She will await me at my aunt’s farm outside of Corvallis, whereat she might eat her fill of fresh green grass, thus adding some flesh and energy stores for the long journey ahead.

I feel a growing sense of excitement and anticipation knowing that a portion of my equipage is already on its way to the jumping off point.  The remainder I am in the process of organizing–the second floor of my apartment is now primarily a staging area where one might find all manner of unusual or archaic items strewn about.  To facilitate ease of transport for my support people, it is my aim to have each segment’s resupply neatly boxed up in a discrete unit.

Yesterday I fashioned some thick fleece insoles for my moccasins from a large sheep pelt which I purchased from a garage sale at a very agreeable price.  I’m not sure if the extra support will be necessary but it will be nice to have them on hand.  I also used the fleece to make a cushioned shoulder strap for my haversack.  A different garage sale yielded a tanned deer hide which I plan on keeping handy for such repairs as are needed from time to time.  It could also serve for two center-seam moccasins.

There is but little left to be purchased for the expedition.  The bulk of my efforts henceforth shall be directed at organizing and preparing the goods for transport, and the settling of various affairs in California to allow for a five month absence.  I am feeling quite happy!

Campfire Journal Test from Bronze on Vimeo.

The looming end of the provisioning and outfitting of the expedition has given me much cause of late to reflect on the year past.  I take great satisfaction at picturing myself in March 2008:  contemplating the feasibility of such an expedition, making extensive notes on what I would need to learn, purchase, create, etc…  What seemed then a distant and lofty aspiration is now very immediate and real.

The events of my life have more meaning for me when viewed in context.  The sense of accomplishment felt at completing a lengthy and difficult task is deepened when viewed as the fulfillment of a commitment to oneself.  I can take twice as much pleasure out of it by picturing Bronze of March 2008 peering into the future with satisfaction at a fine progress made.  Likewise, I frequently turn my gaze forward to the future, imagining myself halfway down the trail, writing in my journal by campfire, reaching for the distant memories of toil and study in preparation at home.

I took a riding lesson today from a local trainer named Dennis.  He was complimentary of Bootsie’s responsiveness and generally confirmed her as a well-trained and finished mule.  I know nothing about riding, so I am pleased to have successfully started and stopped her, turned in small circles both directions, and done laps at a jog.  At one point while jogging she began bucking, giving a good 2 or 3 kicks, and I was able to stay on and command her to stop.  I would consider that a great success as well.

The day prior I saddled her and walked the mile and a half to the park and back, using the sensitive and focused lead rope techniques taught to me by Dee on Thursday.  Boots was right there at my rear the whole way, scarcely more noticeable than a helium balloon.

Between the instructions I received of late–from Dee, Ray Drasher, and Dennis–my confidence in the successful handling my mule though rough and foreign terrain is at an all time high.  It is a welcome change of countenance from so many weeks of uncertainty.

Thus decided, I will hereafter devote a greater portion of my time to activities which she finds pleasurable and soothing–grooming, feeding, bodywork–in hopes that she might begin to look upon me with greater favor.  I have been led to believe that mules can develop very strong bonds with their owners, demonstrating loyalty and affection in the manner of a dog.  Such a bond will perhaps serve me far greater than any amount of skill in horsemanship, knot tying, or pack loading.

I am of the opinion that if she can make it through the first two weeks, we will likely succeed in the expedition.  I believe they will be be the most difficult and fraught with uncertainty.  In fact, I have accordingly reduced my expectations for this period to such modest goals that success is almost assured.  For my first day I hope to make one mile.  For Day 2: two miles.  Day 3: three miles, and so on.  At this rate I should cover 21 miles in a week, an amount which could be done in a day by a seasoned back country explorer.  Such will be my equivalent of a “test run”–a chance to determine the relative merits and follies of my methods within proximity of home base.

Continuing on at the same acceleration of pace I will travel 55-60 miles during the next week, bringing me almost up to speed with my anticipated rate.  Still within a comfortable day’s journey from home, I will have the opportunity to discard or add items to my load as I see fit.  From here I will set off at a healthy pace of 13 mi/day, to be resupplied approximately every two weeks.

