We went on our first camping trip on Labor Day weekend. I'm not a big camper but I wanted to try out the Allegheny National Forest so I headed up to spend Saturday driving. It's about three hours to the Forest from Washington Co where Best is boarded. It was an easy trip though so no worries. Many thanks to Joe Langianese and the staff at the Marienville Information Station for answering all of my questions.
When I pulled into the Kelly Pines camp site I was able to get the last site. If you're a day visitor you can park in the middle of the campground but I thought I'd go ahead and get the site just in case. Each site comes with four tie stalls and there is no charge.
When I pulled into the Kelly Pines camp site I was able to get the last site. If you're a day visitor you can park in the middle of the campground but I thought I'd go ahead and get the site just in case. Each site comes with four tie stalls and there is no charge.
I was able to get Best out of the trailer, settled in the tie stall, get the carriage out, and then get hitched without any problems. Several riders came back from their trail rides while we were getting ready - everyone was very nice and said 'hello.' Once hitched we headed off, we went about 6 miles over a combination of dirt roads and asphalt. It was a nice easy drive, very appropriate for Best's first forest experience. He was very good and didn't even look at all the shadows the trees created on the road. I think he enjoyed stretching his legs on some relatively flat ground.
I enjoyed the drive so much that I decided to stay overnight. I needed a bit more hay for Best if I did so, I knew I had seen an Agway so I asked my neighbor how to get back there and instead they generously donated a bale of hay to our camping cause. They also invited me over for Apple Cake later that evening. Since I'm not a fan of sleeping on the ground I cleaned out the horse trailer, put a tarp down and then popped up my tent inside the trailer. It worked surprisingly well and kept me out of the early morning rainstorm.
Best survived his first time in a tie stall and his first night in the forest without any problems. Actually, the only problem was that he's used to being turned out at night so he was wide awake and looking for something to do. When he finished his hay he thought playing with his water bucket would be great fun. At 2am I did not. A bit more hay kept him busy until I was truly ready to get up. Despite the rumors I did not take great delight in waking Best up in the morning when he was ready to sleep. (It was only with a small evil laugh.)
We had a great morning drive once the rain stopped. A few things to be aware of - there is no cell phone coverage, there is no Wal-Mart (or anything else other than a Dollar General and a grocery store), and take a pitchfork (works much better than a shovel in the tie stalls.) There are some hills so if you're driving your horse I think brakes would be very helpful.
All in all the trip was a success and I would highly recommend the Allegheny National Forest to both my riding and driving friends.
