Tough time learning trails. Ideas?

[Come Shine]

The barn I'm at has miles and miles of trails. The problem is that I am completely inept at learning the different ways to go. People have attempted to take me out and show me the different markers, etc., but, once I am there by myself, everything looks the same.

I grew up riding in a ring, so this is a new concept for me, and I am not much of an outdoorsman, so that probably doesn't help.

Does anyone have any strategies I could use that would help me to learn? It is such beautiful country and I would love to do more than just ride back and forth between the two gates. :)

[BuddyRoo]

Ask if they'd mind if you took some ribbon or surveyor's tape out to tie around some trees. Then go on out, tie off a tree at any trail intersection and start mapping it out as you go (you can carry a pad of paper pretty easily in a backpack).

This way, even if you get "confused", you can always track back the way you came.

You'll get the hang of it.

Also, look for visual markers like telephone or eletrical poles, or anything else you can get a "fix" on.

Go on a sunny day so you can tell N/S/E/W, etc.

And take a cell phone. Just in case. LOL

But, when in doubt? Give your horse his head and he'll take you back to the barn more than likely. LOL

[DairyQueen2049]

My guess is you are a right left person, not a North South person.

How to tell? When you give directions to your house do you say "Turn right on Zoo street, then left on Apple street...." or "turn North on Zoo street, and West on Apple street..."

If you are a left right person, 4 lefts may not a circle and return to barn make!! :eek:

So you'll need to teach yourself North South. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Repeat after me "NEVER Eat Soggy Waffles" Find 'Waffles' - sun setting in the West or Eat - sun rising in the East to help you determine directions.

Find a place you are very familiar with and begin by finding East or West. Let's say its 6 am and you have found East = Eat. Take a 1/4 turn right, this is Soggy = South. 1/4 turn again and this is Waffles = West. 1/4 turn and there is Never = North.

Now walk about this place you know and keep in mind your DIRECTION (not, I turned left, but I turned SOUTH, I turned West, etc.)

Close your eyes and spin about - stop. Determine which direction you face: Remember, Never Eat Soggy Waffles.

Once you are excellent at this in a place of familiarity go to the trails and begin again. If you go North for 6 miles, you will need to return South 6 miles. (Hint - horses travel faster on the way back to the barn the away from it for the most part).

Use your ears too - is the airport or highway to the North or South of the barn? What about the crazy gun shootin lovin neighbor? What about the cow farm that is always mooing at 5 pm to be milked? Keep those locations in mind as you explore. Look for towers or high trees you can aim at or return to.

Go a little farther every time and you will learn the trails in no time!

And have fun at it!!!

[BuddyRoo]

breadcrumbs

[Come Shine]

My guess is you are a right left person, not a North South person.

How to tell? When you give directions to your house do you say "Turn right on Zoo street, then left on Apple street...." or "turn North on Zoo street, and West on Apple street..."

If you are a left right person, 4 lefts may not a circle and return to barn make!! :eek:!!!

LOL! You've been spying on me. :)

That is exactly my problem. I have lived in this area 16 years and my internal compass still isn't set right.

I never really thought about it in those terms before but that sounds really helpful.

And, the notebook idea is great, too. Ahh, there may be hope for me yet.

[lawndart]

We do a lot of bushwacking when trail riding, and the key is 'know where the sun is'. If you head out, and the sun is at your left shoulder, you should have it on your right shoulder when you return (providing you aren't out am and pm, in which case it should be the same in and out). I have 70,000 acres of unmarked trails in my backyard, and this saved me more then once when I first moved here. Even on a cloudy day, you can usually tell where the sun is. If its too dark, its going to rain like hell, and I'm staying home anyway :eek:

A big help also is to occasionally look behind you when riding a new trail. What looks like one thing on the way out, can look totally different on the return. Especially intersections! I also look for unusual things, like a flowering bush, or a oddly shaped tree. I find that a lot easier to remember, then two lefts, a right, then bear left at the 'y'. :yes:

And Buddy Roo was right, the horses always know the way back to the barn, no matter how lost you might be! Unfortunately, they don't always take the trail back, they think its faster to take that straight line thru the woods :lol:

