Sunday morning October 13 dawned clear but cold. There was frost on the truck windshield and a snap to the air. Looking at the peaks, a light frosting on snow was still visible from the front that had come through earlier in the week. Our last chapter ride was planned for the Tripod peak area, north west of Smith Ferry off forest road 626 with parking planned at Sage Hen meadows.
Members started arriving at the meadows by 10:00 and all were saddled and ready to go by 10:30. In the shade snow lingered and the gravel road to the trail head was frozen and had hard packed snow on it that made for some slippery footing at times. Our party was eight riders and all were excited to be up in the mountains one last time with our stock. The trail bed was frozen in the shade but softer in the sun, making for some tricky footing at times, but the stock did well and we make good time up the trail. After riding for 90 minutes and gaining over a thousand foot of elevation we crested a ridge into a meadow with some logs and rock to sit on and stopped for a shack in the sun and enjoyed the views. 
We had traveled 3.5 of the 5.2 miles up the the fire lookout. The trail bed was getting slicker as the sun melted the snow so we choose to turn around and make our way back to the trailer. As this was the first weekend of deer season we expected that highway 55 would be heavy with south moving traffic later in the afternoon and wanted to avoid it if possible. It was a great ride and all who attended left with pink cheeks and smiles.
