Riders of The Lost Sierra

09/02/2024

Good morning and good news for late risers! (I myself am not a morning person 😒😆) Because our ride is a month and a half later than it was originally supposed to be. We will make some ride start time adjustments for the later sunrise and the fact that heat won't be as big of a concern.

The 50 will now start at 0700
The 30 at 0800
The fun ride (intro ride) at 0900

This is a sunrise picture I took at the beginning of summer from the location of the out vet check at Chapman Saddle looking at Haskell Peak. I'm heading up there again today to camp and do some final experimenting on the route.

09/01/2024

Howdy local riders! It seems that some of you might be interested in getting a taste of endurance riding, or just enjoying a nice trail ride with other cool horse people in a beautiful area. Without camping with us, can't say I blame you, endurance riders are a bit crazy 🤣 but also super fun. If we have space available, we would love to offer the introductory ride experience to you for a discounted price. Keep us on your radar for the weekend of September 14th and 15th. If we have room at our base camp, and the staffing ability to do so, we will offer some day passes for a reduced fee. Keep in mind that you don't have to be a member of AERC to participate, and we welcome newcomers to the sport. Keep following for more details.

08/29/2024

What's that I see up ahead on the trail? SPECIAL OFFERS!!!

Procrastinators of the world unite...tomorrow 😆 Just kidding. Get off the fence and pack your trailer. Our inaugural endurance ride known as The Lost Sierra, had previously been sold-out. But, with the date change we lost a lot of riders. That has left us with lots of available space. I've spent MONTHS and countless hours negotiating with the Forest Service and several private landowners to gain access to some beautiful places to camp and ride. Some of this historical land has not seen horse traffic in a very long time. Our team has put so much time, money, and effort to get this ride ready for all of you to enjoy. We can't wait to share our beautiful area with you.

Many of you that had to cancel say that you hope to see us next year. Well, unfortunately there won't be a next year and beyond, if we aren't successful this year. So with all that said, we're down to the wire and I've got ride spots to sell. Time to channel my inner salesperson 😆 Be ready to get spammed with tons of my ride promotion. Sorry, not sorry.

We love and appreciate all of you early birds sooooo much. Without your early registration we would not have made it this far. We also love slowpokes 😆 So come on! What are you waiting for? Get registered today for an amazing time.

Anyone who gets registered, or is already registered before Friday September 6th will be entered into a drawing for several cool prizes. Drawings will take place at the ride, must be present to win.

We also want to welcome and encourage more people to join the endurance community. We'll have special prizes for all newbies and juniors.

Don't want to spend all day in the saddle? That's fine. Come participate in our non-competitive trail ride for some great riding and a wonderful camping experience with other fun-loving horse people.

But wait! There's more. The next person that registers for BOTH days of riding for ANY distance, will receive a special VIR (Very Important Rider) package. This 2 day package will give you a bigger and better campsite. We'll also throw in some swag and free goodies. So don't delay, get registered and come join us for some fun times in a beautiful location. EDIT; VIR spots sold, but we still have lots of room.

Thank you all so much for supporting our new ride. As always, stay tuned for more information, and please spread the word that our ride is not full anymore.

-Amie

Sept 14th & 15th near Graeagle CA

https://form.jotform.com/241716269043153

08/27/2024

In case you missed it, here's the link to the new registration form. Please note, the LD has been changed from a 25 mile to a 30. So sorry for the change, but it was necessary to give adequate time to complete, as well as the appropriate mileage credit.

https://form.jotform.com/241716269043153

Photo taken from private property that all ride lengths will get to enjoy.

08/24/2024

Got rocks? Yes....yes we do.

Today's edition of the good, the bad, and the ugly, will mostly focus on the bad and the ugly. We want to make sure that everyone is adequately prepared for the endurance ride, and even just trail riding in The Lost Sierra. I've mentioned before that unless you're riding a mountain goat you will need hoof protection. But here's some pictures for those of you who like visual representation.

Let's also talk about the hills. For those of you who like to be surprised when going somewhere new, scroll on. For those who like to know what they're getting into, this is for you.

