Finding Our Road Legs

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well the Cabalgata del Cielo Rojo ride has finally started! We have had our first week on the road and are enjoying our rest days at a lovely parador (traveller's stop) halfway between the towns of El Calafate (where we began) and El Chalten (a trekking paradise nestled at the base of Cerro Fitz Roy). We have had time to clean our gear and ourselves and reconnect to the world via WiFi while the horses rest in the sun and lazily eat their well deserved hay.

A few stats from our first week:

Total distance covered: 105 kilometers Average distance per day: 26.25 kilometers (we took a cheeky rest day on Day 2 and only rode 4 days)

Proper showers: 3

Wild showers (rivers or lakes): 1

The first day we rode out of the town of El Calafate and followed the highway for most of the day. Thankfully, there are wide spaces on each side of the highways here in Patagonia, so the horses very rarely have to ride near traffic. Even so, it was a tense few hours as my horses have never seen so many large trucks and busses travelling at high speed. Once we have a few kilometers under our belt the horses relax and no longer care so much about the traffic. But there is a new thing in Patagonia that horses from the flat open fields of Buenos Aires have never seen: rocks! At first all the horses look and snort at each large rock as if a puma is laying in wait behind it (a real testimony to the criollo heritage, as the breed originated from a herd of wild horses in the Patagonian region). Luckily for us, the horses were never right and we have yet to see a puma.

We arrive for the first night at Estancia Bon Accord, and I honestly cannot think of a better way to have started the ride. Gerardo, the owner, is an excellent host and offered us a pasture for the horses. We unpack our gear into the shearing shed, which is full of wool and animal skins from various game, and are about to begin to accommodate our sleeping rolls when Gerardo presents us with the best surprise: we can use a bedroom in his old family house which he now uses for tourism! What a treat!

We are exhausted but stay up late talking with Gerardo and his employees, two young men from Patagonia who care for the sheep and one woman who came to Patagonia to work seasonally taking care of the houses and attending clients. Wonderful company and conversation. We go to bed warm and comfortable after our first day.

On the second day we wake up and Louisa realizes she must go back to El Calafate because her boyfriend is stranded in the airport. One of the airlines has gone on strike and all of their flights were canceled. He needs her help to organize a new itinerary to return to Salta where his family and work are waiting. So while Louisa took the day to go back and sort out the logistics for her boyfriends return flights, I got to spend the day at the estancia. Gerardo was preparing for the annual shearing, so everyone was busy and I got to shadow the workers as they went about their day. This included cleaning some old abandoned houses where the travelling shearers would stay, preparing the clubhouse for tourists, processing a wether (aged, castrated, male sheep) and a ram lamb for food, and attending a couple of tourists who came to the estancia for a mountain bike excursion to Lago Argentino. What an interesting day! I find it fascinating and difficult to watch how the animals are killed and the meat prepared; it makes me feel closer to nature and much more conscious of my food choices. I think this is very important. In my journal I wrote "life, like death, is messy and full of struggle, but in the end peace always arrives".

The tourists that passed through the estancia were a couple of young English guys. I joined Gerardo as he gave them a tour of the estancia and shared his family's history. The life in Patagonia is and has always been tough, and the people who settled and live there are hard. Estancia Bon Accord has a history as an important tourist stop for explorers and scientists as the Patagonian region was developed and Gerardo continues this tradition by opening up his estancia to guests and giving them a slice of rural life. Although the target market has changed, guests now are typically older and interested in history, tourism offers an important opportunity to maintain and protect historical sites like the old estancia house. Gerardo is such a hard worker and I have so much respect for the work that he does. I am so grateful that he opened his house and shared his table with us. What a way to start the ride!

Day three sees everything sorted with Louisa's boyfriend and we are set to continue. A longer day, but riding through Gerardo's fields and along the Santa Cruz river. At the end of the day we reach a spot with corrals for the horses and a place for us to camp. First night in the tent is good, but we wake to rain. We let the horses graze all morning and wait for the rain to stop. This means we head out early afternoon to ride to another puesto (traveler's refuge) along the highway. We make it there and there is not much grass for the horses but the couple who cares for it were so nice. We make a corral for the night with our ropes and pieces of wood we find around the puesto, not pretty but it will enclose our tired horses fine so they don't need to be tied all night. We share dinner with the caretakers and they even give us a room inside the puesto and an opportunity to shower! Another win!

We know the next day will be long, so we excuse ourselves and go to bed early. In the morning we saddle, have a few mates (Argentine tea), and hit the road. About halfway into our day we realize that Louisa has lost some of her rain gear off the back of the saddle, it must have slipped off the ties while we were walking. We go back a little ways to see if we can see it, but we cannot make the horses double back much because we still have many kilometers ahead of us. It is frustrating, because we know that if we had a vehicle it would be simple and quick to locate the missing gear. We decide to continue on and once we get settled in our next campsite we will try to hitchhike back to look for her things.