I finished my tomahawk sheath, adding a thick belt loop so it can hang around my waist.  On the advice of the verbose Bob McLeish, my Senior Technical Advisor, I also made some very rudimentary center-seam moccasins using this moccasin pattern.  These will be more comfortable for walking around camp, or if I have to get up in the middle of the night to untangle a mule or defeat large bear in hand to hand combat.  The leather I used isn’t the highest quality and, it being my first time, the stitching could be more precise–I’m sure they could be more comfy.  Hopefully a little wear will conform them to my feet.

The most encouraging development of the week is my packing trial with Bootsie.  Granted we only went a little over a mile, but I didn’t want to take chances with our first go.  Though it should have come as no surprise given the price and pedigree of my fine steed, it was with some trepidation that I rigged the sawbuck saddle on her back for the first time.  Happily, she barely batted an eye at the whole ungainly apparatus–breechings, breast-collar and all.  I loaded a 50lb sack of feed in each pannier and hung them from each side of we went without complaint.  Everything with the mule has been such a steep learning curve for me I was relieved to not get any resistance or confusion with this area.

In a way, I think she liked having the packs on.  I perceived a certain calmness or settling of her spirit.  Perhaps it wasn’t enjoyable, but rather she just submitted further to the task I was asking of her.  I’ve heard that some mules prefer to be working and look forward to the day’s march or plowing.  Perhaps feeling the saddle on her back reminded her of her glorious youth driving a covered wagon from Arkansas to Idaho.  Perhaps she felt like she had a purpose again…

There remain many facets of the packing experience that I have to figure out, but at least getting the saddle on and walking around a bit isn’t one of them.  I’m going to practice throwing the diamond hitch tonight with a miniature mock up of the mule and saddle. I thought these diamond hitch instructions were pretty useful if you want to learn.

I also bought a nice thick, stiff cowhide scrap. I want to make a sheath for my tomahawk and the veg-tan that I was originally going to use just seemed too flimsy. It was useful for a template however. Unfortunately I got distracted while cutting it and messed up my original plan. I had intended to leave a pair of long straps attached to the top to fold over for belt loops, but now I suppose I’ll have to just lash the loops on as separate pieces…

Further down the road in Yucaipa I stopped in at Western Feed and Livestock Supplies to order my pack saddle from Ken. I got a sawbuck saddle and 2 over-sized panniers, a manty, rope and a scale. It will arrive this week and then I can begin getting Bootsie accustomed to having all this stuff slung on her back.

Spending the night out at the ranch gave me a great chance to test the warmth of my bedroll, and it performed admirably. Currently I have two sheepskins inside what is essentially a long oiled canvas sack. Seeing as how each pelt amounts to a 4 inch thick wool blank with plenty of loft I would expect this to keep me warm well below freezing. It got down to at least 37°, and I was warm as can be.

Of course this set up is quite bulky and heavy. I believe the bedroll weighs around 20 lbs, which might be excessive. I’ll need to play around with it–possibly trim the edges of the pelts to their absolute minimum width to cover me. (This would be good as I’ve been considering lining the insoles of my moccasins with a piece of the sheep pelt for cushioning.) I might even shear once of the pelts down considerably to save weight, using the light one on top for warm nights and the thick one for cold nights.

I’m willing to carry the extra weight and bulk of a good bedroll for the sake of a comfortable night sleep. A passage in Galton’s “The Art of Travel” really struck me a seasoned and sound advice:

“Indeed, the oldest travellers are ever those who go the most systematically to work, in making their sleeping-places dry and warm. Unless a traveller makes himself at home and comfortable in the bush, he will never be quite content with his lot; but will fall into the bad habit of looking forwards to the end of his journey, and to his return to civilisation, instead of complacently interesting himself in its continuance. This is a frame of mind in which few great journeys have been successfully accomplished…”

On Sunday I payed a visit to Bootsie and we had a nice little walk around the neighborhood. She is leading very calmly and obediently. There is a storm drain up the street of which she is scared to death, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to practice on working her past her fear of a specific object. This will no doubt be useful practice for fording streams or crossing bridges and the like.

I returned to work solo with Bootsie on Sunday. I pleased to say that it went a good as I could have hoped and I ended the day with a good deal of satisfaction and excitement. The training from Dee has already made a drastic difference in her responsiveness. It’s amazing how clearly the change can be perceived in even her body language. Whereas before she would walk alongside me–head up, ears perked–she now trails me with her head down, calm and surrendered to her role as the follower. She was very responsive to my speed and movement. Very impressive!

