Virgin Rim Results - 06
Virgin Rim Results '05
& Photos &
Ride Report &
Poem
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page!
Region: Mountain,
Utah
Name: Virgin Rim
Ride I & II (50/50)
Date: September 13 & 14,
2008
We plan some big changes this year. The first day will be a loop
ride in and out of the same camp. We will camp north of Navajo
Lake and ride
to Webster Flat on the Virgin Rim Trail as well as a loop towards
Brian Head. The trail overlooks Zion National
Park and all of southwest Utah. The
views are truly outstanding and the fall colors are usually at their
best. The following day
we will ride from the Deer Valley camp to Mt Carmel
Junction using the eastern portion of the Virgin Rim trail and then
an old XP trail down Muddy Creek. As this is always a small
ride we should be able to assist those without drivers in getting a
rig moved. We will be finishing at the XP Barn in Mt Carmel and
riders are welcome to come early and stay late. The management,
unlike the AERC Board of Directors, is able to differentiate between
an endurance ride and an endurance race. If you are into endurance
riding you will probably enjoy this ride. If you are a real
competitor and are looking for a race you are likely to find the
lack of structure here to be an abomination. This is an old time
endurance ride, like we used to have when you could print all the
AERC rules on a single page.
Back in the good old days we used to ride more and read less.
Those were better times.
Base Camp: Is along the south side of Deer Valley on Cedar
Mountain. Although the area is very
scenic there are no facilities in camp other than horse water. Horses will be tied to
trailers or in small corrals.
There are some services available in Duck
Creek Village which is about 7 miles
east of camp. There are restaurants there and there may be a few
motel rooms available at a bed and breakfast. The final camp will be at
our barn in Mt Carmel. All services are available there, including
two restaurants and two motels. Directions to the first base camp
are subject to change. Be sure to check back at this location for
updates. When final directions are confirmed we will update this
message. CERTIFIED WEED FREE HAY IS REQUIRED by the Forest Service. We will obtain some for you if
you call or email us. Annie may prepare an evening meal on Saturday
night if you make reservations ahead of time. We will either have a
barbeque at the barn or will meet at one of the restaurants at the
end of the ride.
Directions: Check back closer to the ride to get
directions. We may have more changes for
2008!
Trail: The Virgin Rim ride centers around the Virgin Rim
Trail, which is a single track trail designed for horses, hikers and
mountain bikes along the rim of the Virgin River and its many
tributaries that join together to make Zion Canyon in Zion National
Park.
Awards: Individual daily awards are available for the first
to finish and the horse in the best condition. Daily participation
awards will be given to all riders.
Sponsors: EasyCare
2005 Ride Report
This is to
thank Karen Chaton and Anne Sands for babysitting me at the Virgin
River Gorge Rim Trail ride the weekend before last. At the
end of August
right before the midyear board meeting I had a
bout of atrial fibrillation and
ultimately had to be knocked out
and defibrillated before I went to San Antonio.
(And again
last Sunday.) Anyway, my cardiologist said right in front of
my
wife that he didn't want me riding alone off in the middle of
nowhere. I
guess the concern is about internal bleeding
from a fall from all the blood
thinner I'm now loaded up
with.
So I skipped Bryce but didn't want to miss the Virgin
Rim ride. I'd done it
nearly ten years ago, thought it was
gorgeous, and didn't know when it would
be run again. My
son Will drove most of the way which was wonderful. When I
got to camp, I asked who would be riding slow and who might ride
with me.
Karen and Anne volunteered. They were very
patient and attentive both days.
Everytime I would get off
to pee or adjust an easyboot I would hear "John, where
are you?
are you OK?" Very sweet!
We had to walk a lot through
the rocks, so at times the ride seemed endless.
Still, we
had a great time discussing everything from the latest AERC
controversy to favorite horse trailer recipes and enjoying the
incredible scenery and
perfect weather. Remington's new
shoing regimen (much shorter, squared off
toes and slacker
angles) based on before and after x-rays at Alamo Pintado
worked
great so I was happy to have him be his old self again. I
thought 23 year
old Mistral, 2,000 mile plus in a season again
Chief, and almost 9,000 mile
Remington (he needs 30 more) all
looked really strong. As much work as he has
done, I think
Chief looks even stronger and more confident than last year.
He
is still pretty young, so I think he is still maturing
physically and mentally.
The best thing is that Karen took a
trillion pictures of us all together and
posted them on the
internet. That meant I could show my wife proof positive
evidence that I really did follow doctor's orders!
John
Parke
Vestal Virgins in Paradise
Subtitle: Never Mind, We’re Still Looking for
Them
The
Virgin Rim ride is a wonder to see
Offered to all by the Duck family
It
crosses high ridges all covered with Pine
And
follows the waters and flowers so fine
But
wait just a minute!
There’s something quite silly
This
ride’s name would prick the ears of a
filly
Aren’t we in Utah where folks are so
prudish?
And
here is a river with a name so lewdish
Well, “What is a virgin?” you maybe would
ask
To
define this term is not a difficult task
It
has to do with coming of age
At a
time when our hormones are all in a rage
I
was a virgin at the age of ten
The
age when boys are on their way to be men
We
still played like children with a holler and a
hoot
But
those tomboys grew curves and
were sure looking cute
Before long we functioned, but Lord what to do
Like
stallions we nickered and nuzzled and cooed
The
girls were all thinking “Should I do it or not?”
The
guys knew they shouldn’t, but thought “Man, they’re so
hot”
In
the end, as always, it all sorted out
Much for the better if you had any
doubt
And
by the way…
Vestals were girls that priests threw in a pit
Kind
of like Dave when he’s having a fit
At
Webster Flat we’re gathered, rider and crew
A
great ride for virgins and non-virgins too
But
if virgins were all that were allowed, no joke
Dave
and Annie would be leaving here
broke
