Elk Creek Ranch™ offers teenagers a unique summer camp experience in the western wilderness through a traditional ranch setting combined with a wilderness backpacking program. It is a summer of enjoyment, with groups sharing the camaraderie of youth and the recreational opportunities of the West. It is a summer of challenge, confronting each individual with rugged wilderness surroundings and a rustic life style. It is also a summer of involvement, with each teenager participating in a small camp community.
Sunlight Moments, March 2013: Wrangling at Elk Creek Ranch
Elk Creek Ranch strives to offer children an authentic western ranch experience. Horses are central to our program with trail riding, barrel racing, colt training, horse care, and packtrips into the surrounding wilderness country. In recent years, Elk Creek has added wrangling to the list of horse experiences, and the ranchers take special pride in their turns at wrangling the horses into the corrals in the morning.
Our longest wrangle goes along Elk Creek up from what we call the Point. As is true with most wrangles, the horses move quickly and kick up clouds of dust.
After a day in the corrals and on the trail, the horses look forward to the run to the night pasture in the setting sun.
Wrangling gives the ranchers a great sense of the working western horse. It is a singular and often beautiful experience.
Even during a mild winter in Sunlight Basin, the snow pack is healthy in the high country.
Louisa Hanson is returning to the staff this summer. We hope she has been able to update her riding outfit.
