The 2014 Eastern States MFTHBA National Trail was a success.
This year’s ride was held at Mammoth Cave Horse Camp in Mammoth Cave, KY where we rode the trails of the Mammoth Cave National Park. The trail ride took place June 18-22, 2014. While the group was not as large as in years past due to family and work situations, those in attendance had a wonderful time. We had riders from Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia. It was great to finally meet people face to face that have become friends over the internet. While the weather may have been slightly warm, we were able to rise and ride early and had some great trips. The staff at Mammoth Cave Horse Camp allowed us to use several trailers to reach the farther out trail heads.
This year’s ride was held at Mammoth Cave Horse Camp in Mammoth Cave, KY where we rode the trails of the Mammoth Cave National Park. The trail ride took place June 18-22, 2014. While the group was not as large as in years past due to family and work situations, those in attendance had a wonderful time. We had riders from Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia. It was great to finally meet people face to face that have become friends over the internet. While the weather may have been slightly warm, we were able to rise and ride early and had some great trips. The staff at Mammoth Cave Horse Camp allowed us to use several trailers to reach the farther out trail heads.
Our first ride on Thursday left from camp to venture out on
the First Creek Trail. First Creek has a small waterfall about 2/3 of the way
out to the lake. After a short rest and picture op we headed on to the lake
where the large group split into two smaller groups. The shorter ride group
completed the loop around the lake and headed back to camp, while the longer
riders continued out on the First Creek Loop. On Friday we loaded the horses on
the trailer and headed to the Maple Springs trail head. We rode the trails back
to camp, and sent a few guys back to get the trucks and trailers. These trails
had just reopened this year after being closed for several years due to storm
damage. On Saturday we trailered out to Maple Springs again. This time we rode
the Maple Spring Loop and returned to the trailers to
load back up and return to camp.
One of the perks of riding early was the opportunity to
visit Mammoth Cave itself. Several took the opportunity to take a trip down
into the cave and reveal in a different type of awesome.