Spanish trail riders visit San Rafael Swell

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

The Spanish Trail riders spent three days riding in Emery County this past week. This is the second leg of their journey. They rode a portion of the trail last fall and have resumed their ride.
Richard Waller said, “I stopped by the Museum of the San Rafael in April 2014 while scouting the Old Spanish Trail for our proposed re-ride. Our team rode, mules and one horse from San Bernardino Calif. to Parowan, Utah last fall. We met in Parowan on August 9 this year to begin the second and final section. We rode the Fish Lake Cutoff across I-70 near where Route 10 connects and then north to Castle Dale.
Waller is President of the Backcountry Horsemen of California and The Los Padres Unit. He is from Arroyo Grande, Calif. He said the Old Spanish Trail hasn’t been ridden in its entirety since 1848. He along with two friends Jim Clark from Ojai, Calif. and Otis Calef, from Santa Barbara, and their animals are making the journey.
Waller said, “I am a historian by training and I like adventures. I thought of doing a long historical horse ride and began researching. I knew of the Spanish Trail, but hadn’t paid any attention to its existence. I researched various trails.”
Waller said he is a member of the Backcountry Horsemen group of America and the President of the Backcountry Horsemen of California. Their group in California rides the 47 million acres of public land there. The backcountry horsemen are active in preserving access to public lands for the riding of horses.
They came from Fishlake to Emery County. Waller said this trip was three years in the planning stages. Last year they left San Bernardino on Oct. 10, 2014 and they rode across the Mojave Desert. “It was 110 degrees each day in the Mojave Dessert, we arrived in Parowan, Utah on Nov. 5. The Mojave is a desert, harsh landscape. We think that historically, the accepted trail routes were not as dominant as thought. Other routes we’ve analyzed had more water and feed. We didn’t ride through Las Vegas. We are filming and documenting the trip and I will be writing a book afterwards and a documentary will be produced,” said Waller.
“Rod Thompson is the wrangler for our group and he drives and shuttles us. We each take care of our own animals. Rod is very helpful. Sometimes we ride ahead and then Rod shuttles us back to camp. Sometimes we drive ahead and leave the vehicles and then shuttle back and then ride from there to our camp. If we find a campsite we like, we might ride a couple days and then camp in the same spot. Rod also belongs to a volunteer organization that drills wells in foreign countries so they can have fresh water,” said Waller.
Otis Calef on the documentary trailer noted back in the days when the Spanish Trail was in use there was more free flowing water and grass for the animals. Modern times have diverted much of the water for agricultural and culinary uses.
“We are all retired and looking for things to do. This trip is to promote the Old Spanish Trail as well as the Backcountry Horsemen of America,” said Waller.
The animals are well taken care of and stay healthy on the journey. The team carries water and hay with them. Waller said they are also finding plenty of fresh water along the way. When he visited Emery County in April 2014 he did so by motorcycle. He camped at the Wedge and he plans to take his team this year back to the Wedge to camp one night. They plan to stick to the desert as much as possible and stay off roads and highways and anything man made. If safety is an issue, they will truck the animals along busy highways until they can get back on the trail.
The film crew was with the team the first part of the journey and they will return near the end. This documentary will promote the Spanish Trail and Backcounty Horsemen of America.
“I would encourage people to get out and see and ride the trail. A life of adventure is important.
The Fishlake cut-off trail over to I-70 is just beautiful. We had Bob Leonard the archaeologist with us and that was one of the highlights of the trail so far. He gave us a lot of history of the trail. You can see the scars and the rock piles along that trail. The Spanish Trail was mainly a horse and mule trail. They would start out from Santa Fe with dry goods, blankets and other items, they would head west to Los Angeles where they would trade for horses. Then they would herd 2000-3000 horses back to Santa Fe. There was an active slave trade back then too, the Hispanics and the native tribes would enslave the poorer tribes and mainly take children back to Santa Fe to become house servants. It’s approximately 1,200 miles from Santa Fe to Los Angeles.
“At the Cajon Pass the travelers would split and some go to Los Angeles and others to San Bernardino and other settled parts of California. There were millions of horses there. Some had escaped from the settlers. There were huge grasslands. The traders purchased some tamed and gentled horses from the Californios, they gathered wild horses and also raided missions for horses. It was a mainly Hispanic trading route, but it was pioneered by Americans who were headed to California to trap beavers. They arrived in California and liked it there and settled. Francis Branch and William Wolfskill were among the first American settlers in California in 1830. Wolfskill combined the existing routes. As early as 1790 people were using these trails according to tree markings.
“We camp every night along the trail. This helps keep the trip affordable. We each pay our own expenses. Sometimes we’re way out in the wilderness with no amenities around. We’re used to this kind of lifestyle. My friends and I are outdoorsmen. This is comfortable and normal for us. We have a shuttle trailer with the hay and water and a cook trailer. We’ve been eating good along the trail. We are spending two nights in Castle Dale. We usually ride 20 miles a day.
“We’ve had a lot of support from the Backcountry Horsemen groups in the areas we’ve passed through. One group gave us coffee and doughnuts. The Central unit set up with the forest service for us to track from Koosharem.
“When we arrive in Moab there will be a welcome ceremony and we will stay at a private ranch. We’ll be guided there over that section of trail. When we arrive in Santa Fe, they’ve put together a program. We will be escorted by the sheriff’s posse. There will be a group of re-enactors there along with the mayor and city officials. Our arrival will be the kick-off of a conference of three National Historic Trails, the Spanish Trail, Santa Fe Trail and the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro trail.
“We’ve loved our time in Utah. Utah’s geography is just unworldly. We’re in love with Utah, if I was 19 years old, I’d move here. It’s a nice place. People have been so nice. They’ve been friendly and helpful.
“I was born in Santa Maria, Calif. and grew up in California. When I was an elementary teacher, I taught in Reno, I’ve had several careers, firefighter, ski resorts, logger. After the birth of my son, I decided I’d better have a steady paycheck, so that’s when I started teaching.
“Adventures are important, I was fortunate to marry a girl who likes adventures,” said Waller.
Waller and his team will be in the county a couple more days as they traverse the Old Spanish Trail through the Swell and into Green River. They will take a route from there that will lead them into Grand County and past the Moab airport. They plan to arrive in Santa Fe on Sept. 16.