Absaroka Wilderness Area on Horseback

Riding a horse doesn't come natural to me. For me, its like dancing. I always seem a 1/2 beat off. Its also an exercise in trust. You need to trust your steed. You can guide it, but it knows how to walk, trot, and navigate the rocks and other obstacles on its path. Apparently, I've know confessed that I need to horsemanship, dancing, and trust to things I need to work on in my life.

All that said, its an amazing way to get deep into the backcountry fast. Our goal was to fish Slough Creek in Yellowstone. We've been the first and second meadow, but the fabled third meadow eluded us and yes, there even is a 4th meadow outside the park in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area.

We could have backpacked in, but instead we opted for horses and hired Slough Creek Outfitters to guide us up Slough Creek past the first few meadows to their camp on fourth meadow.

On a horse, the scenery slowly but steadily is unrolled in front of you. Hiking, you spend a lot of watching where you're putting your feet on rocky trails or just focusing on your foot falls as you huff and puff up a hill, but on horseback, you have the opportunity to take it all in and that is exactly what we did.