Our second challenge comes after lunch, when clouds roll in and the wind starts howling. A cold rain begins slowly but then picks up and we are riding up a long slow incline with little protection. The rain feels like little ice shards hitting our faces and we can barely see ahead, but we keep going and hope it will stop. This is one of the situations where I feel alive. Cold wind and rain is miserable but so is sitting inside, and for now at least I will choose this type suffering. The rain lets up after about an hour and slowly the sun starts to come out. We make it to our campsite exhausted but there is a restaurant and a corral for the horses and WiFi and the promise of two days rest. After the horses are settled and camp is set up I buy a beer. We have made it so far!

On our rest day we have a successful side-adventure of hitching a ride back to look for Louisa's lost gear. From the bus we spot the gear on the side of the road quickly and ask for the driver to let us out. Amazingly no one has picked it up, the wind hadn't carried it away, and it is still dry! We wait on the side of Highway 40, many kilometers from anywhere, waiting for another car to pass so we can hitchhike back to our campsite. I am wearing my camp slippers, refusing to put on my boots on my day off, so I was really hoping we wouldn't need to walk far! A nice couple took pity on us and drove us the 15 kilometers back to our campsite. The rest of our off day was filled with camp chores and relaxing.

My overall impression of the first week is that we have all done a great job and we are still settling into a rhythm of travel. Setting up and tearing down camp still is slightly awkward, and the horses start out with a lot of heart each morning but seem to lose some motivation in the afternoon. Their only experiences before starting this long ride was rides where we went out and returned back to the same place, so they are still struggling to understand one-directional travel. I think another week of long riding they will realize that the road is home and that each night they will have some sort of food and rest wherever that may be. Also we are all adjusting to the physical strain of packing and walking all day. The main lesson this week has been one of patience: patience as we figure out the details of our routine, as we adjust to life on the road, as we learn to live with each other, and as we learn to watch the world move by at six kilometers per hour. Overall I am so proud of all of the horses for the way they have taken everything in stride (haha) and for how well they have behaved in the many challenging situations so far. They are all wonderful partners for this adventure.

Be Prepared

I would like to dedicate this post to my father, with whom we had many dinner table discussions about "thinking ahead" and who has instilled in me a need to be prepared that tempers my otherwise impulsive nature.

Preparing for a long ride seemed daunting task. There are many different pieces that need to come together in order for the riders and horses to be ready to set off on a journey like this one. There were also many lessons to be found in the preparation stage of the journey that I am sure will serve us once we are on the road. My preparation for Cabalgata del Cielo Roio involved lots of hard work, lots of uncomfortable messages sent to people I did not know asking for information or advice, and a lot of learning to let go and accept things as they are.

Hard Work

There are numerous skills necessary to care for live alongside horses for months at a time. Learning and practicing these skills takes dedication and work. As a lifelong horsewoman and outdoor enthusiast, some skills such as human and equine first aid, horsemanship, and backcountry skills I have already been learning and practicing for many years. Other skills were relatively new to me and required much more investment in order to develop to the point where they would be useful to me on the trail.

A skill that I felt was crucial to learn was hoof trimming and shoeing. While I do not think this may be necessary for all long riders, due to the location of their rides or the availability of hoof boots, for my ride through Argentina I need to be able to care for my horses feet and to replace a shoe in the case that a horse were to lose one. I signed up for a week long course offered by the Associacion Argentino de Polo and taught by an experienced veterinarian and farrier. The students in the course were a mix of professional farriers, veterinarians, and horsemen from all around Argentina. We learned about the mechanics of the hoof and then practiced using different tools on frozen dead horse feet before moving on to actually trimming and shoeing a live horse under the watchful eye of the instructor. It was hard work physically and my skills left a lot to be desired. At the end of the week I felt as though I had learned enough to continue practicing, but I needed another mentor. Back at the estancia, I asked our farrier to give me feedback as I worked alongside him shoeing the estancia horses. With many more hours of practice, working at a glacial pace alongside a true professional, I gradually began to improve. So I signed up to attend another farrier course with the same instructor. He was pleased (and probably surprised) at the progress I had made and I was able to learn so much more in the course now that I had a bit of foundation. Although I would never consider myself a professional farrier, I am now completely comfortable caring for my horses hooves on the ride.

