"Longrider" stops in Bayliss
by Tim Crews


Valley Mirror Publisher


The sun's just up Friday and Garry Stauber is almost ready to ride another 20 miles of his 1,400 mile journey from Mexico to Oregon.

On horseback.

One of a small group of some 200 "long rider," people who've been in the saddle for 1,000 miles or more, Mr. Stauber is a passionate advocate for horse camping, riding trails and, fundamentally, getting out of your cubicle.

And get out of his as well. He's on leave from his job as the human resources director for a San Jose-area computer start-up. "They don't know it yet but I'm retiring," he says.

He's doing the long ride because, he says, it was time to do "Something sane. It doesn't make sense to sit in a cubicle" your whole life. Man, he adds, was not intended to be inside all day. Hence, retirement.

Coincidental to setting out on the big trip on march 15, he sold his San Jose area ranch and so, soon, he'll have to find another home for Guenevere, the solid steady sloe-eyed pack horse and Ginger, the personality and performer of the trio.

They seem ready to go, almost charging through their feed and watching carefully as Mr. Stauber saddles and loads them.


Ginger wants to dance.

"She's got all the personality," he explains and adds that they let him know when they've had it. The stress of traffic, he says, wears the horses out faster than distance, steep grades, or heat.

He has three sons, a police officer and two college students. The officer and a daughter-in-law rode with him for a time.

But most of all he's alone.

There is a digital presence. Go to dream-adventures.com and there you have it.

Despite the web site, this isn't a fundraising challenge. It's just about a 47-year-old man who wants to make a trek.

And it's also about a man who wants to reach Oregon by July 4 so he can be with relatives at the July 4 family gathering.

Mr. Stauber, who camped the night before in the yard of Maurice and Julie Merrill's place, is a grateful guest. His two horses are unconcerned at the Merrill's farm animals, their mule, the swirling clutch of rescued dogs, the roosters fighting over hens.

At 6:15 Julie Merrill comes into the barn and apologizes, "There's grounds in the coffee." Garry Stauber couldn't care less. Cowboy coffee is just fine.