They were here until a couple of years ago. One of the seasonal rangers was responsible for the horses. But a difference in administrative preferences that has ended that, at least for the time being.
Well, a horses has it’s place, there’s no question about that; it can do a lot of things. I’m not sure that it does at Crater Lake, is the thing. But, of course, with the backcountry and everything well there was plenty of places for them. Now, from Olympic I went on to the backcountry at Sequoia/Kings. And the only place I asked to move from was Olympic. That sounds kind of strange when I say it’s our favorite spot. But it rained so darned much up there. Raising four kids up there with the bad water, hauling water and everything, the situation got to be such that I just plain asked for a transfer, and I said that I wanted to go anywhere that had less rainfall and more sunshine. The superintendent at the time was a man by the name of Fred Overly. And there’s mixed review over him whether he is a good superintendent or a bad superintendent. I think he wasn’t too bad. At the time I didn’t think much of him, but when I look back in hindsight I think he did a lot of things that had to be done. Anyway, Fred real quick like went to Region and got things started and I almost went to Glacier and this thing came up, this back country deal at Sequoia/Kings and it would mean me going out in the backcountry. Our youngest son was born just about a month before we left there.
Jean: He was due three days after you got the news you were moving. So it was kind of rushed.
But anyway, I got back in the backcountry. I had a wonderful summer, she had a lousy summer, no question about that. But, I mean, again I had an experience that you don’t have much anymore. This is the ting because I rode over close to 900 miles that summer. You’re talking about the bottom of the valley that Kern Canyon is in and it’s an area of 485,000 acres. Big back country.
