22/05/2026
A thousand miles on horseback in a single push. The kind of ride that earns a place in the Long Riders’ Guild and leaves most people sore just thinking about it.
Field & Stream’s “Hoofing It to Trout Heaven” follows Hanlon, a retired shop teacher from Sparwood, British Columbia, who has spent decades packing horses into country where trails wash out, glaciers crack overhead, and rain settles in for days at a time. Author T. Edward Nickens calls him “the most experienced horseman I know,” a man who routinely disappears into the backcountry for weeks at a stretch with a string of packhorses.
Hanlon’s heroes are wilderness travelers like explorer Jonathan Turk. He talks about horse packing less like recreation and more like stewardship. The harder a place is to reach, he believes, the better chance it has to stay wild.
Tall, lanky, and permanently in good spirits, Hanlon carries himself like someone who has spent more nights under canvas than indoors. He helps maintain wilderness trails built for horse travel and advocates for conservation across British Columbia’s remaining wild country. The fact that he married a former Miss Rodeo Canada somehow feels exactly right.
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Full story by T. Edward Nicken featured in the Field & Stream Spring 2024 Journal, Volume 129, Issue 1, with photos by Tom Fowlks.
