wvhorse.com
Greenbrier River Trail, WV
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wvhorse.com Greenbrier River Trail, WV |
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• • •Three day riding • •
• There were only three travelers that we met on the entire ride. A man,
woman and a little girl were on bicycles. They were having a little bit of rough ride in the larger rocks. As Sam got near
them, he asked, "Are those bicycles afraid of horses?" The couple laughed and said, "No." The people inquired how long we had been and how far we went. They had not brought a lunch and
were beginning to get hungry. Sam asked, "Do you like Twinkies?" as he dug one from his saddle bag. He tossed it to the woman.
She laughed as she caught it. They said, "Thanks, Twinkie Man," as we rode away. Sam softly said to us, "That little girl will get the cake." There was a great flat rock down by the river and Sam wanted to get a picture on it. When we got there, he
handed me the camera and led little Magic away. The young sorrel was reluctant to climb down the steps and out on the big,
flat rock. With Sam’s urging, the gelding carefully eased onto it. I took a picture and rode a little closer as Sam
mounted up for a photograph on the great slab of rock in the edge of the Greenbrier River. It is a beautiful picture as you can see the wide, clear river and the rocks of all sizes. It is a fascinating
sight to witness a horse and rider in such an surprising place. Magic did not enjoy the return trip off the rock and up the
steps any better than the initial trip out there, but he made it without incident. "What happened to you?" I asked, "You look like you have been rolled in flour!" "That's it. I have flour on me." Clarence agreed softly. And then he laughed. We looked down and you could see a big white circle of powder and the black outline of where his
feet had been. Eddie and I laughed and laughed as he finished the story. "I looked over there and there was a woman sitting in this car. She saw me do that and she laughed
until she cried." Well, we almost laughed until we cried too. From that time forth, Eddie called Clarence "Powder Puff". Sam rode ahead and I missed a great silhouette picture of the black outline of a horse and rider near the
end of the tunnel where it contrasted with the outside beauty of the autumn color of the trees. When we got down the road,
I told Sam "I sure missed a good picture." "Why didn’t you say something about it? I would have given you the camera and we could have done it
again" he said. I wished we had. The next year I was ready and I got the picture. Sam rode in front and turned and took a picture of Eddie and me crossing the long bridge. If you will notice,
Teege and Cody are in a perfect step. To this day, it is one of my favorite shots. Buddy is first to notice all of the good things to eat along the trail. We found ripe red raspberries. Some
times we leaned out of the saddle to get the soft, ripe berries, if the horse would wade over into the brier patch and stand
still enough for us to get the treat. At one point the berries looked so good that I got off the horse to grab the fruit and
stuff it into my mouth. Black raspberries have a wonderfully strong taste but it takes a handful of red raspberries to discern
the faint flavor of this delicate berry. Buddy reached out and pulled a plum from a tree by the road. He took a bite and testified to its sweetness.
We all rode around the tree gathering a sample. The precious plums were so sweet that I groaned a little as the wonderful
flavor registered. What a treat they were to us! Further down the road there were many little apples on an old twisted tree in a forsaken yard of long ago.
Those little apples were a welcome refreshment for us and for the horses alike. At times the trail went through fields that were fenced along the sides. Every now and then we crossed an
old dirt road, leading to some unknown destination. The white whistle posts were there to help me recall the ride last year. Again I called "Whoo, Whoo," when
we approached the signals. Karen joined in and helped me give the warning to any nearby automobiles. There were no cars on
the back dirt roads, but we called the sound since there was no cord to pull for a steam whistle. It was our private game. We never saw another soul as we rode from near Cass to the edge of Marlinton. When we came into town, we stopped and took pictures of the old depot that is now a visitor’s center.
The backdrop is cluttered, but the flowers were beautiful on this pleasant day in mid August. These old boys we are riding
with looked like train robbers. We finally left town where cars and trucks crossed the blacktop trail. We rode between the houses by the trail,
and we crossed the old rusty railroad bridge that has a new floor made out of pressure treated lumber. It lifts our spirits
to hear the beautiful cadence of gaited horses crossing the long wooden floor. We quietly listened and smiled. Is that a trot
I heard? We were almost at camp. "That’s Watoga Park," Buddy said. "It is?" I questioned. "Yes. That is why there are so many campers." We watched kids and adults play in the river and the busy camp life across from us. I felt sorry for everybody
who could not ride this entire trail on a horse. "Clarence, what is that on your arm?" somebody asked him. Clarence held up his arm to show a white fly swat tied to his right wrist. "Everybody needs one of these,"
he said. "What for?" I asked in amazement. We certainly didn’t need a whip for our horses. They were so anxious
to go that we didn’t dare to suck our teeth, lest the horses consider it an invitation to race. "For the flies. It works real good. You’ll see," Clarence answered in his soft, slow voice. Clarence has an easy smile and a dry wit. But one can only be so cool in such a hat and with a fly swat dangling
from his wrist! Sharon tolerates his actions with a laugh, whether he is jumping out of airplanes or fighting the Civil War
again. He is a regular participant in the re enactment, complete with uniform, saddle and high top boots. The fly swat might be a little strange, but he is fun to ride with and he can take the kidding as well as
he can dish it out. We came to the next tunnel. It was through Droop Mountain at Mile Post 31. There was construction
going on and men were erecting a wooden scaffold to reinforce the top of the tunnel. Clarence talked for a while and entered
the 402-foot long darkness. Eddie stopped his stallion and asked questions about the work they were doing. While he was talking, Cody
decided to mark his territory. Finally we rode on but I was embarrassed to have left such a mess for the workers! After all,
they were on a ladder just above a fresh pile of horse manure! I just know they had to go find a shovel and clean up. Eddie
didn’t even realize what had occurred. I wasn’t about to get off my horse and do that job in front of all of those
men working. At this time I do express my belated apologies. This tunnel was more straight and we could see the end more quickly. It was also wetter and sometimes we felt
the water dripping down on us. Clarence was waiting for us at the other end. "I was looking for snakes or a bear or something! There could
be anything in there!" He said. There could be. If there was, we were, fortunately, not able to see it. Greenbrier River Trail, an 92 page comb bound book with 4 pages of color photographs is ready for shipping. Only Zee Adkins Route 2 Box 70 West Hamlin WV 25571
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Wild, Wonderful West Virginia
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