My trail mare, can even find the trailer when we are away from home. I had gotten turned around in a big area that was logged. No visibility, no compass, and we had been out so long, I couldn't remember where the sun was when we started (oops). I just let her choose, and 45 minutes later we marched up to the trailer (from a totally different direction then we left from) and she gave me the mare 'stare and snort' that lets you know she just saved your hindquarters. :winkgrin: A good trail horse is worth its weight in gold. :) She can't jump, do flying lead changes without a lot of fuss, and can't piaffe worth a darn, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. :cool:

[pines4equines]

I think someone else mentioned this. I used to absolutely panic when I got lost on a trail especially if the sun was setting. But I've learned that I just loosen the reins and the horse goes home. I sit there like a lump until I see the trailer. (I trailer out to trails but the horse still knows the way even if we've been out once.) If you know this, all the panic about getting lost disappears.

[RedTahoe]

As others have said, learn N-S markers (using the sun, moss, etc.) but for now, I'd do as the other poster said and ask about using surveyor's tape tied on branches along the way.

[CanTango1]

Learn one trail at a time !!!

I get so confused when there are 15 differant ways to get to the same destination.. and dont you know Ive been taken all 15 differant ways. Focus one direct route to and from until you know it by yourself...then add to it !!!

Works for me anyway !

[Murphy's Mom]

breadcrumbs
Choked on my lunch potato at that. :lol:

To OP....GPS? You'd have to know how to use it though. They have a trace back function. You could use it to map the area and then carry the map with you. Or, you could get a topog map and have someone draws the trails on it for you. I never get lost on the trails out here. Of course, there are no trees out here. It's real hard to get lost! :D

[analise]

Might help to make up your own special names for certain trails or areas. Like, on the way back from the "swimmin' hole" in the river, there's a trail that goes up "whoa, dammit!" hill. I'm sure that trail/hill has a proper name, but whenever any of our group says something about "whoa, dammit!" hill, we know what they mean. (It's steep enough that going down is frigging scary, especially on drafts, but going up? Fun!)

Anyway, if you have your own names that mean something to you, you'll be more likely to remember them. Of course, this probably doesn't help you give anyone else directions, unless they know what you're talking about. :)

[jazzrider]

Learn one trail at a time !!!

I get so confused when there are 15 differant ways to get to the same destination.. and dont you know Ive been taken all 15 differant ways. Focus one direct route to and from until you know it by yourself...then add to it !!!

That's what works for me. :yes: And I'll go into a store at a mall and come out and have NO idea which direction I came from. :D

[BuddyRoo]

In all seriousness....


I suck at being observant when someone else is driving or leading. I am GREAT about it alone. I think you might do better when you're not relying on someone else.

[paintlady]

My husband got me a personal GPS for Christmas. It's got a cord so you can wear it right around your neck on a trail ride.

http://www.bushnell.com/products/gps/backtrack/360051/

[RedTahoe]

OP, it'd be great if you told the Barn Owners that you have difficulty remembering the trails. Maybe they can come up with a "trail workday" for you and the others there, show you the trails and post signs up naming the trails and giving directions at forks?

And because no one else mentioned it, be careful riding out on trails alone :)

[bird4416]

Get a trail model GPS. I use one when I am riding in an unfamiliar place. I also bought some clothes pins and painted them bright yellow. You can clip them on branches as you ride by to help guide you back.

[greysandbays]

First, ask if anybody has a map! That could shorten the learning curve considerable.

If not, ask somebody who knows the trails to draw you a map of three or four main trails. As you learn new spurs, cut-offs, shortcuts, etc, add them to your map. Also note any major landmarks that might be reference points from several different directions. Redraw this map frequently to correct errors in scale, assumptions you made that prove to be not so, etc. (The more often you draw the map, the better it will stick in your brain.)

If you have access to an ATV (and the trails are suitable for such), see if you can get and ATV tour from someone who knows the trails. This way you can take a loop three or four times in quick succession.

[SarahandSam]

In all seriousness....


I suck at being observant when someone else is driving or leading. I am GREAT about it alone. I think you might do better when you're not relying on someone else.

