On December 11 Preston and I and about 15 other members of the Red Rock Hounds from New Jersey to California arrived in Belmont, Nevada. The caravan of 5 horse trailers carrying about 20 horses and more than 40 hounds arrived on Thursday afternoon to warm weather and sunny skies. How the weather can change in just a few short days!
Belmont is a mostly abandoned ghost town right smack in the middle of Nevada. In the late 1800’s Belmont was a booming silver mining with several thousand residents. Today it boasts a whopping population of 7! The town has no phones or electricity. Everything is powered by propane or diesel generator. A satellite phone is available for emergencies. And, I now know firsthand that not even the highest mountain top in the vicinity will produce a cell signal! Talk about getting away from it all.
Amidst the fascinating ruins of stone, brick and wood buildings sits the Belmont Inn and Saloon owned and operated by Henry and Bertie Berg. Henry and Bertie (and everyone else in town for that matter) are wonderful hosts and made us all feel like part of the Belmont Family.
The horses spent the weekend at the Belmont Pack Station. Nick, the owner, has a great lodge and plenty of pasture for the horses. We hunted 2 days right out of the pack station.
The first day we hauled the horses about 10 miles down the dirt roads and hunted our way back to the pack station. The weather was sunny and cool but not cold. We started out by following Master and Huntsman Lynn Lloyd straight up the side of a rocky mountain! Maybe this was Lynn’s way to have everyone “bond” with their horses? After all, we had to put our trust in our mountain goats….er, horses. Grab mane and hang on as we climbed!
The second day we had a Tally Ho just as the hounds were cast. For the better part of the next 2 hours the hounds circled that line around and up and over several mountains. The weather was definitely turning so the game was out and active.
On Saturday evening we had the Red Rock white elephant gift exchange. Lots of great presents with much “swapping” going on but 2 things definitely got the most attention. A wine bottle stopper that featured…..well….legs – let me leave it at that. Then there were those great holiday boxer shorts complete with belled tassels that John Schaefer and Grosvenor Merle-Smith fought over all evening! Grosvenor won out and modeled them quite nicely in the saloon later that night (see the pictures).
Day 3 started at a brisk 7 degrees. But it had warmed up to a relatively balmy 20 by the time we headed out. It was a short hunt that day.
On Monday morning we woke to a beautiful blanket of snow and only 4 degrees. Preston and I were staying in our living quarter trailer which, in spite of running the generator and several heaters non-stop, had ice on some of the inside walls.
After a final hearty breakfast from Bertie we headed out to the pack station to load up the horses and begin the long drive back to Reno. And electricity and cell phones and internet…..oh, yes, back to reality….sigghhh.
Here are links to 2 photo albums from the weekend. The first one is the “full” album of nearly 500 pictures. The second one is a shortened version with pictures mostly of Preston, myself and our wonderful horses, Baxter and Devon. Many of the pictures were taken by Gretchen Pelham, Red Rock member from Knoxville, TN and part-time professional photographer. Please visit Gretchen’s website, Pelham Ponies, for more pictures from the Belmont weekend and other hunting days.
Large album
Smaller album (Preston and Joy)