Another important part offer the ride preparation was learning to correctly pack a horse. We will be using a pack horse and in order to ensure her health and longevity throughout the trip we need to know how to pack right. While I was studying at Colorado State University I was fortunate to learn packing and outfitting with the legendary instructor Chuck Peterson. With many years as a packer and instructor, Chuck was able to teach us the technical skills involved in packing (creating the loads, hitches, etc) and also pass on the practical experience that one only gains from miles and miles of leading a string in the backcountry. I loved the course, and returned as a teaching assistant. Helping other students learn these skills solidified my own knowledge, and with a few backcountry pack trips under my belt I feel like I have a solid packing foundation. Fast forward three years when the idea for Cabalgata del Cielo Rojo was just beginning to become a real project, I realized it had been many years since I had worked with a pack horse. My skills were rusty to say the least, and I was sure I would not be the best instructor to show Louisa the ropes. We organized to spend a week at the wonderful UXU Ranch near Yellowstone National Park and let the staff of Hidden Creek Outfitters sort us out. They were experienced and patient teachers and in just a few days I had sharpened my skills and Louisa could throw a hitch with the best.

As we began training our own horses to pack and preparing them for the ride, many times we would finish a hitch only to decide that it was too loose or that the load wasn't sufficiently balanced and centered, and we would take it off and do it again. While frustrating, I believe that this practice achieved two things: we have developed a system between the two of us that allows us to work quickly and smoothly as a team and the horses became more desensitized to the entire packing process. While learning to be a farrier and a packer take a significant amount of hard work, I have also found it incredibly rewarding. To think that one year ago I would not be able to do things that I now consider normal is empowering and motivating. The outcome is definitely worth all the work put in. Being Uncomfortable Part of the preparation for this ride has really forced me to step out if my comfort zone. Reaching out to people I do not know and asking them for advice and support is something that did not come easy. At the start it took me days to write my first email to the Long Riders Guild, and I agonized over every sentence worried about what they would think of me based on what I wrote. This initial contact with the LRG gave me more contacts, and as I reached out to each person my list of contacts grew. Which means I got a lot of practice sending emails and WhatsApp messages to people explaining who I was, who had connected me with them, and what I needed: advice on planning the ride, a place that my horses could stay the night, and/or another contact, please. I sent long voice messages to people I didn't know in a non-native language. I met with people in coffee shops and pubs to talk about their experience on a long ride. I approached organizations with flyers about my project to see if they would be willing to promote it. I even did a short interview to be shared on Instagram and a longer interview for a radio program about tourism and Patagonia. What I have learned from all this is that these things are uncomfortable, and they get a little easier with practice, but they never stop being uncomfortable. We just need to do them anyway.

While many of my efforts did not result in anything, many did. I have met and spoke with so many interesting and supportive people since beginning this project, many of whom are people that would never have crossed my path otherwise. The amount of enthusiasm and support people offer two young women who want to ride across a country is incredible. I am so grateful to all of the people who have already offered us support, and to all those who will follow. I know that they are the key that makes a ride like ours possible, and it was totally worth all of the uncomfortable moments. Letting Go The last, and perhaps most difficult, lesson in preparation was being able to accept things as they are and letting go of the need to have everything figured out. During the planning stage, I wanted reach out to many estancia owners on my proposed route to see if we could ride through their land, but was unable to get the contact information of many land owners. Instead we will need to ride up to their gates and ask permission to cross and to camp on their property. And we will need to be able to develop another plan in the case that they tell us "no". While it was originally frustrating to look at the map and see nothing but question marks, if you change your perspective that becomes the real essence of the adventure. It is both scary and exhilarating to relinquish the idea that we are able to plan everything. The philosopher Epictetus wrote "Don't hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace." This is certainly true as we are about to embark on a journey in which we will be completely at the mercy of the weather, the horses' health and attitude, and other people. Long riding and travelling with horses simply something that you cannot pin to a schedule or plan each campsite in advance on a map. The ability to be flexible and resourceful in every situation that presents itself is the only way to be successful on a trip like this. In this case being prepared is more of an attitude of acceptance and security in your ability to deal with anything the road presents to you, rather than an actual act of planning every step in advance. As we are about to start the ride, I know I am prepared.

So if you are planning a long ride, the skills and details of your preparation are likely to be different than mine. Each ride and rider are different. However, I am willing to bet that the lessons you will learn along the way to the ride will be similar. In fact, I believe that these lessons are applicable to anyone chasing any dream, whatever that dream might be. With hard work, willingness to persist through uncomfortable situations, and acceptance of elements outside of your control without abandoning your path, I think you will find the realization of your dreams within your reach. Now that the time for preparation has reached its end and the ride is about to start, all that is left is to saddle the horses, step up, and ride away.

To begin, begin.

