Greetings,
June 15, 2011 – Torrington to Guernsey Wyoming – Today I rode the afternoon section on Whiskey. We passed through Fort Laramie on the North Platte River. Fort Laramie was strategic in the Western US during the middle 1800s. Fort Laramie also was the site where two key treaties with the Native Americans were signed. The Horse Creek Treaty of 1851 and the Treaty of 1868 were both signed at Fort Laramie and the treaty of 1868 is still contested in the US Court system today. The relations between the US Army and the Native Americans began amicably and grew hostile as the number of immigrants increased.
Just west of Fort Laramie we rode through swales and grasslands still marked with the ruts of the Oregon Trail and the Conestoga Wagons. We descended to the North Platte through a gap in the rocks that was passable by wagons 150 years ago but today is rugged and rough due to erosion. We are camped on ranch property just west of Register Cliff where some of the pioneers carved their names in the soft sandstone. Some were dead on the trail a few weeks later and never made it to the west coast.
Whiskey has gone every other day for over a week and he is weary from the travel. When we arrived at camp this afternoon, Whiskey was very tired, laid in the grass, and dropped into a deep sleep. He has awakened and is eating well. The commotion of the past few days and the close quarters in the camps has not been restful for us or for the horses. Whiskey started the trail slightly foot-sore, most likely resulting from trimming his hooves and his new shoes and after a few miles he was moving freely. We are hoping that we will be off the hard county roads by tomorrow or Friday. Tomorrow morning, I will take Frank out for a long morning on the trail.
Best Regards,
Tom N
June 15, 2011 – Torrington to Guernsey Wyoming – Today I rode the afternoon section on Whiskey. We passed through Fort Laramie on the North Platte River. Fort Laramie was strategic in the Western US during the middle 1800s. Fort Laramie also was the site where two key treaties with the Native Americans were signed. The Horse Creek Treaty of 1851 and the Treaty of 1868 were both signed at Fort Laramie and the treaty of 1868 is still contested in the US Court system today. The relations between the US Army and the Native Americans began amicably and grew hostile as the number of immigrants increased.
Just west of Fort Laramie we rode through swales and grasslands still marked with the ruts of the Oregon Trail and the Conestoga Wagons. We descended to the North Platte through a gap in the rocks that was passable by wagons 150 years ago but today is rugged and rough due to erosion. We are camped on ranch property just west of Register Cliff where some of the pioneers carved their names in the soft sandstone. Some were dead on the trail a few weeks later and never made it to the west coast.
Whiskey has gone every other day for over a week and he is weary from the travel. When we arrived at camp this afternoon, Whiskey was very tired, laid in the grass, and dropped into a deep sleep. He has awakened and is eating well. The commotion of the past few days and the close quarters in the camps has not been restful for us or for the horses. Whiskey started the trail slightly foot-sore, most likely resulting from trimming his hooves and his new shoes and after a few miles he was moving freely. We are hoping that we will be off the hard county roads by tomorrow or Friday. Tomorrow morning, I will take Frank out for a long morning on the trail.
Best Regards,
Tom N
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