Girls Ride Out

It gets very dark in the forest after the sun goes down, but that's what we had in mind when Cindy Shaw planned a night time trail ride.  Karen Folsom and I joined her in this first ever adventure for all of us.  We had planned the date to coincide with the full moon, but the late afternoon thunderstorms left a gentle cloud cover that made the forest pitch black.  

We started in the light and watched the forest darken around us. The woods turned red in the setting sun as the light bounced off the towering cumulonimbus clouds to the east.  We each had headlamps and made our way along nine miles of familiar trail in the Withlacoochee State Forest north of Brooksville, FL.  I was thankful for the purchase of a stronger headlamp from Tge PX (Post Exchange) at Ranger Camp last week.  

Navigating was my job and it was not easy after the sun went down.  The forest seems to close in and landmarks no longer look familiar.  There are tons of trails in this 160,000 acre woods and we had to make lots of turns to complete the planned route (Spirit Mountain and Woodpecker, from Tucker Trail Head).  

Cindy's horses, all Paso Finos, were superb during this new experience for them.  We saw bats, a Night Jar (bird) feeding on grasshoppers we kicked up, armadillo, millions of spiders, and lots of white tail deer.  There are black bears in this area as well as the occasional panther but we did not see a one.  

The first deer we saw at night was a little spooky, as all you see are what appears to be two cool white eyes following you from deep in the forest. They stare and never drop their gaze.  They don't even appear to blink.  It's a bit creepy and you have to remind yourself that they are just deer.  To me, they looked like Jawas from the Star Wars movies; creatures whose only distinguishable features are their eyes.  I am glad I saw this for the first time from up in the saddle and not on the ground strapped to a pack. 

We were SO happy that the horses loaded back into the trailer so well after the ride. We suspected they were tired and hungry and just as interested in going home as we were as it approached midnight.  They were filthy from sweat and mud so they all got baths when we returned to the barn.  Of course they rolled in their shavings overnight!  

It was very pleasant and cool outside, so comfortable after the high 90's during the day. The bugs were out at dusk but quickly went back to bed as the night darkened.  This is a nice way to experience the trail in the summer in Florida.  What a great evening with two wonderful ladies!  It was an experience I would do again and will certainly never ever forget. It wasn't just "Girls Night Out", it was "Girls Ride Out"!