LUCKY H HORSESHOEING VISITS SHEPP RANCH

It is once again time to give those horses and mules new shoes!! The horses at Shepp Ranch are shod three times per year and always just before hunting season.  Shepp Ranch horseshoe man is Shane Hendren, sole owner/proprietor of Lucky H Horseshoeing. Shane has been a farrier for 11 years.   He went to farrier school in Oklahoma for 6 weeks and has had a few very special mentors along the way.  Shane shoes about 750 head of stock a year.   He charges $60 a head, or $15 per shoe.  Not bad for such precise, difficult and potentially dangerous work.  Horses and mules are shod for the same reasons we wear shoes, for protection.  Pack animals in the mountains especially need shoes as they are walking on steep trails over rocks and crevices which can sometimes be treacherous.

For horseshoeing Shane wears a piece of protective clothing called chaps.  The chaps you see below were made by Jerry Combs in Clarkston WA, a friend and mentor of Shane's.  They are made of very thick leather which prevent any nails from driving into Shane's legs as he shoes and in general they are just for soft tissue protection.

Shane wearing his protective chap . . . . . . . .

 

Shane has his toolbox which he usually takes right next to the mule or horse while he is shoeing.  If the animal is in any way skittish he will not take his toolbox too close.

 

Shane's quasi toolbox . . . Most farriers have a traditional tool box . . . .

 

Shoeing starts by pulling off the old shoes.  Here Shane uses shoe pullers and a clinch cutter to remove the old nails and subsequently the shoe.

 

Removing the old shoes . . . . . .

 

Next he cleans out the hoof of any debris and caked in dirt with a hoof pick.

Shane cleans out the hoof with a hoof pick  . . . ..

Then he trims the outside of the hoof that has grown since the shoeing with a tool called nippers.  He trims down to the 'white' part of the hoof, which is not the 'quick' as we have under our nails.  The animal feels no pain during this process.

Trimming the hoof . . . . .

 

After trimming he uses a rasp to file down the hoof and make it smooth.  It is essentially the same thing we use - a nail file, except his of course is much bigger :-)

 

Using the rasp to file the hoof smooth . . . . . . .

 

The actual shoes come next.  He selects a size and places it on the hoof for inspection.  Usually he has to hammer the shoe on his anvil to make it a perfect  and close fit.

 

Checking the shoe for size on the hoof . . . . .

 

Hammering the shoe on the anvil to perfect the size for the hoof . . . .

 

After fitting he nails on the shoe. He wrings off the excess nail that goes through the hoof  with the claw of his hammer.

 

Wringing off the excess nail . . . . ..

 

He uses a clinch block to set the nails.  He is in essence tightening up the nail.  Then he uses a clinching tool to bend the nail.

Cinching the nails . . . . . .

 

The finishing touches are again using a rasp to file off any extra hoof around the outside of the shoe and files off the ends of the nails to make them smooth so that nothing will catch on the hoof.  Shane uses a hoof stand for the finishing touches.

Putting on the finishing touches . . . . . .

 

Shane will spend two days with us shoeing all of the mules and horses.  I think we now have about 19 all told.

As Shane finishes McKenna's shoes I tell him all he needs to add is a little nail polish to make her hoofs look beautiful.

CAN SHE BAKE A CHERRY PIE????

Can she bake a cherry pie Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she bake a cherry pie charming Billy,
She can bake a cherry pie, quick as a cat can wink an eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother . . .

Anyone remember that childhood song?

So, yes, she can bake a blueberry or blackberry pie the way it is done at Shepp Ranch per the consummate baker and ranch manager, LYNN DEMERSE :-) 

Here's how it is done:

We start with berries.  The blueberries grow in the ranch garden and the blackberries grow about a 1/4 mile up Crooked Creek from the ranch.  The berries grow right over the creek.

Ripe black berries growing over Crooked Creek . . . . .

 

Lynn and I decide one hot sunny morning we will go up Crooked Creek to pick blackberries.  We each take a bucket and one sturdy glove.  The glove of course is to keep from getting scratched on the non-picking hands that holds back the bushes.  We are walking directly in the creek with river sandals on our feet so we don't slip and fall on the rocks.

 

Lorrie with her bucket of black berries . . . .

 

Lynn in Crooked Creek picking blackberries . . . .

 

 

The berries are prepared and ready before making the crust.  Eight cups of berries are washed and mixed with sugar and a little cinnamon and a bit of cornstarch if they are really juicy.  The recipe for berries and crust is from an old old Betty Crocker Cookbook much used and loved at Shepp Ranch.  I am making a ten inch diameter crust.

 

Preparing the berries . . . .

