In summer, fields of wildflowers and crystal-clear rivers are almost as intoxicating as the black diamond trails on Aspen Mountain or the hard-earned majesty of the Highland Bowl in winter.
Every few kilometres the landscape became more rugged, more dramatic and soon I was caught up in the beauty, my horse carrying us almost effortlessly along the narrow tracks and through clear mountain rivers.
The gates which were used to keep the channels clear of sand and silt were removed and buried when the National Rivers Authority replaced the gates with a new flood protection system in 1981.