The Long Ride 2010

The Route

The Goodnight-Loving Trail, of major influence in the planning of this ride, was one of the first of the post-war trails to be blazed across part of West Texas in an effort to avoid the worst of Indian problems encountered by other cattle drives heading directly north from Fort Belknap. Our plan is to follow, as closely as possible, without endangering either riders or horses, the original r outes into Montana.

We will be launching on 4th April 2010 from Fort Belknap, 11 miles west of Graham, Young County, west of Dallas, Texas.

Initially, it will be following the route of the Butterfield Stage, west-south-west, passing Abilene and San Angelo, through Castle Gap, then on to Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River in Texas. Thereafter, it will turn directly north, passing up the High Plains, or Great Plains of America, to the east of the front range of the Rocky Mountains, passing Loving, Carlsbad, Roswell and Fort Sumner in New Mexico, burial place of Billy The Kid; then past Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver in Colorado; Cheyenne, Fort Laramie and Gillette in Wyoming, and on to terminate at the site of the Battle of Little BigHorn in Montana.

Research still goes on into the routes taken by Goodnight and Loving, with a view to including historically important and interesting way-points which may bear a visit. Accessibility is of major importance, and, for this reason, visits to the centres of the larger conurbations will clearly not be possible. On-the-ground visits to Fort Belknap and Fort  Laramie proved very interesting both for our purposes and historically.                                                       

Map planning continues and in more detail than before as routes begin to firm up, it is proposed to follow the route detailed below with the observation that nothing is set in  concrete at this stage, the route has indeed moved a little and will probably continue  to be so right up to the time we ride up a ranchers road! The number places in bold type represent exchange points along the route

Texas: Fort Belknap,   Murray,  Crystal Falls,  Green Ranch,   Sedgewick,  Jayell (east of Baird),  Belle Plain,  Lake Coleman (east   end),  Novice,  Glen Cove,  #1 Benoit,  Paint Rock,  Mereta, Wall,  Knickerbocker,  Witco,  #2 Big Lake  (south of), Rankin,  Juan Cordoba Lake,  Grand  Falls,  #3 Pyote (south of),  Barstow,  Mentone,  Riverton,  Red Bluff  Reservoir.

 New Mexico:          Harroun Crossing (Malaga),  Carlsbad (east of),  #4 Brantley Lake State Park,  Riverside (east of Artesia), Hagerman, Roswell (east of),  Campbell,  #5 Dunlap,  Fort Sumner,  Montoya,  #6 Conchas Lake,  Roy,  Mills, Capulin,  Johnson Mesa.  

 There’s nothing out there....