Here's a couple things you will probably NOT say about this ride. "Wow! That was a fast course with the best footing ever." This course literally climbs a mountain, and Sierra Nevada mountains have lots of rock. I have to admit that when I created these routes, I was so pleased to have a base camp with access to miles of riding possibilities with amazing views. I'm also primarily a trail rider, so I confess that I wasn't exactly thinking about the course in terms of being able to be negotiated at fast speeds. I was just so thrilled to have big beautiful loops, so I kind of overlooked the footing until recently.

So all that said, I just want to be honest and have you prepared to ride smart, and take care of your horse. We hope that you will focus mainly on the goal of conquering the mountain with a solid completion, and not necessarily the goal of being super fast. You absolutely must pace your horse on this ride.

I tried VERY hard to get access to more roads and trails with better footing and fun singletrack. Unfortunately, with this being our first event, I'm learning just how long it takes to build relationships with landowners and the federal government. For our first time we could only get permission for official designated roads. It takes a very long time to get permission from the Forest Service to create new trails, or use ones that have been decommissioned. But...we have BIG plans for the future. So if you'll support us on our first year, we hope to be able to be successful at creating more fun and fast courses in the future.

So, enough with the chatter and on with the pictures. I have lots of video too, but currently not enough internet to post them, so that will be for another day.

I have modified the route to eliminate some of the steepest and rockiest spots. Unfortunately that means not the huge loops with no backtracking that I had originally planned, but I hope you'll still find it beautiful and enjoyable. I'll do another post soon with the new stats on the elevation gains, and other information about the route. Today's post is on the footing so you can be prepared.

Some of you have said that you don't know what that much elevation gain and loss looks like spread out over that many miles. So allow me to show you. In the videos I'll share later you'll get a better idea. I hope this will help you make the best decisions for you and your horse.

Bring on the Haskell Peak Challenge!

I'll share a little bit of everything from along the route so you get a feel for it.

Amie and the team

08/20/2024

I spent my days off out on the ride route again. Britteny, Loren, and myself have all been spending many hours out there. This time I was able to ride since Jimmy has healed from his injury. Fall was definitely in the air, there has been a sharp drop in temperatures and Saturday was quite breezy. Sunday and Monday were perfect. The air was clear and it was so peaceful and pretty out there.

This week we're busy trying to get caught up again on the refunds and changes. I sincerely apologize if we haven't gotten to you yet. We're new at this and we're doing our best to keep up with all the changes. We will re-open registration next Monday the 26th. So if you're not registered yet be ready to complete the Jotform registration. We will post the link on here, as well as reactivate it on the AERC ride calendar. If you're on our email list we'll try to share it to you that way as well.

Stay tuned for lots of updated ride route information coming soon. Thank you all for your continued support.

Amie and The Ride Team

08/17/2024

VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

I wasn't expecting to hear anything over the weekend, but our wonderful Forest Service representative, who has been working so diligently to get an answer for us from the powers that be. Just sent me an email confirming that the new dates have been approved for our special use permit. That means we're good to go again. We will re-open registration very soon. Thank you all for your patience and support through all of this. Let's keep positive thoughts for everything going great for the new dates. We look forward to seeing all of you in less than a month from now. September 14th and 15th 😃

The Lost Sierra Endurance Ride Team

08/15/2024

We're still anxiously waiting on the final approval from the Forest Service about the date change of the ride for our special use permit. I ran into Smokey Bear out on the ride route the other day and tried asking him about it. But he wouldn't stick around to talk to me 🤷‍♀️ I guess he was in a hurry to get to his 80th birthday party.

Sorry for my terrible wildlife photography skills. Keep those fingers crossed for Smokey putting in a good word for us with the District Ranger.

-Amie

08/12/2024

Not endurance ride related.

If anyone was still planning on coming to the group campout I had scheduled for this weekend a long time ago. Please DM me or email me personally so we don't cause confusion with the endurance ride stuff. Camping is still very limited due to logging operations and forest closures because of the fire. But if anyone wants to try and join me this weekend please let me know.

This picture was taken from the small group ride back in June on the trail to Smith Lake.

