The Long Ride from Panoche
Corporate exec from San Martin to traverse California end-to-end
by KATE WOODS
Pinnacle Staff Writer

It was only the second day of a 120-day horse trip through the wilds of California, and Garry Stauber realized he packed too much grain for his horses to carry.

Just the day before, the 47-year-old Silicon Valley corporate executive from San Martin loaded up his bedroll, tent and a few essentials, and with his two quarter horses left the Panoche Inn in rural San Benito on a four-month journey across the state lengthwise.

"I can't believe it's really happening," said the elated Stauber on that first non-saddle sore day, as he rode along Panoche Road with chestnut Ginger and led big blond Guenevere, who carried most of the supplies. Stauber has been preparing for the long ride for two years with the support of friends, including Martha McNeil, who will ride with him off and on for two weeks.

"We've stopped living our dreams,” said Stauber, who is taking a four-month l eave from Silicon Storage Technology to follow his. “How many people on their deathbeds are going to say 'I should have spent more time at work'? I know I won't." He learned from veteran long riders the trip would take vast planning: research, mapping the course by car, arrangements with landowners for camping, training and conditioning of the horses, and making the supply drops for the first leg of the trip to the Mexican border. Gone are the days of open ranges without fences and wide-open spaces. Today's long riders have to pick around freeways, big cities and their attached and far-reaching suburbs, but still remain within access of civilization in case of emergency. To say that Stauber will be roughing it is an understatement. On Day 2 of the ride through the Griswold Pass canyon, a pickup without a muffler blatted through the narrows, spooking Ginger, whose turn it was to carry the pack. She reared up. Stauber dismounted to tighten the pack, at which time Guenevere thought it would be a good moment to trot back down the road toward home. When she realized no one was following, she stopped, looked back and reluctantly returned. It’s a good thing horses are pack animals.

In the high-desert Vallecitas area above the Griswold, the rain came. When horses and rider pulled into the Ashurst Ranch, McNeil and her spirited Arabian Nick left for a dry barn in San Martin. That night, Stauber camped on the muddy driveway outside the Ashurst main house. Ginger and Guenevere stood slumped in a nearby corral, too exhausted to eat. Undaunted, Stauber fixed Tuna Helper on his camp stove, then scrambled inside his tent to write in his journal. “Ten percent of the people who do this just want to get out. Twenty percent have a deep love of nature. Sixty-five percent need adventure in their lives, a challenge. And five percent are nuts. I'm all those percentages." Just 119 days to go.

At his stable two days before setting out, Stauber rummages through his on-trip supplies and talks about his horses -- in non-horse terms.

"They're my girls," he said of Guenevere and Ginger, both six-years-old and built like they're part Clydesdale. "They're well-fed but not fat -- they're beefy. This one looks like Arnold Schwarznegger," as he patted Guenevere.

"I think they know something is up," he added.

A paint horse in the adjoining pasture let loose with two loud whinnies. Is the neighbor jealous of being left behind? "No, that's a he, these two are both shes and he's in love with them."

Nonetheless, like humans, horses like to have a purpose in life, said Stauber.

"They want a job," he said. "You see horses in a corral with their heads down, half-dead, despondent. It's because they have nothing to do."

For the last four months, Stauber has been putting a pack on one and a saddle on the other -- trading off jobs between the two horses like he will do on the trail -- and taking them out over the banks and trails of the Llagas Creek. Every day after work, Stauber rode the horses pack-style for 10 miles, taking breaks after every hour for the horses to graze and digest. At the rate of three miles per hour, the training sessions often went on into the night.

In the distance a train whistle blows, a plane buzzes overhead on approach to the San Martin Airport and the roar of rush hour traffic from the 101 -- a stone's throw away -- never seems to let up.

"There's a reason why I picked this spot," said Stauber, in reference to the busy traffic of human activity the horses have been exposed to before the trip.

Stauber is proud of the steadiness of his girls. He picked up a plastic tarp and rustled it noisily next to Guenevere's ear. She was unimpressed.

"I could throw this over her head and she would just stand there as if to say, 'OK, whatever,'" he said.

Training horses is just one aspect of the preparation necessary for a long ride, which according to an international group called The Long Riders Guild is any trip on horseback 1,000 continuous miles long or longer.

In September 2002, when Stauber knew for sure he was going to do his long ride, he logged onto the guild’s Internet site and soon confirmed what he knew all too well: that there is way more to preparing for a long ride than just jumping on a horse and taking off.

There have been many long riders throughout history and most of them, of course, made their marks during the expansion of the American West. But recent riders have made noteworthy trips, even in this age. Among them is Gene Glasscock of Texas, who in 1984 rode 12,000 miles from the Arctic Circle to Quito, Ecuador, on a horse named Cactus. Glasscock made it into Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Now 67-years-old, the legendary long rider is currently riding from Denver to all 48 state capitals in the continental U.S. -- a 3-year, 20,000-mile journey with two high-stepping Tennessee Walkers.