That's my problem too--it helps me a lot if I lead a trail ride with someone who knows the trails behind me, telling me which way to go--forces me to think about each turn instead of following blindly.

I also like the bright clothespins idea--that seems quick and simple to do without having to dismount.

[Plumcreek]

This is easy, unless you have a 100% tree canopy.

Go to Google Earth on the computer, download a satellite photo of your trail riding area that includes the home barn. (Change your display settings to highest resolution before printing, then change it back to normal). Mark a North arrow on the photo. Get a topo map of the area also - that will show streams and dots for houses, and roads. Take both with you when trail riding.

You could ask someone to draw the trails on the satellite photo for you.

Your own private markers on trees is a good idea also.

[allswift]

So you'll need to teach yourself North South. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Repeat after me "NEVER Eat Soggy Waffles" Find 'Waffles' - sun setting in the West or Eat - sun rising in the East to help you determine directions.

I don't have much to add, all the suggestions are great... but just had to laugh at the above quote... I learned "Never eat soggy WORMS"

Yours is a bit more appetizing, but I certainly never forgot about eating soggy worms. :lol:

Have a great time on the trails and be brave & explore!

[armandh]

get them down loaded then ink in the trails and notations
the over view helps but carry one copy with you

[Foxtrot's]

When being shown trails, do the leading and thinking rather than just following. I'm useless as a passenger in a car, until I have driven the route by myself. On the other hand there are those who could get lost in a parking lot.....:(

[twofatponies]

When being shown trails, do the leading and thinking rather than just following. I'm useless as a passenger in a car, until I have driven the route by myself. On the other hand there are those who could get lost in a parking lot.....:(

The brain learns by sight. Using a gps or following someone doesn't let the brain learn. So the others are right - lead when you are learning the trails. And learn to look around - see everything - the rocks, the shapes of the trees, the way a stream looks, how the ground is formed. When there's a branching of trails, stop and turn around and look at all the things that make each branch of the trail different - a certain plant, a clump of flowers, a dead branch on the ground.

My dad was a great tracker and showed me how to pay attention to all the details of the landscape. Your brain has the natural "software" to do this really well, if you use your eyes to take in all the data!

Of course, I'm the one who got lost in a field a couple days ago! :D And even my horse couldn't find the way out (she usually knows the way home exactly, without any guidance from me, and I've used that before - come to a fork, drop the reins, and if she chooses left, I know that goes back towards the farm).

[Come Shine]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

People have taken me out to show me the trails but usually we do a bunch of different ones and I am just as lost as ever when I get home. I will try and learn ONE this year and stick to it for a while. I find that as the seasons change everything always looks different to me, which makes everything look the same - if that makes any sense. :)

The funny thing about the different names for the trails is that since people have been there a while, the trails are named for things that used to be there. So the Iron Gate trail used to start with an iron gate but the gate has since been replaced with a wooden one. And the Winter Trail is the one that is good when it is rainy in the spring.

My husband has offered the use of the GPS, so maybe I will try that. Unfortunately, he is a real outdoorsperson, so totally doesn't understand how I can get so turned around (I also get turned around in malls - lol!). He knows about the sun, moss, etc. On one of our first dates, we went out on the trails. I was assured that there was NO way I could get lost because I just needed to follow the path. Well, of course, we did get lost. Had he not been there to find the way out, I would probably still be stuck in the woods.

I am surprised by how much I enjoy trail riding. I was a completely confirmed love-working-in-the-ring girl until we moved to this barn.

Thanks again!

[eponacowgirl]

I used google maps to figure out our 650 acres. It helped A LOT. I even went so far as to map the trails for our current boarders.

[ReSomething]

Learn one trail at a time !!!

I get so confused when there are 15 differant ways to get to the same destination.. and dont you know Ive been taken all 15 differant ways. Focus one direct route to and from until you know it by yourself...then add to it !!!

Works for me anyway !

You know, I had a long post all typed up and the DSL demon ate it for lunch. But basically this is what I do, because I get lost at the trailriding place, in their woods, every time. Pretty much because I am getting "guided" and we go a different way every time. And they only have 250 acres!

I taught myself a local park's trails by going out for half an hour, paying attention and then retracing my steps, then I began adding side jaunts and after a week or so of daily walks I had it down pretty good.

