By Sally Gracie
The summer of 2014 wasn’t good for horseback riding in the Methow Valley. Finally, 10 weeks after the first fire blew up above Texas Creek, riders on horseback are exploring the areas of the big burns and assessing fire, wind and water damage to their favorite trails. And they are finding a changed landscape. The areas of the burns, veterinarian Dr. Terry DeWeert says, have “a different kind of beauty” from what was there before.
Fire blew up with wind and heat as Twisp River residents Jan and Bill Ford went out for a ride on Big Buck on July 17. Although the Carlton Complex fires were miles away, heat and smoke made riding less than pleasant for man and beast. Then the power was out, Jan says, and “the horses [including three guest evacuees from Texas Creek] were in clover compared to us.” For 10 days the Fords didn’t ride at all. Then the Little Bridge Creek Fire blew up.
Members of Methow Valley Back Country Horsemen (MVBCH), Terry and Dan DeWeert have recently ridden out from Beaver Creek Campground along the trail used by the MVBCH on their annual spring ride. The campground is fine, and they encountered no major trail problems through the burned areas — though Terry complained of red and irritated eyes after their ride. Terry does advise all riders to “stay on the trails.” Stumps and other debris beneath an ash cover could trip a horse and harm a rider.
Repairs being made to Highway 20 and the resulting traffic problems have kept Nancy Palagrutti and her husband, Richard Erickson, from their favorite riding trails around the horse camp at the Loup Loup summit Sno-Park. They have enjoyed a ride close to their home instead, riding out from Twisp River Horse Camp.
Jan Ford reports that most trails out Twisp River are now rideable: Twisp River, North Lake and War Creek. Little Bridge Creek is also accessible. The U.S. Forest Service has made some repairs to trails that were damaged by water and blocked by fallen trees. (Riders may post comments about trail conditions at mvbchblogspot.com or report downed trees or other trail obstructions to the Fords at 997-0133.)
Some are braving the burned areas on their rides. Steve and Terry Dixon have ridden in Pipestone Canyon, where Steve says alfalfa and some grasses are coming back. Ginger and Don Reddington ride out to explore the burned forest areas above their home on Benson Creek, where Ginger is always on the lookout for two of her neighbor’s horses, missing since after the fire.
Owners and helpful volunteers moved horses to safety when evacuations began. For a time, the DeWeerts had 21 extra horses at their place. Some horse owners must board their horses for the long term. One couple and their horses left early for Arizona because their horse pasture on Balky Hill was destroyed by the fire. Others have moved themselves and their horses to rental homes while they prepare to rebuild.
In areas like Benson Creek, grazing land was lost to fire and floods, and its restoration will be a slow process. Some hay fields burned before second cutting. At one Benson Creek farm, tons of hay escaped the fire only to be destroyed by one of the floods.
Also on Benson Creek, the Reddingtons’ barn held tons of hay when the fire and floods hit. That winter hay is safe, but lost pasture land has meant finding additional hay for the rest of the summer for their two horses and two mules.
The Reddingtons and many other horse owners also lost fences. Theirs, rebuilt after the Benson Creek fire, was soon washed away when three floods also filled their pastures with rocks and other debris. After their fences were again replaced, vandals cut through them.
As demand exceeds supply, prices for a ton of hay run as high as $220, and one horse or mule will consume 2 1/2 to 3 tons over the winter.
Ginger describes the changed landscape that she sees from horseback as both “horrible and beautiful.” Perhaps the small paintings she is doing for the Phoenix Festival in October will capture this horrible beauty.
