Hot and Wild

My trigger finger is itching... and wild horses await!  Happily, we arrived in the Davis Mountains, ready to locate my brumbies.  This year we knew what we were in for, and we were set... plenty of water, propane tanks full for the chilly nights, reprovisioned with all necessities, and the camera batteries all charged... we were ready to stay a full week, if needed.

When we arrived, we set up camp at our usual spot and searched the horizon for the horses.  David finally spied them far off in the distance.  As we watched through the evening, the herd appeared to move further away rather than closer.  We knew that they would probably need water within three days, so we kept close eye on the watering hole.

Searching for Brumbies

We were surprised at the temperatures.  It was well into the 90s when we arrived.  And while we were expecting temperatures to drop well into the 50s that night, they barely made the 60s.  Thankfully, a beautiful breeze kept us cool.

By morning, the herd had certainly moved, but not in the right direction.  We drove up several four-wheel drive trails, trying to get closer to them.  We were able to get within a mile or so, but the sun was already bearing down.  By mid-morning, it was well into the 80s... much too hot to leave Roxanne in the truck, and we knew that she certainly couldn't make the mile or more hike to get close to the herd.

With hopes that the herd would move towards the road by afternoon, we decided to spend the day by taking a drive up the Pony Express Trail.  One of the road signs indicated a wildlife refuge about 50 miles from us, so we decided to take a drive to see what it was all about.  Along the way, we discovered a small, previously unknown band of wild horses at a watering hole.  Three other vehicles were stopped, all photographers.  It appeared that they were part of a photography workshop.

We all kept our distance from each other while we photographed members of the small band.  This group of brumbies were not as dynamic as the larger herd.  In fact, these horses seemed mostly interested in dust and mud baths to help with the rising temperatures.

After a half hour or more, we decided to continue our drive to the wildlife refuge.  To our amazement, we found Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge right in the middle of the Utah desert.  With salt flats on one side and mountains on the other, nestled in between was a water oasis.  Spring fed, this area is a migrating waterfowl paradise.

Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge in Utah

By the time we returned to camp, it was nearly 100 degrees.  With the wild horses still miles from the nearest road, I was worried.  That evening, the wind died down, and it was still and muggy.  We had to sleep with with fans on just to keep cool.  Poor Roxanne panted softly nearly all night.  When we awoke the next morning, the temperature was in the low 70s and rising fast.  Thankfully, we had cell service.  A quick check of the weather forecast indicated that temperatures would remain in the 90s for the rest of the week.

I knew we had but one choice...  we could hardly spend days in the truck, running the air conditioner, waiting for the herd to come closer.  I was heartsick, knowing that we had to find higher elevations and cooler temperatures for Roxanne.  Who would have thought that less than a week after sub-freezing temperatures in Banff that we would now be heading for higher ground because it was too hot, particularly when it had been so cool during last year's visit?

With the wild horse herd still miles off any road, we broke camp, turned east, and headed to higher ground.