Horse Back Trip
The following is taken from one of Loren's journal entries, addressed to his young granddaughter, Kandi Lee Upton:
"Way back when I was still a wet behind the ears, greenhorn kid, December 1st, 1957 to be exact, I had the good (and bad) fortune to lead a somewhat "stillborn" horseback expedition. This fateful expedition had all the good intentions of going from the lowest to the highest point in the Western Hemisphere - Bad Water, Death Valley, California, to Mount Aconcagua, Argentina. Well, that was the plan; we did not even come close to making it! We started out with four men and eight horses. The horses were OK, well suited for the undertaking. The men, on the other hand, were about as well matched as a pack of rabid starving dogs penned up with a wormy turpentined alley cat. As a result, as I'm sure you can well imagine, it all came unglued and started falling apart soon after leaving Death Valley, with the final straw coming some ten months into the ride. But still, Kandi Lee, it was to be a great learning process for your thick-headed, wind-blown, spavined-legged old grandfather. Yes, it was to be the beginning, even though it all went sour-south way before its targeted destination. Possibly one or two of the more important things your grandfather learned from that somewhat ill-fated endeavour was: next time, choose more wisely your partners, and be better prepared. Yes, consider it with a bit more care! I then was young and somewhat self-centered, headstrong, a polite way of saying - stupid! I did not really look into the real qualifications of each team member - this, too, included your grandfather's qualifications or lack thereof. O'well, that's life! Another thing your grandfather was to become aware of was.....never, never let setbacks or failures break your spirit - stop you! Always, there is another day, another expedition, another chance, if one will but stay the course, keep on keeping on over the long haul. Kandi Lee, never, never give up hope - have faith! I did then, and I still do have - hope and faith!!"