Now I have renewed desire to get out there and play with her! It was starting to feel like a chore just doing the body work around the yard. Of course that must continue too, but I’m eagerly awaiting the chance to take her out past her comfort zone and start working on her trust in me!

I had a nice long session today with Dee Howe, my Mule Guru. It was incredibly informative, and served to illustrate just how little I understand how to handle my mule. It’s humorous to me that I am attempting to walk 1500 miles with a 900lb creature of whom I have little comprehension, and on whom the success of my entire journey hinges.

Up until now, when I’ve reached any resistance or fear I’ve consistently chosen not to push through it. I figure it’s better to err on the side of caution since any mistakes I make could take precious effort to undo. Thanks to Dee, I know have a pathway through the fear, pain , or resistance I might encounter in Bootsie and I can’t wait to get out into the streets and work with her. Things had become sort of dull around the yard…

Seeing Dee handle her was eye opening. As mentioned above, it gave me a good perspective on acceptable amounts of force to use. After observing, I would try the exercises myself and Dee would give feedback. I could sense a change in Bootsie’s responsiveness and comfort almost immediately. Keep in mind here that I’m the one being trained. These exercises aren’t about teaching Bootsie how to be lead, but teaching her that I can be trusted to lead her. As it stands, that trust is negligible. That is going to change starting this week.

One of the most useful things we did–almost by accident–was to have Dee lead me. Being on the other end of the rope was very illuminating and I think it’s a good practice for anyone who wants to handle horses. It demonstrated to me just how clear and direct every signal must be. Not necessarily big or forceful–but clear and direct.

Some things I learned:

• Her nose is never to pass me when leading. As soon as it does she gets a whack on the nose. I should be able to walk, speed up slow, down stop, start, anything–and her nose should never pass me.
• If she gets scared I want her attention on me. I should be facing her directly, an arms length away, and her attention should be locked onto me. I can use the crop to keep her from swinging away or pivoting. We’ll stay like that until she realizes she’s not going anywhere, and she’ll still be fine.
• If I ask something of her, I must keep at it until she does it. No angrily or impatiently. I’m just going to keep tapping that foot with my crop until she decides it’s in her best interest to move her legs.
• Likewise if she does something I haven’t asked, like stepped forward or turned her body away, I’m going to ask her to return where she was. It will be for me to decide when she moves.
• She can turn her head and neck wherever she wants, but not her body. It’s important for her to be able to see what’s going on around her, in fact encouraged. But she only moves her body at my direction.

All of these things are good practical rules for obedience and training, but the underlying product of these actions is that she sees me as the absolute authority. Thus, if I’m calm–she’s calm. She will look to me for safety and leadership, not look to her surroundings for hazards around every corner. I’m eager to head back and start practicing all my new skills, but of course when I’m by myself it will likely be an entirely different experience.

I found this book, and several other equestrian travelogues through the Long Riders Guild. It’s about as thorough a resource on equestrian travel that one could find. Check out their Expeditions page–I was amazed at how many people there are out there, trotting around the globe! I hope that one day I can be included with them, assuming walking with a mule counts.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today–perfect temperature, clear skies, billowy clouds–and I realized how much I enjoy grooming her. It’s so peaceful and meditative, and a time when I’m not asking anything of her or trying to learn new skills. I performed my assigned bodywork from Dee amd then we wandered around the back and front yard. She was very responsive and less spooky than the previous days. We went on a little treasure hunt, whereby she got half an apple when we visited areas that she has tensed up around in the past. Amazing how relaxed she felt when munching on an apple! She was very eager to visit the next spooky place.

After wandering around practicing leading, starts and stops, and backing up for 45 minutes or so I got out my riding saddle and threw that on her. She seemed content to have it on, and had I any idea how the bridle and bit were supposed to go on I’d have put that on too. I’m sure I could have figured it out with some experimentation but I’ve decided that I don’t want to give her any more reason to think I’m a complete novice than I already have. Seeing the saddle on her, I wanted to mount up and ride around so badly. It took some reserves of restraint not to give it a shot, but in keeping with the aforementioned philosophy, the more ignorant she is of my ignorance, the better. I’ll wait until the woman who boards her horses with Bootsie is there to walk me through everything. I feel like every error I make takes an exponetially greater amount of effort to repair.