 

The secret to a good pie crust is C O L D lard to mix in with the flower.  The lard (taken from last year's Shepp Ranch pig) is kept in the cold walk in.  It is measured out in ice water and then dropped in the flour.  I use a pastry cutter to mix in the lard until there are pea sized chunks of flour and lard.  then eight tablespoons of water are slowly added to bring it all together with a fork.  Again, the secret is keep the lard cold until time to roll it out.  The sphere of dough is then rolled out to a thin crust and placed in the bottom of the glass pie plate.

 

Bottom crust with berries . . . .

 

Pats of butter are then placed on top of the berries.

 

Pats of butter placed on the berries . . .

 

The top crust is rolled and placed over the berries, trimmed, sealed and fixed with pretty fluting on the edges.  This is the fun part :-)

 

Here I am in the kitchen trimming and sealing the bottom and top crust together . . . .

 

Slits are make in the top of the pie crust to let the steam out while baking.  Otherwise, one's pie might I guess explode in the oven.  That would be a major mess to clean up, so be sure the slits are open.

 

Top crust with slits . . .. ready for the oven . . . .

 

The pie then bakes in the oven for about an hour or so.  We check it after 55 minutes and add another 15.  The juice coming out of the slits should be very thick.  That is our test for doneness.

 

A  finished pie coming out of the oven . . . .

 

Lorrie has made the very first pie of her 62 years.  Thank you Lynn for being such a patient pie making teacher!!

 

 A very proud Lorrie and her berry pie, ready for serving . . . .

 

If you have any questions about making a lard crust or anything else about pie making you can e-mail Lynn at shepp@sheppranch.com and reference this blog.  Happy Pie Making to you!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKSTRING GOIN' UP CROOKED CREEK

Lynn and Mike decide to take a camping trip four miles up Crooked Creek for two days and take a packstring with all of their gear.  This will also be a packstring training trip for Nathaniel who is learning to be a 'packer.'  We take two mules for packing, three mules for riding and Lynn will walk with the dogs.  It is a beautiful day and a two and half hour ride each way.  Nathaniel and I will drop off Lynn and Mike with their gear and ride back to the ranch.  When packing for hunting camp six or seven mules are packed and the rest of the stock is ridden.

The pack mules are hitched together with a light twine or rope and lead by a rider.  A strong thick rope is not used.  If one mule accidentally goes off the trail the light rope will break and the other mules will not be pulled off the trail.  The mule behind a mule going off the trail will see what is happening and can  potentially brace itself from the fall, but the mule in front will not see and thus could be pulled over and so on.

Everything packed on a mule is placed in a mantie (a large canvas/tarp cloth) or a wooden box.  The packs must be in equal weight on each side of the mule so that the mule is balanced on the trail.  The box is tied with a basket hitch and the mantie is tied with a barrel hitch.

The word mantie is derived from the Spanish, referring to a woman's shawl or scarf called a mantilla.

We take Molly and Itchy for packing and Willy, Jerry and Alfalfa for riding. 

Here Mike and Nathaniel are readying the packs . . . .

 

Itchy ready with his Decker pack saddle . . . .

 

Loading the Molly with a mantie . . . .

 

Back end of Itchy with box and mantie load, ready to go . . ..

 

Itchy loaded with mantie, box and  crosscut saw . . .

 

The saw will be used to clear any trees blocking the trail.  The cross cut saw is a two man saw.

 

Mike does a final check on all saddles and packs before we head out on the trail . . .

 

 

Lorrie again rides her trusty mule,  Alfalfa .. . .

 

Leaving the ranch . . . .

 

Headed up the air strip . . . .

 

On the trail . . . . .

 

I am holding up the rear so if Nathaniel and Mike have to work on the trail I will stop the mules from going back home.  If left unattended/untied the mules will automatically head back to the ranch.

 

Trail goes up a high ridge . . . . .

 

We arrive and Nathaniel unloads the mules . . . .

 

Lynn arrives and hour later with the dogs . . . .

 

Nathaniel and I head home at 2:30 and arrive at the ranch at 4:30 p.m. . .  a long, hot ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO GUYS NAMED MARK VISIT SHEPP RANCH

My brother-in-law and I decided to take a fishing trip together. He lives in Chicago. I'm from North Carolina. We are both named Mark, so we dubbed our journey: "The adventures of two guys named Mark." My brother-in-law found Shepp Ranch on the internet. "There's no cell reception or Wifi," he told me. "Supposed to be good fishing." That's all I needed to hear. We immediately booked our flights to Idaho.

Entrance to Shepp Ranch from the airstrip . . . Gates to keep stock in or out  ....

Next thing I know, we were leaping up the rapids of the Salmon River in a jetboat like the river's namesake itself—one of only three ways to get to this lovely place (the other two being to hike in or take a small plane ride and land at the ranch's airstrip. 

