This time of year most folks have pulled shoes off their horses and put them out to pasture. Truth is late fall/early winter can be a very enjoyable time to spend exploring on horseback. Prior to hunting, our horses all get bohrium studs welded  to their shoes plus snow poppers to prevent any snow buildup under their hooves. Kinda like putting studded snow tires on your 4×4. This really helps for safe riding during snow/ice conditions. I’ve been riding on the mtn almost every day, nice weather and low snow levels are very conducive to keeping them working.

The clouds parted and sun came out last week and I grabbed Tanner for a quick ride up to Apgar Lookout in Glacier National Park. We’ve ridden up here before, but it is a popular trail during tourist season and the park concessionaire runs trail rides up here, so we usually stay away until the crowds are gone.Great day to hit the trail!

The views from up at the lookout are fabulous on a clear day. 

This lookout has a web cam so you can look up actual conditions prior to trekking up there.

Looking down at the West Glacier/Coram area

The trail up is on a south facing open slope so the views on the way up are almost as superb as the views from the top.

As long as the snow depth doesn’t get too extreme, winter riding can be very enjoyable. Don’t be so quick to pull the shoes off your favorite trail companion.