-Amie
[email protected]
On FB messenger Amie Kreth

08/11/2024

OK, listen up! We've made significant progress in getting the rescheduled dates set. The private land owners are good with it, and now AERC has approved the new dates for the ride calendar for September 14th and 15th. But....we're still waiting on the good old slow government. Once we know that the Forest Service will allow the date change for our special use permit, then we will re-open registration and send out more information. Maybe we should all go hang out on the District Ranger's doorstep. 😆 Just kidding. We actually have been quite fortunate to have a great FS representative helping us through all of this.

I took this picture last Monday as I was exploring some new possible trails now that we have a little more time. This shot was taken from near the Calpine Lookout. It shows a lot of the ride route area. That's Haskell Peak and Chapman Saddle, which is where the away vet check is.

-Amie

08/09/2024

Well, even though smoke turned out to not be a factor on what would have been our ride weekend. The terrible Park Fire continues to be a threat and cause problems for our neighbors over the hill. We did end up having a thunderstorm pass through which brought lightning and heavy rain, which led to some flash flooding in the area. Yep, Saturday would have been an interesting ride day for sure. Friday and Sunday were nice though, a bit hot on Sunday. I don't think I've ever stressed so much about the weather until I tried putting on a big event 😆 Fingers crossed we have great weather for the postponed dates.

08/04/2024

Good morning riders! I know we said we would try and have the rescheduled ride date to all of you by the end of this week, so I'm doing my best to keep our word on that. Unfortunately we still don't know for sure, but I think it's OK and fair to let you know what it most likely will be so you can plan accordingly.

I wish we could take into consideration people's requests for dates, but we can't. We don't even get to choose what's best for us. It all depends on the AERC ride calendar, the Forest Service, and private land owners. As well as trying to avoid snow and hunting season.

All that said, it's looking like the most probable dates for a reschedule are September 14th and 15th. If you already know those dates won't work for you, we are so sorry, and we will give you a refund minus the $20 processing fee.

Thank you once again for your patience and understanding. We have been so impressed with how kind and supportive everyone has been through all of this.
We hope you're enjoying your weekend.

The Lost Sierra Endurance Ride Team

07/31/2024

We just want to say thank you so much to everyone for the outpouring of support and encouragement that we've been getting. Everyone is being so kind and understanding. We feel so horrible for having to postpone at such short notice. We fought the good fight to stick to our original dates, but sometimes there are things you can't control. We are working our hardest to nail down some new dates, not an easy task. We will keep you posted as soon as we know.

We're doing our best to catch up with all the changes, please bear with us. It's certainly not our intention to keep anyone's money, but please understand that we already have A LOT of time, labor, and money invested in this. We did have a refund policy based on what other events do, but we are doing our best to be fair with everyone and make things right. For everyone that has canceled in the past week, or that will cancel (due to the fires and/or rescheduling) we will refund everything but the $20 admin/processing fee/ride donation. We sure hope that lots of people will be able to make it to the new dates so that we can all have fun and be successful.

Thanks again for all the wonderful support of our new ride. The journey continues. We will keep you updated.

Amie, Britteny, Loren, and the rest of our amazing team

I took this picture at the end of a long day of trail work a few weeks ago. This location is just beyond the far corner of the Mohawk Gap loop on the 50, so not on the route itself but very close to it.

07/30/2024

Hi Everyone,

Due to the smoke that has moved in today for the local ride area and the surrounding areas, we are making the difficult decision to postpone the ride for the health of horses and riders. We hope to have a new date picked out for you this week. Please watch our facebook posts and emails that will be heading your way.

We are very sorry for everyone that has been affected by the fires. We want our ride to go on and would never expect that we would have to postpone our ride the first year. With that said, if you would like to cancel your entry, you will be refunded everything, but the $50 (as stated in the contract). If you would like to join us on this future ride, we hope the date works out for you.

Thank You,

The Lost Sierra Ride Team

07/29/2024

Evening update:
The local fire is looking great. So good in fact that I will not give updates on it anymore unless there's anything new to report. The air quality remains good. Fingers crossed that the smoke from the Park Fire will continue to not impact the ride area. We will still need until Tuesday night to make a final decision. Thank you all for your patience and hanging in there with us. I'm working on getting another mass email together to give you all more details and information. Things have just been so chaotic as we come down to the wire.