Others, such as long riders Belinda Braithwaite and Lisa Wood, inspired Stauber as well. In 1988 Belinda Braithwaite traveled 1,200 miles on horseback from Gilbraltar to Paris, France, on an Andalusion stallion. In 1993 Lisa Wood, a biologist from San Diego, rode from her hometown to the Oregon border along the Pacific Coast Highway, which was 1,500 miles. Later in 2001, Wood traveled on a mustang named Shawnee from El Centro to Leesburg, VA. On all her trips Wood relied on picking up provisions and feed along the way, without any pre-planned supply drops.

Stauber saw Braithwaite on a two-hour TV documentary and was hooked. He started reading books about horseback expeditions, including one Wood wrote about her California trip titled “Chasing the California Dream.” He made e-mail inquiries to the Long Riders Guild asking about logistics, proper equipment and other details pertinent to a long ride.

In January, Stauber hesitantly announced to the guild his planned 4-month long ride through California, launching from Panoche – which he loves – for the Mexican border using the Pacific Crest Trail, then trailering back up to Panoche again to start the northern leg of his trip, mostly on Highway 1 along the coast. He received an outpouring of support from guild members, including phone calls and e-mails from Wood and many others.

The most stunning call he received was from Glasscock. Stauber documents the unforgettable moment on his website:

"He actually called from the road in Tennessee, to wish me luck and congratulate me for taking this adventure. I was riding my horses in training at the time and happened to answer my cell phone. What a call! Gene Glasscock, calling me, imagine that. He suggested some tack and offered any assistance I might need. I was kind of in shock and didn't have anything intelligent to say except, 'Thanks.' It's not every day your hero calls you."

Stauber and his girls intend to cover at least 10 miles a day, but on some days they must cover 20 to 30 miles to time their rendezvous with the supply drops. The 15 food/supply drops are spaced about 60 miles apart. The trio moves at about 3 miles per hour, and despite the beautiful scenery they are sure to take in through the Los Padres National Forest, Stauber has been warned by veterans that monotony can set in.

Stauber said from the road that he isn’t worried.

“Look at my backyard,” he said gesturing from the driveway of the Ashurst Ranch toward the green majestic Diablo Mountains beyond. Blue lupin and golden poppies awaited the travelers further up the road.

“They talk a lot about how people have a hard time acclimating back into society when they get back,” he said. “They go out again and write their manifestos. But I’m going to see a lot of people on the ride.”

After moving through the muddy, steep Clear Creek area, Stauber will be landing in Coalinga on March 20. There he will get a hotel, take a shower and hook up with his son Nathan, who will accompany him on the trail for a few days on his own horse.

Stauber’s course will then take him around Parkfield and Cholame, through the Temblor Range of San Luis Obispo County and then through the Carrizo Plains – one of the areas in which he will attempt 30 miles a day because of anticipated freezing conditions. He will then hit the Pacific Crest Trail through Los Padres National Forest, skirt the edge of the Angeles National Forest, go around Palmdale and arrive at a small town called Acton. From there he will travel through the San Bernardino Mountains toward Big Bear Lake, where he plans to meet another son, Michael, and daughter-in-law, then make a beeline south through the Jacinto Mountain range past Palm Desert, all the way to a town on the Mexican border called Gampo. His third son, Jonathan, will make the last three food and supply drops.

After trailering back to Panoche, the troupe will set out again going north. Stauber plans to take the Panoche Pass around Hollister, traverse back roads around Gilroy and Morgan Hill, make an overnight stop in San Martin, then head toward the Freedom/Watsonville area. From there he will take Highway 1 up the Californian coast – except over the Golden Gate. Authorities won’t let horses cross the bridge so he has arranged for a trailer. Once he gets to Pelican Bay on the Oregon border, he and the girls will get a ride back to San Martin.

Two hazards Stauber worries about are colic and saddle sores. When horses are subjected to irregular feeding habits, said Stauber, they can get very ill, so a lot of the weight in the packs comes from sacks of a specially formulated horse feed consisting of rice bran, soy, beet pulp, corn and barley. Every hour of riding is broken up by 15 minutes of feeding and resting. To prevent saddle sores, Stauber will alternate the horses with the pack and saddle.

The horses wear heavy steel shoes, but Stauber has a farrier standing by in Southern California, who will reshoe the girls after 500 miles. A vet in Acton will give them West Nile Virus vaccinations.

The corporate executive isn’t taking a Walkman or any “too heavy” books with him. But he does have a cell phone. He can check messages and recharge it on the few occasions he will be in the lap of civilization. If anything goes wrong or the weather gets particularly bad, he can call his supporters or family for help.

“I’m not going for a record,” he said. “I’m going for my own enjoyment.”

And no, Stauber is not doing it for any cause or charity. He said he can't justify trying to drum up money doing something for himself. However, if anyone wants to contribute to a cause while he's doing the long ride, he suggests that donations be given to his friend Martha McNeil's DreamPower Horsemanship Foundation, a non-profit organization in San Martin that teaches children with all forms of disabilities and disadvantages to ride and care for horses.

“The mission statement of DreamPower Horsemanship is ‘building lives filled with dreams, and the power to make dreams come true.’

This trip is the fulfillment of a life-long dream of mine,” said Stauber.

For updates on Stauber’s long ride, visit http://www.dream-adventures.com or visit the current expeditions page on the Long Riders Guild website at http://www.thelongridersguild.com. Dreampower Horsemanship in San Martin can be accessed at http://www.dreampowerhorsemanship.com.