Spring & Fall · Returning Riders Only · 7 Nights

Sixty-four miles. Six days. One herd.

Twice a year we move the herd between winter range and summer pasture. It's the working week the wranglers wait for — long saddle days, four nights under canvas, range cooking, and weather that does what it wants. Returning riders only.

64 mi
Total drive distance
6
Saddle days
4
Trail-camp nights
10
Riders max
Day-By-Day

The drive, hour by mile.

This is the spring drive (May). Fall is run in reverse, with the same camps in different order. Times are approximate — cattle set the pace.

Sat 1
Sun 2
Mon 3
Tue 4
Wed 5
Thu 6
Fri 7
Phase
ArriveCheck-ride, gear sort, bunkhouse
RoundupGather winter range, sort the herd
Day 1 trailSouth corner to Cedar Wash
Day 2 trailCedar Wash to Stone Spring
Day 3 trailStone Spring to East Mesa
Day 4 trailEast Mesa to Summer Pasture
ReturnTruck out, soak, supper, depart
Miles
0
8
14
12
16
14
0
Camp
BunkhouseHot shower, real bed
BunkhouseLast hot shower
Cedar WashWall-tent, cot, fire ring
Stone SpringTruck-camp, water cans
East MesaWall-tent, big sky
Summer PastureLast canvas night
BunkhouseBourbon & bed
Cook
Long tableWelcome supper
Range cookChuck wagon dinner
Dutch ovenBeans, biscuits, cobbler
One-potWynn's chili
Fire-spitRoast, beans
Trail steakLast drive supper
Fire-circleGoodbye dinner
Gear & Kit

Pack heavy. Then leave half at home.

We provide every piece of riding gear and shelter. You're packing for weather and skin. Limit your duffel to forty pounds — we move it by truck between camps.

What we provide
  • Saddle, tack, slicker
  • Wall-tent + cot
  • Sleeping bag (4-season)
  • Mess kit + camp cup
  • Chuck wagon meals
What you bring
  • Worn-in riding boots
  • 3 pairs heavy-duty jeans
  • Wool base layers
  • Rain shell + warm jacket
  • Wide-brim hat + neck-gaiter
Toiletries
  • Camp soap (biodegradable)
  • SPF 50, lip balm
  • Antiseptic wipes
  • Personal meds
  • One small towel
What stays at the ranch
  • Phones (signal is gone Day 2)
  • Heavy electronics
  • Anything white
  • Anything you'd cry over losing
  • Doubt
Fitness & Honesty

This week is hard.

We don't say that to dramatize. We say it because every year three guests who told us they were ready arrived and weren't. Read the four checks below. If two are no's, book the immersion instead.

  • 01You can ride a posting trot for 20 minutes without resting.
  • 02You can canter on cue and stop on cue without alarm.
  • 03You can do a 6-hour saddle day this morning — today — without help.
  • 04You're at peace with no shower for 4 nights and no signal for 5 days.

We send a 6-week conditioning guide with every drive hold. Stretches, riding-fitness sets, the saddle-soreness protocol. Most guests start it eight weeks out.

2026 Drive Dates

Two weeks. Twenty seats.

Both drives sell out in the fall of the prior year. Holds are first-come.

Spring Drive
May 9 — 16, 2026
Winter range to summer pasture · denser herd, wetter mornings
3 of 10 seats remaining
Fall Drive
October 3 — 10, 2026
Summer pasture to winter range · bigger weather, golden light
7 of 10 seats remaining
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