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This ride takes us into the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Teton Wilderness, across some of the most scenic country in the United States. The trails, meadows, rivers and lakes are majestic - truly a sight to behold. Oftentimes seen during our trek, lying against the background, are the jagged, snow-capped Teton Mountains, towering 13, 770 feet. Only horses, or miles and days of hiking, can get us to the spots we visit.

The weather this time of year is perfect - usually mid-to-upper 70s. The wranglers like this time of year because there are no bugs (they worry about the horses, I worry about us! Ha!).

Put this one on your must-see, things to do "Bucket List." Most often said during this past year's ride:

"This is my favorite day!" ... "How are you going to top this?" ... "I can't wait until tomorrow."

Within the town of Jackson, there are enough galleries, restaurants and shops to tantalize your pocket book. Non-riding spouses, always encouraged to join us on all rides, have as much fun or more shopping, going to the spas, taking aerial tramways, boat trips, whitewater rafting and hikes than we do riding.

Wildlife? Just driving around we saw moose, black bear and cubs, deer, antelope, buffalo and on the ride saw lots of large bear tracks, mule-eared deer, and grey wolf.

I always like to add a little history (and sometimes more if you're interested) to my rides. This immediate and surrounding area is full of rich, colorful history and lore about the mountain man and trapper. John Colter decided he'd stay behind to hunt game as Lewis & Clark returned home - and discovered "Colter's Hell" in Yellowstone. This was one of Davey Jackson's favorite beaver-trapping haunts - he was partners with Jedediah Smith and William Sublette, original owners of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Stories of the homesteaders, adventurers and Native Americans, such as the Shoshone, Blackfeet and Crow, that once lived, and continue to live here are still told around the evening campfires.

I decided to name this ride after a mountain man that truly missed the mountain man era. But legends of his exploits, especially his bloody rage against the Crows, persist.

Jeremiah Johnson wasn't a mythical character. He was born John Garrison around 1824 in Little York, New Jersey.

About the age of 20, around 1843, he headed for the mountains in the west to become a hunter and fur trapper. From the Snake River of Colorado to the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana, Johnson made himself a living as a mountain man. A few years later he traded for the daughter of a Flathead Indian sub-chief as his wife, built a cabin, and learned the Salish language of her tribe out of respect for her. He left that first Autumn after gathering dry goods for her winter's stay.

Upon his return the following Spring, in 1847, from his winter hunt, he found his wife's grisly remains at their cabin. Among the scattered bones he found a small skull―his unborn child.

Tales around the campfire say he'd cut out and eat the liver of every Crow he killed, then spit it out, declaring "the liver of the Crow is not suitable for a man." This was a potent insult to the Crow since they ate raw livers from their game believing it gave them the vitality of the animal they ate. He became known as "Liver-Eating Johnson" and "Dapiek Absaroka" meaning "Crow Killer." Throughout the Northern Rockies, and the plains of Wyoming and Montana, Crow warriors were found scalped and with their liver cut out, presumably eaten by Johnson.

During the dead of winter, as one tale is told, he was ambushed by a group of Blackfoot warriors with the intent to sell him to the Crow, his mortal enemies, for a handsome reward. Stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee, Johnson chewed through the straps, attacked and scalped his guard, and then cut off one of the guard's legs before escaping. He survived on the Blackfoot's leg until he reached the cabin of his trapping partner, Del Que, two hundred miles away.

He joined the Union Army during the Civil war, was a sharpshooter and was honorably discharged (other stories have him deserting after striking an officer, possibly during the Mexican War, and changed his name to Johnson).

During the 1880s he was appointed a deputy sheriff in Coulson, Montana and a town marshal in Red Lodge, Montana

In December 1899, at age 76, he was admitted to a veteran's hospital in Los Angeles, where he died on January 21, 1900.

We won't be fighting any Crow warriors or eating any livers, but we will experience a grand adventure as we ride the high country of Jackson Hole. Few spots are as scenic as the Teton Mountains, especially by horseback.

Please Note: Men and women both are invited on this historic ride (I get that question a lot)

Legend has it the ghost of Crow warriors still haunt the crevices and crags of the Tetons ... just a suggestion - better bring your hoglegs!

Initial Deposit: $500 per person, non-refundable deposit required to book your reservation

However, the horses we ride are used to the elevation (above 6,000 feet) and to the mountainous terrain.

Should you cancel within 45 days prior to ride .... all monies non-refundable