I've never heard of any of the memnonics, I have a picture in my head of a compass rose. They are useful as well as pretty, they're on navigational charts and have the four cardinal directions in a 360 degree circle, some chart makers get very ornate with the "points" of the directions and add the ordinals too. I don't use that for trails though, mostly landmarks, which can be hard to see in the woods, along with the sun.
Anyway I hope you have fun!

[Huntertwo]

Get a trail model GPS. I use one when I am riding in an unfamiliar place. I also bought some clothes pins and painted them bright yellow. You can clip them on branches as you ride by to help guide you back.

That is a GREAT idea!! Much easier than constantly stopping to *tape* the trees.

Thank goodness our trails around here are on State property and well marked. The ones that aren't, I still get a little disoriented. I knew which direction I had to go, it was just a matter of finding the right trail. :eek:

Now my pony knows them by heart and I let her do the navigating. :)

[xeroxchick]

Get a Garmin etrex; clip it on your belt or breastcollar. It will have a map and show you where you are at all times. You can "track back" (follow your trail back - it will keep an arrow on it to show you) or if you see a closer trail you can take that. Not hard at all if yoou can push a button.
Look on the Fox Hunting board for more info.

[xeroxchick]

I have to dissagree with this. I am completely challenged when it comes to direction and having a GPS gave me a comprehensive visual model so that I could orient myself. There are different ways of learning (diversity in learning styles is a survival mechanism for the group) and I need a visual/spatial model and build on it. Some people need rhythms to learn, some need an audio path, etc.

The brain learns by sight. Using a gps or following someone doesn't let the brain learn. So the others are right - lead when you are learning the trails. And learn to look around - see everything - the rocks, the shapes of the trees, the way a stream looks, how the ground is formed. When there's a branching of trails, stop and turn around and look at all the things that make each branch of the trail different - a certain plant, a clump of flowers, a dead branch on the ground.

My dad was a great tracker and showed me how to pay attention to all the details of the landscape. Your brain has the natural "software" to do this really well, if you use your eyes to take in all the data!

Of course, I'm the one who got lost in a field a couple days ago! :D And even my horse couldn't find the way out (she usually knows the way home exactly, without any guidance from me, and I've used that before - come to a fork, drop the reins, and if she chooses left, I know that goes back towards the farm).

[Saidapal]

The clothes pin idea is great. And you can reuse them each time you go out.

I've actually turned around and followed my hoofie prints back when I've gotten lost. And I use poop piles as a confidence marker. "Yup, we went this way!"

In this age of over development if you keep going you'll eventually find a road, or a path, or a house...and if your real lucky a 7-11.

As you can see I never worry about getting lost. I look at it as an adventure and the opportunity to go somewhere I haven't been yet. Which is rare in this day and age.

[Small Change]

Come Shine - You're near London, right? The boonies, or somewhere half populated? When I was little and just learning to trail ride on my own (I had a fantastic old pony who was a better babysitter than most people!), I just told myself that I could only ride so far before I hit a road. Then it was only a matter of riding home on the road, as they were quiet, and I knew the four that bordered the woods I rode in.

Maybe, even if you're riding in an area that isn't so nicely bordered, you could try the grown-up version. Look at a map or a Google image, and give yourself borders in your mind (i.e. I won't cross the creek, the dirt tractor path, or those two fence lines). Then just ride around in your "box" until you know it well. Once you're comfortable, either expand your box or pick a new one to try.

As long as it isn't a big enough property to get lost for days on, just head out early on a nice day and wander around. Eventually you'll wander back to civilization. :)

[Come Shine]

SC: That's what makes it so silly - the trails are all groomed and ready to go. I just need to figure out which is which and where they go. I just get so turned around out there! The way my sense of direction is, I'm liable to end up in Toronto. :)

[Huntertwo]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I find that as the seasons change everything always looks different to me, which makes everything look the same - if that makes any sense. :)



I did a lot of trail riding in the spring before the leaves appeared on the trees. My mare had a health issue for about a month, so no trail riding.

When I did get back out, everything was in bloom and looked totally different. I didn't even recognize some of the trails. :o