Also, we sent out the link to everyone on the waitlist last night. If you didn't get it and you still want in, let us know and we'll send you the Jotform link. No payment is required until after we know the ride is for sure a go. Thank you.

Amie

07/27/2024

Morning fire/ride update, and showing off prizes.

The Mill fire near Ride Camp continues to be stable and does not pose a threat to our ride. Air quality remains good.

The Park fire, which does not have a direct impact on our ride but is a threat due to the possibility of creating poor air quality and travel difficulties to our riders. It continues to burn out of control, but some progress is being made. There's too much information on that huge fire for me to share here, so if you want to know about it please look it up yourself. I watched the morning briefing on it, and basically it was really bad yesterday and last night, but thankfully the winds have died down, and things are looking slightly better. With the much lower temps today and higher humidity, they're hoping to make good progress on it today. As for the smoke impact to our ride area. It continues to be very minimal. This morning is a little hazy, but air quality and visibility remains good.

As of right now our ride IS STILL A GO!

So far it looks like our amazing vets are still onboard, so that's wonderful news. Please stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

OK, now some fun stuff. I took a drive over the border to Nevada yesterday evening to pick up some neat prizes. Britteny has the rest of the stash so I can't show those things off, but I got my hands on these and I'm so happy with how they turned out I can't help but share them.

Special thanks to Joe and Shiho Winter at joewinterpottery.com for creating these nice works of art for us. Thank you Britteny at Britteny Donney Photography for doing the computer art stuff to help Joe create the stamp with our logo.

As you can see, so far smoke is not an issue in this region right now. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

07/27/2024

I know you're all anxiously waiting for news. Thank you all so much for your patience and hanging in there with us. Things have been so up and down this week. It's just been so hard to know what to do because everytime things seem good-to-go, something else goes wrong. I don't have time to say much right now, but I did want to put a little update out there.

The great news: The fire by our ride camp is looking really good. If you want to see the full report look up the Mill Fire in the Gold Complex. Or you can just take my word for it and I'll summarize what the fire incident team said this afternoon. The lines are holding, there's just a few hot spots within the fire zone. They currently still have around 750 firefighters, which they feel confident is enough to complete the mop up phase. All of the evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted except for in the actual fire zone or right next to it. There's basically no smoke, the air has been quite clear.

The bad and sad news: The Park Fire near Chico and now in The Red Bluff area is absolutely out of control. This is beginning to impact travel as highways are being closed. It's also affecting some of our riders. At least one so far has had to be evacuated. Our hearts are with our Sierra neighbors in the foothills. I feel bad right now being happy that our fire is under control and we got lucky, because it could have been so much worse. So I don't want to spend a lot of time tonight talking about our ride when my thoughts are on all the devastation going on right now so close to home. Even though this terrible fire is burning far away from our ride area, there is the potential that the smoke can shift and become unhealthy over there. There's also the threat of new fires.

So here's the bottom line. We're not giving up yet. I feel like a lot can still change in a week. We've come too far to quit now. But.. the harsh reality is that we very well might be forced to quit at short notice. I feel horrible, but that's the risk of trying to plan anything in the west during the summer these days. It feels like all we do anymore is watch more and more of our forests go up in smoke.

Sorry, not trying to be a downer. I am truly feeling encouraged about our ride after today. Our area really is looking great right now. We even finally have cooler temperatures arriving this weekend. If you're still with us, here's the deal. Everything is still a go at this point from the ride management side of things. We have no intention of quitting unless things get bad again. I'm communicating with the vets to see if they'll still be able to come if there's a possibility of having to cancel at short notice. I will keep you posted on that.

In the next day or two I'll put out another post describing all the risks and negative and positive things about the ride. That way you can make an informed decision about whether or not you want to come. I don't want to keep people hanging, but we also owe it to all of you to do our best to put on this event we promised to give you. We completely understand if you need to back out. Just please let us know if you're not going to make it. Thank you. Keep on holding Butte, Tehama, Plumas, and Shasta counties in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with this completely horrible disaster.

