After a great deal of time and hard work, Karin and I finally made it to Walker Pass, the gateway to the Sierra. The Sequoia National Forest was on fire…right where we had to ride. It was only 35 percent contained when we entered the Dome Land Wilderness. Over 150,000 acres had burned and we rode within 20 miles of the hotspot. Many mornings we woke to thick smoke obscuring the peaks and valleys and we always had to be on alert to evacuate.

The trail was surprisingly steep and rugged in this area. The Thoroughbreds were frightened of all the new sights to the point where we had to walk and lead them some of the way. Karin's horse "Glory," was terrified of over hanging rocks and cliffs. She would freeze up and walk backwards into the backed up pack string, almost pushing the others off the side. My horse "Chili," was so busy watching the rocks and the eerie Joshua Trees, she would walk off the edge causing small rockslides.

Not only were we paralleling a raging forest fire on extreme trails but the area was full of rattlesnakes. This is the home of the feared Mojave Green, which is considered the most aggressive and venomous of all rattlers. At one camp, six had rattled at us and two actually chased me! Amazingly, neither our horses nor us were bitten. To make things worse, this was the driest year in California's recorded history. Riding into the mountains late in the year didn't help. Water was scarce but somehow we found enough.

Kennedy Meadows was a welcomed stop. We met the nicest people and were invited to several shindigs. The General Store caters to Pacific Crest Trail hikers and had showers, laundry and even a Saturday night movie in the amphitheater. The owners were extremely nice and helpful. It was hard to leave our new friends in this mountain paradise but the trail had called and we drifted north up the South Fork Kern River. The trail became easier (though we were above 11,000 feet). The horses were used to the cliffs by then.

The meadows of the Dome Land Wilderness, South Sierra Wilderness, Golden Tout Wilderness and Sequoia National Park, had good feed for the horses and creeks brimming with trout. We made many new friends who were horse packing or backpacking. Every morning was frosty and a couple snowstorms blanketed the landscape with snow. Most of the time we were the only ones around and seemed to have the whole Sierra Nevada Range to ourselves.

The main event of this mountain high trip was a stay at a wonderful camp by the Kern River. Words are hard to find to describe the beauty of the surrounding granite cliffs and the sound of rushing water. Not only were we on a white-water river but also close to the huge Chagoopa Falls, which plummets 3,000-feet to the valley floor. To top it off, our camp was 100 yards from a 105-degree natural hot spring! Nobody else was at the spring area except for a big cinnamon black bear that shares the valley.

We rode out of the mountains to Lone Pine, CA just in time for their Annual Film Festival and rode in the parade. Hundreds of movies were made here including How the West Was One and Gunga Din. Riding where movie cowboys John Wayne, Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry and Tom Mix had been was extraordinary. My horse had a hard time in the mountains, was getting skinny and needed to be replaced. Luckily, the Kritz's from Lone Pine helped us get a new horse from Reds Meadow Pack Station. Leroy and Irene Kritz were Trail Angels and a huge help to the Expedition!