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Trail Riding - Washington
Washington’s Rain Forest
Beauty Beyond Compare, Young and Old Alike
by Janine Wilder
 One step inside this magnificent forest and you find yourself entering another world. This life-force is so diverse that most other forests pale in comparison to this wonderful region. The old growth cedars are breathtaking with it’s liken covered bark and the hanging moss dripping from its branches, the tall pine and green fern as tall as the horses belly. The light filtering through the dense fog during a early morning is an experience to enlighten anyone’s heart.
The La Bar horse camp nestled in the forest is a real treat for the horseman who truly loves the spirit of the outdoors. This area is a feast for the eyes, beautiful sounds of song birds abound, and the pungent smells of all the under growth of the ground cover is a treat for all the senses. Just to sit quietly in wonder of this stunning rain forest is a treat to all who enter.
The trailhead, which is just across the forest road from the La Bar campground, gives way to spectacular scenery in the South Fork of the Skokomish drainage. The trail, that traverses through this beautiful country was overwhelmingly breathtaking with its crystal clear streams, and green vegetation on every inch of the earth as far as the eye could see. It was a real treat to be riding through this amazing area during the dry season in this marvelous rain forest.
 On our adventure to the northwest we were joined by our friends the Stevens, Lynn and Lynette, their 16 year old daughter Nikki, and her friend, Amber Redd. The two girls were totally horse crazy and were truly enjoying themselves on their horse vacation. Amber had been literally raised on a horse and she was a natural. There was no where she couldn’t ride her Therobred gelding, Clyde.
At home, back in southern Utah, Amber and Clyde along with her sister Karly would round up cattle with their grandfather Clint, they were members of a drill team, and their high school rodeo team. Amber is also a horse trainer who trains horses for some of the local cowboys. Just to name a few of her talents with horses.
On our trip Amber, who has a dynamitic personality, showed what a special person she really is. This young lady came to my rescue while I was trying to free the reigns from around a run away horse’s leg while in a river, she rode up beside me and unfastened the reins from the bridle. This brave teenager tried to help my husband and me from a bee attack, while I was struggling with a horse that was bucking, kicking, and spinning from the stings. She again, rode up beside us and helped us get out of this battle with our stinging foes.
As we were ridding down a rocky trail Jim noticed that his horse, Smoke, seemed to have a loose shoe. While Jim was dismounting, Amber was off her horse and had Smokes front hoof in her hand checking him out. Finding a couple of loose nails and with no tools available from any of us, she picked a nearby rock and hammered the nails down in an effort to keep the shoe on until we could get back to La Bar.
 After returning to camp, the horses were bedded and fed for the night. As we were having our dinner, we could hear Amber asking if anyone had any horseshoeing tools. Other than a small hammer all the other tools had to be improvised. Removing the shoe with a large screw driver, pulling the nails with other make-shift tools, she proceeded with the process of any other farrier as rasping the hoof and putting on the shoe.
Her work looked perfect and considering the conditions she was working under, it was certainly an unbelievable task. What a feat! It was certainly not one that I would have tried to take on. Thanks to Amber, Smoke was ready to continue his riding and we were able to go on with our adventure.
On the nightly news or the morning paper you only hear about the bad teenagers. The one’s who steal from the neighbor market, cause problems for other teenagers, or beat up their fellow man. We very seldom hear about the great kids, the ones who help their neighbor, bring cheer to their friends, or bring a smile to the faces of all the people who know them. I believe it’s important to bring out the good stories of the next generation of horsemen who will fill the boots and cowboy hats of those who will pass the spurs on to our children.
It does my heart and soul good to see a young girl try so hard to help her fellow kind. Her love for animals, especially horses also stands out above the others. Her passion and connection to her horse is one that the horse whisper of today tries to get his students to understand however, very few people achieve this connection in a life time of years.
 Many young people have great relationships with their horse and can ride like the wind. However, I see very few young adults or even old adults have the spirit that Amber has. She is truly a one-of-a-kind human being. One that I can honestly say I am very proud to know and to call a true friend.
The Washington rain forest was a real treat for us horse vacationers. There was many times during the trip that our vacation could have been ruined for one reason or another. So, my thanks and gratitude go out to a wonderful teenager whose caring and thoughtfulness “saved the day” for a few of us older folks.
If you get a chance to ride in the wonderfully scenic forests of Washington State please do. And don’t forget to thank those wonder young people who do go the extra mile in this world.
Hopefully I’ll see you soon on one of the beautiful trails across their wonderful country we life in. – Happy Trails, Janine
Janine is a freelance writer and photographer, author of her first book “Trail Riding”, a lecturer, clinician, and a Long Rider.
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