Hang in there everyone.
Amie

I took this picture less than 2 days before the lightning storm started the fires over there near Beckwourth Peak, across from where I was at on Mills Peak. That's Clio in the front and Portola in the back. Everything was so peaceful and beautiful up there that evening. Just a reminder how quickly things can change, and never take anything for granted.

07/25/2024

Fire and ride update:

I know it's too soon to get excited, but things are looking hopeful. The Mill Fire in the Gold Complex, now has a line almost completely around it. Fire crews are working hard to hold those lines against the wind. Many more resources continue to arrive, and the help from air support has been amazing. The entire town of Graeagle is now a Fire Camp. Unfortunately, I understand a fire started today somewhere near Chico I think, so some resources might be redirected to that fire. Our thoughts are with our friends and family in the foothills.

We have WAY too much invested in this ride. Not just in money but in mental, physical, and emotional investments too. Some of you have been with us on this journey since day one, and are as excited as we are for a new ride. So many rides have already been canceled in the West this year. So we have made the decision to NOT CANCEL UNLESS WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.

We will continue to monitor the fire situation and air quality, as well as other safety factors. But it is not on our mind to cancel at this time. Everything is still a go in terms of our Forest Service permit and private landowner agreements. We will make our final decision before next Wednesday. Thank you so much for all of the support we're getting. Come on fires! Just leave us alone.

-Amie

07/24/2024

Updates!

First of all. I sincerely apologize that we still haven't sent out mass emails with information and updates. Our awesome ride secretary Britteny had to evacuate with her animals basically as soon as she got home from being out of state. We need another day or two for her to be able to get her temporary office set up so we can catch up on all the admin stuff. I'm sorry for relying on social media for updates, but it is the fastest and easiest way for me to get the word out. So if someone you know isn't following this page. Please inform them of the important updates and let them know emails will be coming soon.

Our brave ride co-manager Loren was up on the ridge yesterday riding our steepest loop by herself (Britteny and I had to work) when the storm rolled in. She had some exciting stories to tell of being in the middle of that intense thunderstorm and watching the fires get started. Thankfully her horse Rebel was a good boy and got her safely off the mountain.

OK, important things.

1. I just spoke to our Forest Service representative, and as of right now our special use permit is still good to go. There currently are no forest closures in the ride area. That can of course change at any moment. Everything else is still a go at this time. Obviously we have to continue to monitor fire activity and smoke. The fire continues to burn away from ride camp and the ride route.

2. If you're on the waitlist, you're in. We'll just need a few more days to finish processing things. If you haven't heard back from us by the end of the week please check in again to make sure we get you the registration form. We'll also need more time to finish making all the other rider/horse changes. Thank you for your patience.

3. For the non endurance people. Reminder that there won't be a group campout this weekend. Sorry about that. Let's hope by August we can get those going again.

OK, I think that's it. Please keep checking back for updates. And please inform friends not on Facebook of what's going on. I promise we'll get the emails out as soon as we can. Thank you, please keep the positive energy flowing our way.

Amie

07/23/2024

Quick fire update:

Don't give up yet. We aren't. There's still a week and a half to go before the ride, a lot can change between now and then. But also please be aware that things might have to change or get canceled at short notice.

HUGE thanks to USFS Beckwourth Ranger District, CalFire, and all other responding agencies for the serious and effective initial attack on these fires. Handcrews, dozers, and aircraft hit the biggest fire (Mill) hard all night long. All of these presumed lightning fires are now being called the Gold Complex. By this morning the massive smoke column was gone. The next couple of days will be critical since the high heat will remain, as well as some wind. There's also the chance for more lightning today and tomorrow.

Fortunately it's not extreme fire weather today, and by the end of the week we have a significant cooldown that's supposed to happen. It should also be noted, that compared to typical fires on this particular mountain, the fire has behaved just the same as fires in the past. With a rapid one or two day growth rate, reaching the typical size that it's already reached, and then not much growth after that. It's predicted that as long as there aren't extreme conditions, firefighters should have these fires contained very soon.

Last night was very scary with all the evacuations. I wish I could have been there to help but I was out of the area. Thankfully, friends and neighbors jumped into action and got all the horses out of the barns and corrals next to where our Ride Camp will be located. The fires were just up the hill a short distance from there. All other people and animals were safely evacuated from the area.