It's hard to put into words what Shepp Ranch is like because there are so few places left in the world that are so unvarnished and welcoming. Walking up the broad green lawn at the entrance of the ranch, I searched my memory for the last time I felt the immediate sense of place that Shepp Ranch evokes. When I saw the cherry tree with its sweet hanging fruit at the end of the lawn, I knew when it was — my grandma had a cherry tree like that in her back yard when I was a kid. Over the next few days, I would come to find that time at Shepp Ranch passed leisurely and easy — like it did when I visited grandma — and like I hadn't experienced in some 40 years.

The orchard looking out towards the river . . . .

 

Lynn and Mike have managed Shepp Ranch for more than 30 years and, in my opinion, they make the place the unique experience it is. They both work harder than they should to make sure their guests have everything they need without asking and enjoy the many treasures of the ranch and the river. Lynn gives "farm to table" a new meaning with delicious cooking that includes thick smoked bacon, vegetables from the garden, eggs from the chickens right outside, fresh picked raspberries, daily baked bread and home-churned butter. Mike grills dinner like a master chef and tends to the mules and horses and more than a day's worth of other ranch chores — but he is never too busy to take you on a jetboat ride or show you the best fishing holes.

Mike and Lynn

 

Mike and Mark with a big rainbow trout . . . .

 

The two guys named Mark had 4 great days that seemed like 4 weeks at Shepp Ranch. We caught an abundance of beautiful trout, rode mules into the wilderness, explored the river, saw a multitude of stars at night, enjoyed an evening bonfire on the beach with inspiring violin music by Lorrie and relaxed and laughed around the dinner table with new found friends.

Lodge dining room and view of kitchen . . .. .

 

If you haven't been to Shepp Ranch, find your way there. You'll never forget it. If you've visited, then you know what I'm talking about. Either way, I hope to  see you on my next visit! — Mark Smith

 

OVER THE RIVER AND OUT TO TOWN . . .

Every once in a while it's good to get off the river and go to town.  I have to jet boat 13 miles down river to Vinegar Creek a/k/a End of the Road.  Here I pick up my now dusty sky blue Yaris and head for Riggins to the car wash.  Then  I turn on NPR and head for McCall, a small resort town in central Idaho - population about 3,300.  I lived here some 20 years ago for four years and taught skiing and snowboarding at the local ski resort, Brundage Mountain.  Thus I have many friends here and my sister, Andrea, from Atlanta Georgia followed me out here and never left.  She teaches cello and piano and her husband Jeff is the keyboard man in a jazz band called Merchants of Groove.

 

My brother-in-law, Jeff Parnett (1st on left) in his jazz band

Merchants of Groove

 

 

First Stop is Foglifter Café where Andrea and I have breakfast.

 

 

Andrea and me at Fog Lifter Café . . .

 

Then we head out for the McCall Farmers' Market where Andrea is hosting a booth for the McCall Music Society.  My friend Bob and I play fiddle and guitar there to try and draw folks to the booth.  It works!!!! Bob played my back up at the National Fiddle Contest Years ago in Weiser Idaho.  We have played many gigs together for the past 20 + years.

 

Bob and me playing tunes at the Farmers' Market . . . .

 

My sister Andrea at the McCall Music Society booth . . .

 

When one comes off the river only once or twice a month there is always a myriad of things to do and places to go.  Mine includes shopping for some cooler clothes for the 100 degree days in the canyon, procuring some electrolyte concoction to stay hydrated, new tires for my car, and on goes the list.  It takes me almost all day.  A few of my stops include the following:

 

Gravity Sports for electrolyte supplements . . .

 

Home Town Sports for some light summer shirts and a Tilly Hat for shade while berry picking and, I visit with Patty Boydstun-Hovdey and Dean Hovdey, old friends and proprietors of the shop.

 

Mountain Regatta for a dress for evening dinners at the ranch and a pair of sandals with Vibram soles for river walking . . . .

 

High Mountain Nursery where my friend Jane works and I look at hanging pots for my ranch cabin . .

 

Pet Outfitter and Supplies for treats and toys for the Shepp Ranch dogs . . .

 

Andy and I stop late in the heat of the afternoon for an ice cream at Moxie Java.'

 

Sister Andrea licking her cone . . . .

 

I end the day having dinner with my dear friend Jane at the Bistro.  We have salads and beer and spirited conversation for a few hours.

 

 

 

I spend the night at Jane and Peter's cabin.  Peter has just left on a trip to Minnesota with one of his famous hand made canoes, so it is just me and Jane at the cabin.

 

 

 

The next day it is back to Vinegar Creek on the river to meet my jet boat for the ride back up the river.

 

Riding the jet boat back to the ranch . . . .

 

All in all it was a successful trip out.  I accomplished all of my missions and it is just good to have a change of scenery once in awhile and visit with friends and a special sister.