Lake Poway Ride

Last Sunday, Diane and I rode  to Lake Poway. This outing was challenging as we must ride past the Ramona Reservior, and down the steep road on the other side.The view below of the Romona Reservoir, was taken from a different vantage point on a previous ride. If you look closely, you can see the dirt road on the right of the water, leading to the dam at the far end.

 Distant photo of the Romona Reservoir

Diane and Telma on the way down from the Ramona Reservoir.

Telma is a fabulous Paso Fino with incredible horse sense and endurance. I love her and am grateful to her. She provided me with a life-changing experience back into the world of horses.  I leased her from Daniel in 2009.

Apparently, a few years ago, Telma had a bad fall on a paved road and injured her knees. That has led to her being very careful on the down hills. She goes slowly. However, unlike some horses I know, Telma conserves her energy and often shows impressive stamina on long and difficult rides.

Delgado and I heading down the far side of the Ramona Dam.

 We passed a few people walking but for the most part, we had the trails to ourselves. Delgado did really well on this excursion. I was concerned that he would over-extend himself as he sometimes does, by prancing and wearing himself out. I am happy to say he didn't do that this time. The last ride when we climbed up the Romona Dam, Delgado was so exhausted, I dismounted and walked him up this road.

Diane and I enjoyed the fabulous views as we headed down into the valley. You can see the ribbon of dirt road as it leads down to the Live Oak trees below that are part of the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve.  At that point we didn't know what wonderful surprise was ahead of us.

The oak trees provided a shady and most enjoyable route along the now, dry river bed. We rode along discussing how much further we should go. Diane had brought a couple of champagne splits to drink and we wanted to stop to enjoy them. We started up  the trail to Lake Poway. The sign said it was 1.2 miles. We were due back at the stable for a BBQ at 5 p.m. Diane wanted to "go a little way to see what was up there". We proceeded along and what should we find but the Wilderness Picnic Area! It has several picnic tables, permanent restrooms and horse tie-ups.

Diane and I put Telma and Delgado on either side of one of the tables and sat sipping our champagne. Telma nibbled on the little, Live Oak leaves that had fallen on the table top. I was surprised they would be appetizing but she seemed enjoy them. She likes to eat.

Del stood beside me and nuzzled me on occasion. He seemed happy just to stand there and rest. What a find! This picnic area is inaccessible by vehicle, so the only way to get there is either through the ecological reserve or to hike down from Lake Poway.

Added this image from Daley Ranch on a later date for testing.