Final Press
Alberta, Canada on September 15, 2008, at 2:36 pm, Colonel William W. (Rocky) Woolman ll, (retired), of Antlers, Oklahoma reached his goal of completing the Continental Divide Trail in one season.
The ride began on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at the Port of Antelope Wells, on the Mexican border at 8 am. The temperatures at that time were in the 90’s and reached a high of 105 degrees as the day went on. The main concern for both horses and riders was hydration. Rocky was mounted on his black quarter horse mare Zena and lead his quarter horse gelding, Pepe. Riding with him through New Mexico to Salida, Colorado was Larry Hanson of Minnesota.
To complete a ride of this magnitude has been a goal of Colonel Woolman for more than 8 years. The research and planning for this ride had taken Rocky over 2 years, and even being prepared for most everything, there were unexpected challenges that had to overcome to finish the ride in one season.
The biggest obstacle was the Continental Divide Trail itself. It may be on a map, and allows you a 25 mile corridor on either side of it and still be considered part of it, but there are places that this trail is actually non-existent. There were no markers or signs to even let you know you were in the correct area. Woolman did have an Earth Mate GPS with him, and that helped him get out of some tight spots. In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, he acquired SPOT, another GPS device that allows you to send email updates to people to let them know your location, and also if you need help. You can send a signal to alert 911 and search and rescue to your location, or you can notify others in your party that you are in need of help, but not to the magnitude that requires a search party. There were areas of the trail, even Forest Service officials did not recommend he ride, due to the unpredictable land itself, one of them was the Holy Cross Wilderness area in Colorado. This was for both the safety of the horse and rider. Riding sections of the Continental Divide Trail on roadways was required because of lack of a trail anywhere. Some previous planned routes had to be changed due to the roads themselves lacking a wide enough shoulder to safely ride on, or were major highways that had traffic moving at speeds of 75 miles per hour, which could of resulted in serious injury or death if there was a mishap.. Water was the major issue of the ride, because there was none available in many areas that it was expected to be. So this had to be compensated for by having the support team make sure that the barrels in the back of the pickup, the tank on the horse trailer, and the water supply for the camper was filled at all times. The support team was made up of Paul Hauert of San Antonio, Texas and Kathy Merrell of New York. Water was needed in all of the states, though New Mexico was the hottest and driest, at that time of year. The weather wasn’t a real factor, as only 3 days of riding were missed because of weather. The first one was in Rawlings, WY, when an early winter storm came through, dumping about 4 inches of snow in the mountains in early August. The hikers and bikers that were met in Wyoming and Montana all commented that they had a feeling an early winter was coming
The total distance of the ride was over 1600 miles, though New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Colonel Woolman didn’t have any special cause in mind for the ride, other than achieving his personal goal. The only message that he wanted to convey during the ride and being retired military was Support Our Troops. Instead of the traditional cowboy hat, a camouflage hat, from when he was over in Iraq as a civilian in 2006, working for the government was the chosen headgear for this ride. As his quote reflects on his feelings of his military career “ I have lived in times others have soon forgotten.”
Soldier, an American mustang adopted from the Bureau of Land Management through the Colorado Prison System crossed into Alberta at the Port of Del Bonita with this new long rider in the saddle on Monday, September 15. Soldier was the only one of the horses that was used on the ride to complete the whole ride from Mexico to Canada.
This long distance ride will help other equestrians who wish to conquer the Continental Divide with knowledge of what routes will work for those on horseback. Other areas that are accessible to hikers and biking enthusiasts, were found unsafe for those mounted on horses. Wildlife did not create a problem for Col. Woolman on this trip, though there had been sightings of bears, and mountain lions in some of the areas that he had passed through by local residents, he saw none himself. The ride itself did not go without injury to horses and rider. There was a serious injury to Daisy, a quarter horse mare, outside of Salida, CO, from a fall that resulted in a serve puncture wound and broken rib. She is coming along well in her recovery with owner Robyn Ruest, Rocky’s daughter in Clayton, New Mexico. Blackie, a quarter horse gelding and who had completed a majority of the ride, was euthanized just 40 miles from the border due to a fractured cannon bone. He was a horse with a lot of heart, who served Colonel Woolman well throughout the ride, and helped get him out of some situations that only a loyal mount could. Blackie belonged to Mark Ruest, Robyn’s husband. The injuries to Rocky were a result of 2 spills, from horses falling on the steep rocky terrain and did not require medical attention.
Colonel Woolman plans to continue to ride and has move adventures planned for the future. He also wishes to thank all that he met along the trail for their friendship and support. A special thanks goes out to all the family and friends who with their support and prayers kept him going during those long days in the saddle, on the average of 25 miles a day , but on other days many as 38miles.
September 19, Rocky arrived at his home in Antlers, after being on the road for three months. He is taking this time to settle into his new location. Along with compiling information from this ride for future riders of the Continental Divide Trail, planning future rides for himself, working around the homestead, and enjoying his retirement.
For more information on Colonel Woolman and to read about this ride you can go to www.woolman.us.
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