetics Simplified
Advances in synthetic materials have lead to incredibly innovative gear with remarkably price tags.
Look at any 2010 trail riding catalog and one thing becomes apparent: backcountry gear has gone synthetic. But rather than stick your head in the sand, why not learn how synthetics keep your caboose more comfortable, your sack lunch colder, and your pocketbook fatter?
BI: Take a Starry Ride
Dig deeper than the big dipper with these astronomy tips for stargazing in the backcountry.
Four hundred years ago this month, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei published the first book of astronomy, Starry Messenger. It reported such discoveries as the moon is pocked with craters, Jupiter is orbited by moons, and “light clouds” in the night sky are actually clusters of stars (such as, the Milky Way). In honor of this milestone, which forever changed man’s relationship with the heavens, I spoke with an expert astronomer George Beimel, board member at the Museum of the Rockies, for tips on stargazing in the backcountry.
Up the Andes
Story by Ryan T. Bell / Photographs by Eliseo Miciú
It was a simple premise for a pack trip: deliver a friend to the bus station. But in the backcountry of Argentine Patagonia, even an everyday errand requires miles – and days – in the saddle.
“The teeth of a storm.” For the first time, I understood what that meant. Molar shaped clouds brewed over the mountain skyline, looking like the gullet of a terrible being about to eat us raw.
“This doesn’t look good,” Eliseo Miciú said.
He stowed his camera in a backpack he wore when shooting from the saddle. Next to him, my fiancée Madeleine rode huddled down in a poncho with the blanket’s fringe draped over her rein hand for warmth. A head wind blew us into a “V” formation, like a gaggle of Canada geese that didn’t get the memo about when to fly south.
Then again, we were already south. South of the equator, in South America, in southwestern Argentina. It’s a quizzical land to a northerner. Everything is reversed. Birds do fly north for the winter. The constellation Orion is flipped upside-down, looking like a skull-and-crossbones. And water swirls in a clock-wise direction when you flush the toilet. Scarry. If the hands on my wristwatch spun backwards, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But that’s the beauty of Argentina. It’s a loophole that allows horsemen to glimpse what life might’ve been like on the American frontier.
