Virginia Highlands Horse Trail: A Mule Ramble

Long Rider Bernie Harberts with mules Brick and Cracker in the Virginia Highlands, mountain ridgelines behind them

Two mules and a rocky trail through the depths of Appalachia. These are the posts from that ramble.

Ride a Mule Across the Second Oldest River in the World

Howdy Sunday. I hope you’ve having a good weekend. I’ve been posting the last few weeks about my mule ramble up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, which runs from Elk…
Mules Brick and Cracker Groom Each Other on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

While riding my mules Brick and Cracker up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, they had to get used to being away from their pasture mates. They groomed each other with…
Virginia Highlands Horse Trail: Mule Ramble Wrap-Up

The other day, I accompanied my wife Julia to one of her Two Step Way sessions. The husband and wife she was working with met us at their barn, and…
Hoof Boots on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail: Mules Brick and Cracker at 80 Miles

I recently wrote a post on how my Renegade hoof boots were performing on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail is rough in places, littered with rocks, logs, mud, puddles, boulders…
Runaway Mule on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail: Catching Cracker

Okay, that was sorta sneaky how I left you hanging after my mule Cracker got away from me while we were riding the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. Here’s how that…
Losing My Mule Cracker While Riding the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

I recently committed a major blunder. I let go of Cracker, one of the mules I was riding up the Virginia Highland Horse Trail. Here’s what happened next… To be…
Mules, Mud and Fallen Trees on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

The Virginia Highlands Horse Trail runs 83 miles from Elk Garden, Virginia to Ivanhoe. Though a lot of the trail is wide enough you could ride two horses side by…
What It’s Like For a Mule to Nibble Your Beard

One of the best things about being on a mule ramble is to have time to hang with your mules – really hang with your mules. In some cases, they…
Virginia Highlands Horse Trail: A Hand-Drawn Map and Trail Friends

Hey, I drew you a map of my first five days riding my mules Brick and Cracker up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. I sketched the map into Katie’s notebook.…
Grayson Highlands Mule Camp: Scenes from the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

I recently wrote of catching up with Badger, the Baron, Jimmy Dean and Sleeper at the Scales camp on the Virginia Highland Horse Trail. They taught me how to speak…
A Fly Joins My Mules on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

My mules Brick and Cracker are riding the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. Meet my new neighbor Ms (or Mr?) Fly. How could I ever get lonely out here? Read more…
How to Speak Appalachian Trail Lingo With Sleeper and His Tramily

What’s your trail name? Who’s in your tramily? Mules Brick, Cracker and I had a damn amusing encounter with some hikers on the AT (Appalachian Trail) this week. Meet Sleeper,…
Join my Mules For a Cup of Coffee Cooked on Our BioLite Wood Stove

Howdy. Instead of carrying a conventional camping stove on my mule ramble up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, I used a BioLite wood stove. It uses sticks instead of gasoline…
How a House Feels So Big After Two Weeks on the Trail

Read more posts from this ramble: Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. Before I rode Brick and Cracker the length of the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, I rode them 2,300 miles from…
Overcome by Rain in Elk Garden While Riding the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

It ain’t always sunny in Elk Garden… Here’s a soggy update from my soaking wet mules in Elk Garden, Virginia. We were out riding the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail when…
Squatting in Nettles on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

I stopped to let my mules Brick and Cracker drink from a waterfall as I was riding them up the Virginia Highlands Trail. Then I felt the burning sensation… Read…
Time Lapse Mule Camp on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

Here’s a time lapse of me unloading my mules Brick and Cracker outside of Raccoon Creek Horse Camp on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. In real time it took twenty…
Renegade Hoof Boot Repair Day on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

Mules Brick and Cracker are taking two days off from our mule ramble at Nancy and Bill Sluy’s CCC ranch. The mules have enjoyed lots of grain, deep grass and…
Mules Brick and Cracker Cross a Creek: Virginia Highlands

Read more posts from this ramble: Virginia Highlands Horse Trail — A Mule Ramble. A few years earlier, my wife Julia and I rode a good stretch of the Virginia…
Virginia Highlands Horse Trail Mule Ramble Update: Cripple Creek

Howdy. Mules Brick, Cracker and I wanted to give you a quick update about our pack trip up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. We’ve been on the road nine days…
Listen to Mule Cracker Eat Breakfast: Virginia Highlands

Brick, Cracker and I have been on the trail for nine days following the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail from Elk Garden to Ivanhoe, Virginia. Grain is too heavy to carry…
Black Birch, Cool Air, and Four Seconds on the Virginia Creeper Trail

Hey, you’ve got a few seconds (4) for a mule ride, right? Today, mules Brick and Cracker and I are riding up the Virginia Creeper Trail. I came to this…
SheRa Just Wants to Transition and Hike the Appalachian Trail

Mules Brick, Cracker and I met SheRa on our ramble up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail. She’s hiking the Appalachian Trail and transitioning from a man to a woman at…
Listen to Two Mules Clip Clop Across a Trestle Bridge on the Virginia Creeper Trail

This morning my mules Brick, Cracker and I tackled the first leg of our mule ramble. We plan to spend the next two days riding 30 miles up the Virginia…
Goodnight Wishes From Damascus, Virginia — Night Before the Mule Ramble

I am writing you tonight from my hammock. It’s slung between my horse trailer and a stock panel. It’s pitch black outside and the night air smells like camomile. I…
Clothes for a Three-Week Mule Ramble: Virginia Highlands

Good Monday morning. The mules and I are heading to Damascus, Virginia today, to start our mule ramble. Right now I’m getting gear loaded into my saddle bags. Here’s how…
Join me For a Mule Ramble Along The Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

Hey, let’s go mule rambling! My mules Brick, Cracker and I are heading out next week on our next mule ramble, and I look forward to sharing the trip with…

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Virginia Highlands Horse Trail: A Mule Ramble

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