Equestrian Standards

Equestrian

Standards Managing for Packstock on Shared-Use Trails

by Chris Binder Deputy Director

If you were lucky last fall you found some time in late September and early October to head out on the Tahoe Rim Trail to enjoy the crisp fall air and the relative solitude that accompany the end of the snow-free season in the Sierra. You may have been hoping to spot the last remaining brilliant yellow of aspens preparing for winter, or to climb to your favorite vista one final time before the snow blew in. What you likely would not have been prepared for is the sight of three mounted and fully uniformed Civil War cavalry rangers approaching singlefile on the trail ahead. Slightly awestruck, you may have had the presence of mind to politely step off the trail on the downhill side to let the party pass, noticing as you did the sabers at their sides, the bedrolls behind their saddles, and the handlebar mustaches that looked as if they might have marched straight out of the 1860s and onto the TRT. And in a very real way, they had.

Over the course of 16 days last fall three members of the 2nd California Cavalry Company F completed a thru-ride of the Tahoe Rim Trail in the personas of First Sergeant William Baldwin, Quartermaster Sergeant Thomas Carter, and Private O.H. Cambridge, complete with full reproduction uniforms, tack, and camping equipment true to the era. Company F, known as the Sacramento Rangers, was organized and trained from late 1861 in response to President Lincoln’s request for troops in California and spent the duration of the war patrolling out of Camp Union in Sacramento, as well as other bases in the area. Their duties primarily consisted of protecting immigrants heading west, ensuring communication lines with the East remained open, and guarding shipments of gold heading to Washington to support the Union war effort. Their patrols ranged all over Northern California, including the Tahoe area. On the patrol being reenacted last fall, the rangers were searching for Confederate irregulars who had committed the infamous Bullion Bend Robbery in Pollack Pines and who were planning to use the stolen gold to recruit soldiers in California for the Confederate Army. through it, the reenactors left modern comforts at home. In place of down sleeping bags and ultralight Dyneema Composite Fabric tents these trail users packed metal canteens and wool blouses. At night, through sub-zero temperatures and a rash of earlyseason snowstorms, the rangers wrapped up in wool blankets and canvas manties. In fact, the only modern luxuries carried by the rangers were camping stoves, required for preparing hot water and meals and while responsibly avoiding the risk of wildfire (not to mention hefty fines) that can accompany open fires along the trail.

Horses, mules, donkeys, llamas, and goats (yes goats) can be found on shared-use trails including the TRT. If you encounter stock on the trail, please keep in mind these basic rules of etiquette:

Trail Etiquette Tip #1

Hikers and bikers should yield to stock. This means stopping, moving off the trail, and laying down your bike or pack if the stock seem agitated or threatened.

This unique group of TRT enthusiasts is just one example of the diversity among people who recreate on our incredible trail. It may not be every year that a group of equestrians rides the entire TRT, and it is rarer still for that group to do so as faithful character actors playing real men who preceded them by more than 150 years. However, it is sometimes exceptional examples that make crystal clear those truths that can too often be overlooked. In this case, Company F’s inspiring ride is a reminder to all of us that trails are, and should be, a place for everyone seeking to connect with a landscape, with each other, and with themselves. Not every trail is suitable for every use, but every user group should have access to trails.

Trail Etiquette Tip #2

When yielding, hikers and bikers should move to the downhill side of the stock so they do not feel threatened.

As trail managers, part of our work is to build and maintain trails to standards that will accommodate the user groups that land managers, trail users, and the general public have determined and designated through regulation to be appropriate. The TRTA and all trail managers have an obligation to ensure access to trails for the user groups those trails are open to. Who and what can go where on which trails can be a thorny subject, but on the TRT, at least, a relatively clear stance has been established when it comes to packstock. Since

In order to show respect for these brave soldiers, and to connect with the rich and infinitely interesting history of the Tahoe landscape and the people who have passed

a better trail, so long as those features do not impede the enjoyment and functionality of the trail for hikers and equestrians. Similarly, a stream can be built with a ford for bikes and equestrians alongside a parallel set of step stones for hikers. When trail crews are made up of enthusiasts from a wide variety of backgrounds and experience levels, the solutions they enact will almost always be better for everyone.