Cabalgata del Cielo Rojo is a project born of the desire to travel the American continents on horseback. The first expedition is set to take place in Argentina beginning in November 2019 and will cover 2500 miles through Argentina from the town El Calafate in the south to Salta city in the north. My friend and I, with four Argentine horses, will travel through pampas, steppe, Patagonia, and the Andes. My goal with this blog is to share our stories from the trail, offer my experience for those interested in similar adventures, and inspire others to follow their dreams.

I am not sure if I can define the exact moment that the Cabalgata del Cielo Rojo project began. Did it start the moment it had a name? The moment I decided to act? The moment I dared to dream about a horseback adventure that covered thousands of miles?

My experience beginning this dream was one of self realization. On one hand, I have always done what I "should" do. I have always had a job, I studied at and graduated from university, and I have participated in the consumerism of our culture that insists we keep up with each new technology and trend as it is released. On the other hand, I have been fortunate enough to always pursue my passions. Riding and working with horses has been an enormous part of my life since I was a young girl and now that I am older I am constantly grateful for this life changing opportunity. Beyond horses, I have always been called to the wilderness. I was doubly fortunate to grow up in Northern Colorado, where the outdoors is our primary past-time and we have numerous opportunities to hike, bike, paddle, and ride. You can always find a friend who is up to go backpacking for a weekend or to climb on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I pursued sports whole-heartedly, learned backcountry skills, and spent what time I could in the wild.

Younger me with my horse Oscar.

Horses and wilderness are an unrivaled combination, and I soon began spending summers working as a trail guide leading horse rides in the national forests. This was the first taste I experienced of a passion-lead life, as I spent long days working and enjoyed every single minute of it. I found myself asking for more hours working and took few days off, and although many days I worked from sunrise to sunset I always woke each day eager to begin my work.

Another life-altering decision came when I decided to travel after having graduated from university. I sold my car and bought a ticket to Buenos Aires, Argentina, thinking I would backpack South America for 6 months and return to the United States to continue higher education with a masters in agricultural and resource economics. My "plan" was quickly dissolved as I realized that my budget was stretched thin, even for an on-a-shoestring backpacker and student loans threatened my horizon. I began the search for job opportunities abroad. A stroke of fortune landed me a job at Estancia La Margarita as the horse manager and trail ride guide. It was a perfect fit for my skills and needs, and my 6 month agreement turned into a year, which turned into three. Looking back at my life since I have relocated to Argentina I can see that this job has allowed me to grow into a bilingual and multi-cultural woman and I have connected with so many different people from all corners of the globe just by sharing horse rides through the countryside. This is another opportunity that I am so grateful came into my life.

Picara and me at Criollos Tapalque 2017. Tapalque, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

So what about my dream?

A fantasy that had always lingered in the back of my mind was the idea of traveling from the United States to South America, be in by car or bike or horse. I had heard of the Pan-American highway and knew this type of journey was possible, but it was hardly something I recognized as a realistic possibility. Once I started to live in Argentina, I began to hear the stories of a man who had traveled from Buenos Aires to New York from 1925 to 1928, covering more than 10,000 miles with his two Argentine horses. Again, this idea tickled my adventurous spirit and ignited many daydreams and although I began to speak about the journey as my dream it remained intangible and out of reach. I continued to live in Argentina where I learned the language, trained in a different style of horsemanship, connected with people all over the country, and the dream continued to grow.

Aime Tschiffley with Gato and Mancha, his two criollo horses who traveled from Buenos Aires, Argentina to New York, USA.

I believe the final breakthrough that led to the beginning of Cabalgata del Cielo Rojo came with the realization that I am capable. I will repeat that again, because I believe most of us do not tell ourselves this enough: I AM CAPABLE. While I am not the best adventurer, the most experienced traveler, or the perfect horsewoman, I am still capable of pursuing my dream. This has become a powerful affirmation in my life. Waiting until I was "good enough" was actually leading me nowhere. I realized that my dream was right there and if I did not fearlessly pursue it I would miss my chance. So I decided that I want to ride across the Americas on horseback and I was going to figure out how to take the first step. I needed to cross the first country: Argentina.

What follows is the many preparations, logistical planning, learning new skills, and life lessons that are necessary to make a dream into reality, all of which I will share through this page. However I would like to dedicate this post to the beginning, because in my experience the beginning was actually a lot scarier than the things that come after. I have decided that the only failure would be not doing everything within my power to pursue my dream. And I have learned that dreams change and grow, and we must adapt with them to continue to chase them wholeheartedly.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. The moment one definitely commits oneself then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never occurred. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

So here it is: The imperfect, scary, powerful, magical beginning. I am so happy to share my Cabalgata del Cielo Rojo journey with you.