I'll send more updates later. Keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming to keep lives, property, and our beautiful forests protected. And of course positive vibes that we can still hold our first endurance ride. Stay safe and cool everyone.

Amie

07/23/2024

Currently it seems the fires are burning away from homes and the ride route and ride camp. I sure hope the firefighters can get it under control tonight. It's too soon to know if we need to cancel. Please send positive vibes.

07/21/2024

News Flash!

Exciting news for those of you on the waitlist! We've had several spots open up over the last few days. Please give us a couple days to finish processing all the changes. I just wanted to quickly get the word out so you can be prepared. As of right now it looks like we should be able to fit in everyone on the waiting list. If you haven't received an email from us by Wednesday with a link to the registration form, please hit us up. If you'd like to be added to the waitlist please send us your name and phone number at [email protected]

Photo taken last night on the 2nd loop of the 50

07/21/2024

Big congratulations to this mother and daughter team for finishing first and second at Tevis last night. We are so honored to have Jay Mero DVM vetting for us one day, and riding a day. We will also have Melissa Ribley DVM vetting a day and riding a day. Dr Ribley just completed Tevis on Dr Susan Garlinghouse's popular horse John Henry. (Edit, unfortunately it appears I saw misinformation, it seems John Henry was pulled. Still a great accomplishment though.)
We have several Tevis riders joining us at our ride. We can't wait to see them all and hear all the stories. Congratulations to all the Tevis riders and horses.

The first horse and rider to cross the finish line at Tevis 2024 is Jeanette (Jay) Mero, DVM from Mariposa, CA riding Ozark Kaolena SWA “Lena”!
Congratulations Jay and Lena on a great ride on an always tough course! 🎉
They are the winners of the 2024 Tevis Cup!
❤️Fun fact: the second place horse and rider was Jay Mero’s daughter, Reyna, and her horse Chndakas Eklipse “Clippie”! They also won the Haggin Cup (Tevis’ version of Best condition)!

…..

07/19/2024

Announcements!

This page now has 450 followers! Wow! Thank you everyone for your support and enthusiasm.

First off. TOMORROW IS TEVIS!! This picture was taken from the top of Haskell Peak, looking south towards Tevis country from above the TLSER route, and the away vet check. No, you will not climb all the way to the top of Haskell Peak on the ride, that trail isn't appropriate for an endurance ride. You will go very near the Peak though. Anyway, best wishes to all of you riding Tevis. You and your equines are such amazing athletes. Maybe one day I'll get to ride it. Stay safe and have a wonderful and successful ride. We can't wait to have you join us soon.

OK, next. Remember that tomorrow is the last day to cancel and get a full refund (minus the $20 processing/admin fee). After that there's no refunds unless your horse doesn't pass the pre-ride check. We do keep a facility and admin fee for that.

I'm doing my best to keep up with all the emails, phone calls, and FB messages. I feel like I might be missing some emails though. If you can't reach me by email fast enough, and you have an important question. Please get my phone number from the ride info on the AERC ride calendar. Texting is usually the best way to reach me. We only have to survive a couple more days until Ride Secretary Britteny returns. Then we'll be back on track with the registration and cancelations and stuff. Please be patient as we catch up with all the changes being made.

Please check your email on Tuesday next week, July 23rd. By then we should be caught up and we will be contacting the next people on the wait list. We also will finally get the mass email out to all the riders with important information. Again I apologize that I haven't done that. I'm technologically challenged and I need Britteny's help to send mass emails.

Loren and others are helping me out with the task of getting the ride route on Ride With GPS, so please be prepared to use that app at our ride if you choose. The trail will be well marked as well.

I'm so excited to tell you about our all-star line up of veterinarians. The food and prizes will be awesome too. Don't forget to bring your wallet to buy some cool swag and goodies. Our volunteers will be amazing as well. Oh yeah, let's not forget about the route and camp. I think it's pretty cool, and I hope you like it too.

Speaking of the route, I'm late again with the weekly progress report on the virtual ride. Standby for that.

-Amie
(I should quit saying it's me, Britteny and Loren never post on here 😆 so I guess you can just assume it's me)