Trail Etiquette Tip #4

the trail was conceived in the late 1970s, the trail community in Tahoe has agreed resolutely that equestrians have a welcome place on the Tahoe Rim Trail. That means that the TRT for nearly its entire length is maintained to equestrian standards, which are in general more stringent and difficult to accomplish than hiker or biker standards. There are equestrian bypasses in a few locations where the trail is too narrow or crowded, or has a tread surface not appropriate for hoofs such as a metal grill bridge deck. In those places the trail being bypassed may not meet equestrian standards. Yet there are still nearly 200 miles of TRT system trails that TRTA maintains for stock use.

Trail Etiquette Tip #3

Brian Frontella as 1SGT William Baldwin

Don’t feed or pet stock unless you have explicit permission from the stock handlers.

a stream ford is occluded with boulders so hikers can keep their feet dry. When members of a particular user group, or well-intentioned volunteer or agency trail crews, install features that make the trail impassable for other user groups, they are denying equal access to a shared-use path. When changes are made to a trail so that it is functional for all allowed user groups those changes are not made to deny the importance of any one group, but rather to ensure equal access for all allowed groups.

This doesn’t mean that trails can’t be designed to be appealing to more than one type of trail user, or that trails should be boring or without risk. For example, on a shared-use trail, having a parallel line that allows advanced mountain bikers to enjoy a drop or a log ride makes for The TRTA prides itself on providing a trail where people of all abilities and backgrounds are welcome and where they can find challenging and rewarding trail experiences. Managing for packstock poses unique challenges that differ significantly from managing for foot or bike traffic, but the result is ultimately a better, more inclusive trail. As we strive to make the TRT a truly shared-use trail where all allowable uses truly have access, we must all recognize the importance of building, managing, and recreating in ways that do not marginalize other allowed user groups.

All photographs in this article are courtesy of Company F.

If approaching stock from behind, announce your presence calmly and well in advance.

It is essential that the TRT, as a shared-use trail, provides a minimum level of safety and functionality for all allowed user groups. A trail that is not passable by the allowed user group with the most demanding needs (which on the TRT is packstock) is not truly a shared-use trail. We have all seen ad hoc modifications to established trails made by trail users. These additions can be beneficial, such as when a broken branch is thrown off the trail, but too often it seems they are made to benefit only one of many diverse user groups, such as when

A special thank you to Brian Frontella, Rob Wangberg, and Shawn Manville for sharing their story and pictures of their thru-ride as Company F of the 2nd California Cavalry Company with the TRTA and our trail community. To read an account of the rangers’ 2019 thru-ride, which includes plenty of helpful information specifically meant for riders planning a trip on the TRT, please visit tahoerimtrail.org/horseback-riding/

An additional thank you is warranted to our equestrian partners at the Mother Lode Unit of the Backcountry Horsemen of California and other equestrian groups who have supported the TRTA and volunteered on the TRT for decades.

For more information on the 2nd California Cavalry Co. F Sacramento Rangers please visit www.californiacavalry.com.

Riding along Echo Lake

Maintaining Shared-Use

Trails for Stock

Packstock generally require more space in all dimensions than hikers or bikers and are particular about where they can put their hooves. USFS trail standards for stock include the following recommendations which are applicable to the TRT:

1. The trail corridor should be cleared of vegetation to a width of at least six feet and a height of at least ten feet.

2. Tread width outside of Wilderness areas should be a minimum of two feet.

3. Packstock prefer to have all four feet on the same surface, so if required steps should be at least four feet in length.

4. Holes between roots, rocks, and other obstacles can trap a hoof and break a leg and should be removed.

On the TRT near Barker Pass