Mostly he kept to the bottom where dry washes afforded a kind of trail.

But it was necessary to cross these ravines when they were too long to be headed, and this crossing was work.
The locust thickets characteristic of these slopes were thorny and close knit.

They tore and scratched and stung both horses and riders.

Ranger appeared to be the most intelligent of the horses and suffered less.
Bo's white mustang dragged her through more than one brambly place.

On the other hand, some of these steep slopes, were comparatively free of underbrush.