Horses in the Wilderness

[Niltiac]

Here is a short story my husband wrote about the return of draft horses to the Pemi. However people might feel about the whole bridge thing, it is pretty cool to see horses at work in the backcountry.

 

[sardog1]

Great piece. I'm a big fan of draft horses. My grandfather worked in logging camps with them "back in the day".

 

[Lefty E]

Excellent short story, and glad your husband did well with his axe work!! I also remember my grandfather using draft horses for small logging jobs in the early 60's (I can remember things that happened when I was very young!!!) More recent, my nephews and other family members are building a log cabin on family land where the logs had been dropped on site and were skidded into the building site by an awesome draft horse....seemed like no effort for the big guy, he seemed to want to have to do it!! The gentleman owner of the draft horse(s) also gives sleight rides in winter, in the shadows of the Mahoosuc, Pilot, Pliny, and Kilkenny Mountain Ranges, somewhere around the small town of Milan NH....the Mahoosuc Inn is located nearby.....

 

[JacobH]

That was very nice. Thanks for sharing.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Beautiful article. Your husband is a catch... ;-)

Horses rock, no question.

 

[wardsgirl]

That was wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing it here.

 

[HAMTERO]

Excellent! While I wish the bridges were still there , I walked in there last weekend and could see the horse and sled tracks. It was like going back in time. Thanks for saving the apple tree and being aware of history.

 

[Sunshine Chris]

Great read! My grandfather used to do logging with horses in southern NH way back in the day. It is great to see them out working their craft still today. I know folks that have their property selective cut and the logs are hauled out with horses still today.

 

[Jason Berard]

Thanks for sharing, and thanks doubly for helping haul that stuff out of there.

jason

 

[JCarter]

That's a great story.

But the curious part of me wants to know how they got the steel over the brook at the Wilderness Boundary, since the "Scoots" had to be taken apart to go over the bridge on the way in.

 

[Niltiac]

From Mike:

For the "one mile" brook crossing the beams had to be unloaded, pulled across the gap on a hand powered "high line" setup and re-loaded on the other side. Right now the steel remains stacked on the north side of Franconia Brook. The first shot at moving it across the bridge is supposed to take place this week. They only have a few more feet to go. It will most likely just be a lot of pushing, pulling and prying. A hand-powered winch (griphoist) will probably be involved. The horses unfortunately will not be back. Once they are onto the bridge they are technically out of the Wilderness and any gas powered gadget is fair game. The majority of the labor will continue to be volunteer. With any luck the remains of the Black Brook bridge will be completely out this winter.

The second bridge is a different story. Unfortunately the east side is too rough for horses, especially the washouts left by hurricane Irene. Along with a few determined volunteers and USFS staff over the course of 4 days, we were able to move +/-90 pieces of bridge material weighing about 75 lbs. a piece from the suspension bridge site to a landing 1 mile closer to the highway. We were only able to use pulk sleds and packboards. From that point the hope is that the trail will be smooth enough that the stuff can be moved by dog sled to the Franconia Brook Tentsite sometime in march (if the snow holds up). Once the East Side Road is fixed (hopefully this summer) they will be trucked out of the woods for good.

We have pictures of both these projects and will hopefully be able to share them soon.

 

[Motabobo]

This is simply awesome, thanks so much for sharing.