Mule Ride to a 'Secret' Place

Well.

I wish I could keep this place secret.
I can say that it is located in the county I live in.

I can say ~~ that it is beautiful?
Hilly?
Demanding trails?
Gorgeous?
Wonderful?
Cool.
Awesome.

For this trip I brought my Garmin and my camera. I wanted to see what the pace of the mules we were riding had on this hilly terrain.

Gathering the data was pretty fun.
Here are the stats:

We traveled 6.9 miles.

Elapsed Time: 3 hrs 23 minutes

Elevation Changes:
Elevation Gain~ 1589 ft
Elevation Loss~ 1582 ft
Maximum Slope~ 40.7% +
Maximum Downhill slope~ 35.1% -
Average Slope for ride~ 8.1%-7.7%

There was a breakdown in average mph for the mules. This wasn't quite important as the overall terrain 'toughness'. On the flats at a walk, they averaged 4 mph.

I'm not sure how to factor in the time spent visiting with other riders or just plain stopping to admire the scenery and to take photos.

The average speed overall was 2 mph. It means almost nothing unless you look at the elevation changes and the slopes the mules had to negotiate.

Indeed this was fun.
I was able to combine some statistics with a wonderful November ride.
We crossed the Bad Axe River more than once.

Siera was nearly perfect ... and at the end of the ride she was very subdued.
She even stood quietly while we were at the overlook!
My husband and I sat down in the truck after loading the mules and looked at each other.

*That was the best ride ever.* I said.
He nodded.
*It was. We'll have to do this again.*

We drove home with smiles on our faces.