![]() On the second Pack Trip we even saw a bear with her two babies! We saw wildlife: deer, elk and small animals like rabbits, squirrels, birds. The land is just breathtaking! Beside us there was no one else out there. On the day rides we were free to gallop over the wide meadows. Since the horses are heavy loaded it's not healthy for them to gallop. On the pack trips we were mostly walking (amazingly fast) and a few times trotting. Joe encourages you to fan out and choose your own way if possible (no nose-to-tail riding). We slept under the stars without a tent.wonderful!Įven non-experienced riders feel comfortable on Joe's great, well-trained horses. The nights can be very cold (below freezing point). Bring a warm dawn sleeping bag with you in late fall or early spring. Or the drinking bottles worked also very well as hot-water bottles to warm up my sleeping bag. For instance the saddle pads and saddle blankets were used as mats to sleep on. Every item should have at least two functions, we learned. I was surprised how few luggage we needed. The food for the group and for the horses was carried by two pack horses. Our personal luggage was packed in the saddle bags of our "personal" horse. When we left a camp site you hardly could see that we were there. He teaches you how to travel "Apache Style" with a minimum of equipment and a minimum of impact. Treating the land in a healthy way is one of Joe's principles. There is less impact to the land if he keeps the group small. I am only one of many return guests a fact that is speaking for itself. I went on two day rides and on two 6-day horseback trips into the Gila Wilderness. I got to know Joe as an outstanding, experienced guide with an enormous knowledge about nature, the land, history, and Apache culture. He offers half- and full-day horseback rides as well as multiple-day horseback trips mostly into the Gila Wilderness. WolfHorse Outfitters is run by Joe Saenz a Warm Springs Apache. HIGHLY recommend Joe and his horses for a trip into GNF no matter how short or long the ride! On our trip back we stopped at the petroglyphs and told me what each symbol meant. He told me about his culture as an Apache Indian. It was a beautiful area in the woods, quiet with no one else around and we chatted. Good years he says that the fruit has sugar crystalized on the outside. Joe said due to the rains coming late this year the fruit isn't very good. I got a chance to try a Juniper tree berry. I saw Joe picking various things off of plants to eat them. How he saw it I have no idea as it blended in really well. He was thinking some hikers spooked them. We saw 3 coyotes off in front of us in the distance. I loved it when we were trail blazing chosing our own path to go. Joe, who is an Apache Indian, was my guide. I chose Wolfhorse as they were close to where I am staying in the area. I wanted to see Gila National Forest via horseback.
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