leafwalker
Trail Wise!
peace on earth and good will toward all - om shanti
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Post by leafwalker on Dec 19, 2016 9:03:27 GMT -8
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whistlepunk
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I was an award winning honor student once. I have no idea what happened...
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Post by whistlepunk on Dec 19, 2016 9:18:35 GMT -8
Unless signed differently.
A trail system on county land near here was designed and built specifically for mountain bikes. Hikers and horses may also use the trails, but the trails are well marked as for bikes. The right of way signs clearly give bicycles the right of way and state other users should yield.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2016 9:56:17 GMT -8
There was an interesting mention of the conflicts between trail runners and other users in a recent issue of 'Backpacker'.
They're becoming common enough in some parks now to become a nuisance to other users, particularly at Grand Canyon.
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Post by ndeewoods on Dec 26, 2016 9:01:40 GMT -8
Whistlepunk that's interesting...never heard of a park that give bikes the right of way before. Usually horses get right of way for safety...harder for them to maneuver and get safe, and when spooked can hurt someone, but when bikes come up on them while slowing down and announcing themselves, it's less likely a rider is going to get dumped and hurt. I am guessing that even tho bikes have the right of way I bet in your park they take care of the horseriders anyway. In my park our bikes are amazingly helpful! I ride both horses and bikes in my park, and when I am on a horse, bikes yell from behind and ask what I would like them to do. Unless I am on a very young horse, I usually tell em come on by. Once a horse knows you are there, they are pretty comfortable with bikes going by if it's a multi use park they are use to being ridden in. I would have to say in fact that probably only 1 in a hundred bike riders do anything but help us horseriders!  |
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Dec 26, 2016 9:12:24 GMT -8
As an old guy, I give Right of Way to everyone. This allows me to catch a breath, look around, and generally stop to smell the roses. Some downhill hikers may stop for me, but I usually wave them on, as I am on the side of the trail, heaving up a lung.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2016 9:20:12 GMT -8
Around here hikers and bikes yield to horses.
Bikes yield to hikers.
In reality the hikers normally step aside but technically they have the right of way.
Up hill riders have the right of way over downhill riders.
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Post by bluefish on Dec 26, 2016 9:54:09 GMT -8
On lots of trails in the ADK's and elsewhere in the Northeast, I yield to people coming downhill on steep terrain, especially on rock when they need to use their hands. When the trail is moderate, I switch back to uphill. I don't hike on multi-use trails, except the corridor trails in the Grand Canyon. Mules get right of way, and I always let runners get safely by. I can't recall anything but a thanks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2016 9:56:43 GMT -8
I'm with zeke I see bikes, horses, other hikers, motorcycles as an excue to stop and look around for my missing lung. In Boise there is a trail labled that bikes have the right of way. I find motorcyclist to be the most polite, they stop, turn off their engines, and say a few words as I pass by. Motorcyclist even do trail maintenace cutting down deadfalls to keep the trail open. Bicyclist, on the other hand, tend to be the rude ones and just run over my lung laying on the trail. Runners, have been the friendly sort, they have even offered to help me find my missing lung. |
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 26, 2016 10:56:39 GMT -8
Like ndeewoods I'm trying to imagine how it could work to expect horses to yield to bikers. Seems like the only way for those two to safely share a trail is to have bikers yield. Of course, I'm a bit disinclined to like mountain bikes, because my experience is opposite of them being courteous and helpful. Far too many on the trails of the Bay Area go too fast on blind trails, and ignore restrictions about where they can and can't ride. I do figure that if you are going to ride your horse on multi-use trails, the animal had better be habituated to bikers and hikers, but that doesn't change the need to not take them by surprise. |
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Post by absarokanaut on Dec 26, 2016 11:01:51 GMT -8
As a one time horse packer I thank everyone with the good sense to give horses the right of way ALL THE TIME.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 26, 2016 11:07:33 GMT -8
As a one time horse packer I thank everyone with the good sense to give horses the right of way ALL THE TIME. For me, it comes under the same heading as not arguing right-of-way with trucks while I'm biking. I don't CARE who has the right. If the other guy can squish me and not even notice, I'll yield :D |
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Dec 26, 2016 11:46:19 GMT -8
I'd give up the right of way a lot more often - uphill, downhill, hikers, bikers, cavalry, aliens, and arctic monkeys - if I could just get out of the way quicker.
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desert dweller
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Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
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Post by desert dweller on Dec 26, 2016 12:08:51 GMT -8
As a one time horse packer I thank everyone with the good sense to give horses the right of way ALL THE TIME. You'd think hiking in the West there would be more horses and riders on the trails. But, I rarely encounter them. One time stands out, though. I was backpacking in the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona along the west facing steep slope of a high ridge. On one side of the trail was the mountain. On the other side was the drop. I knew the riders were coming up slowly behind me and got to me relatively soon. The lead rider calls out. "You need to get off the trail so that we can pass." I guess he didn't notice there was no "off the trail" in the area. So, I turned around and said they would have to wait for an opportune moment and kept hiking at my pace for the next half hour or so. They were polite but grumbling. Finally, a spot came along so that I could step off the trail. I knew that when around horses in the mountains, a person on foot needs to be "downhill" from the horse or it will become agitated. All five horses and riders passed me. I was less than 10 feet from them as they rode by. The first couple of horses were skiddish but the others following accepted me since I didn't move about or make noise. It wasn't a bad experience in any way. Other than the lead rider insisting I stepped off a cliff so they could get by. |
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mk
Trail Wise!
North Texas
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Post by mk on Dec 31, 2016 7:15:58 GMT -8
This reminds me of a Grand Canyon trip where the 67-year-old in our group says, "If we don't slow down, I'm going to cough up my stent." The other 5 of us whipped around (like a cartoon, actually) and in one voice said, "WHAT?!" Not a one of us knew he had heart issues. |
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Post by absarokanaut on Dec 31, 2016 8:31:15 GMT -8
DD,
Unfortunately like everything else horse outfitting is not immune from mensa rejects. In terms of not making horses anxious I talk to them just like I do bears; in slow, even tones with a smile on my face. Horses can sense your mood, make it a good one and the odds are they'll return the favor with good temperment. The only serious problem I ever had in the saddle was coming across a woman with nothing but contempt for horses...including the ones that made the trail she was hiking on. Some people just want to be miserable, maange them as you have to but forget about them as soon as you can.
In all the miles I've hiked and ridden I think I can count the number of posterior orifices I came across more than a couple of miles from a trailhead with my fingers.
Here's to all you great people getting out there being kind and being reciprocated with kindness. Lets all have great time out there on this and every trip around the sun.
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Image Credit / Coolkat
