The Wagonteamster Channel has it’s first video production - Journey To the Valley Of the Wild Horses

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5/24/12, 23 Miles N. of Vernal, UT - This was a grueling day for the lads. Counting the ups and downs, they climbed almost 4000 feet today.  Tonight, we have a dry camp, but the team is bedded down on a nice meadow of mountain grass. After pulling 17 miles, mostly uphill, the boys chose are camping spot.  They didn’t have it in them to go a couple more miles to camp alongside a creek. So, I’m using the remaining water on the wagon and they’re chowing down on sweet mountain grass.

On our decent to Brush Creek, before the big climb.

After pulling 6000 pounds of wagon and trailer up several thousand feet, their muscles must have been burning.  But every time I asked them for a little more, they would lean into their collars and pull a little farther. This was a difficult ascent, as there were few places that the team and I could safely pull over and take a break. Often they would have to travel a mile before there was a shoulder wide enough to stop and catch their breath. This may not seem like much; but, when the grade is 8% it’s a pretty amazing feat to go that far without taking a short break.

Doc recently took up reading for a hobby.  After seeing this sign, he’s muttering. “Oh, people poop” - Horse and people language have similar phrases, just different points of reference.

After gaining 1500 feet in elevation, we took a lunch break at a scenic overlook.  After a drink and some chow, both the lads and I took a 30 minutes siesta.

Tonight, we’re camped well inside the national forest, surrounded by spruce and aspen trees. The boys are tired, but have a hard time leaving the ‘sweet as candy’ spring grass to sleep.  Every once in a while, one of the will lay down for a few minutes; but, before you know it they chowing down again.

Driving a unicorn is not very relaxing.  The teamster has to constantly adjust the alignment of the horses to prevent the hitch from going any old direction. It’s much harder than driving four up, where the wheel team just follow the leaders.

The lads are thinking, ‘wow, we climbed all of that!

Wagonteamster camp, as viewed from the road.

After a hard day in harness, there’s nothing like a good roll.

Towards evening, i had a couple of car loads worth of visitors.  This young man, who’s turning seventeen this summer enjoyed Bill so much, we didn’t thing he would ever slide down.

My evening visitors.

It’s getting late and I’m whipped. Good Night Everyone.