Leading Pack Animals vs. Backpacking

ppine · 07-15-2012, 01:10 PM

It seems ironic that an age old techique of traveling has been nearly lost in this country. I am referring to leading pack animals like donkeys, mules, camels, horses, llamas and goats from the ground and walking in front of them. At one time the Sierra Club had many "Donkey Trips" in the summer between their "High Camps." Donkeys were very popular because they can be handled by inexperienced people, even kids, and there was no riding involved.

In places like Europe these types of trips are still popular and easy to find. In the US conventional pack trips always involve riding. That makes them expensive. It makes them more dangerous. It is also a fast way to travel.

All you backpackers out there, imagine a llama that can carry 75 pounds. Even a small donkey can carry 100 pounds or more. Horses 175, big mules 200-300 pounds. Imagine having a cooler with fresh meat, salad, vegetables, even some beer. You can throw in a bigger tent, a thicker pad, books, etc. The best part is most of these animals are very friendly and fun to be around. They are good watch dogs and will alert you to predators. I have found a couple of places that rent llamas which I would like to try on a longer trip in Oregon, say a week. Anyone else have experience traveling this way? Do you think it is a good idea?

**CozInCowtown** · 07-15-2012, 02:38 PM

I have had llamas, donkeys and mules. All bad property!
We pack in to the Uncompahgre NF elk hunting and I assure you a easy going pack horse is hard to beat if you are gonna ride in also.
If you ride a horse, leading a mule or donkey is just too much work. They travel at a much slower gear than a horse. This causes bad feelings all the way around from the horse "dragging" to the donkey/mule being dragged to the operator dealing with all the bad attitudes.
Stay with all one breed, all horses, all mules or all donkeys.
I choose all horses but an all mule team would be fine also.
Just my .02 worth,
Coz

Grandpa · 07-15-2012, 04:04 PM

I agree with Coz about mixing animals in your string.

Horses or mules depends on the wrangler. Mules won't allow you to do something stupid. I'm not sure if they are smarter or the horse is just more trusting. But if you don't know what you are doing, take a mule. They will educate you real fast.

I do not like leading a pack string unless I am also riding. Horses and mules tend to lunge over ditches while I tend to pick my way over them. The result is me getting passed up and that creates a very good opportunity to get my foot stepped on. And that hurts.....for a very long time.

Donkeys, goats and Llamas are great because they need no lead rope or only the first will need to be led. Never take just one Llama though. Always take two and never separate them.

Goats are very gregarious to the group. So much so they are constantly sticking their nose in what you are doing, and usually trying to taste it.

Hobbling vs picketing horses allows them some movement while grazing. Caution, some horses figure out how to hop with both front legs to speed up that movement. This creates some panic when they are hopping toward you to see what you are doing.

Never tie a horse, mule or any animal to a tree for more than a few minutes. A halter rope around a tree can "bark" a tree overnight which will kill the tree. Best to string a "hi-line", a rope between two trees about 8 ft off the ground and tie the halter rope to that. A hi line is required in a lot of places and I have seen camp areas where the forest service either permanently installs hitching posts or rail or leaves a hi line to make it easier for people to obey the laws.

And whatever you do, make sure those packs are even weight on both sides. A 5 lb difference from one side to the other can really mess a horse up. Backpackers learn this real fast. It doesn't take much of a lopsided weight to make hiking very miserable.

As to this being a good way to travel. You can bet your buttons it is, especially if it is the neighbors horses carrying my pack with him taking care of the animals.

Just my opinions

ppine · 07-16-2012, 10:46 AM

Grandpa,
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. The idea that mules are slower than horses just shows how smart they are. They can spot a novice from 50 feet away. In the Sierras and the Cascades most of the really good professionals ride horses and pack mules. They can make almost 5 mph over decent trails. It is more common in the Rockies to see all mule outfits.

Mules that are "livened up" will out travel horses in the mountains any day. Donkeys are slower and perfect to lead on foot. So are the smaller animals. Experienced pack animals have been around a lot of different people and read body language. They know what they can get away with.

I rode with a mule club over on the CA side of the Sierras a few year ago. We had 15 people on mules in a group. Our oldest mule was 33 yo, and we had many people in their 70s and 2 in their 80s. We met up with the Placer County Search and Rescue unit out getting some miles. They were all on quarter horses with people in their 30s and 40s. They snickered at our group and took off down the trail (which was pretty rough and wet). They had a 25 minute head start. After about an hour and a half they pulled over to let us pass and they never saw us again.

I rode a famous molly Belgian mule on a fall horse drive with Bob Tanner's legendary Red's Meadow Pack Outfit in Mammoth Lakes, CA. We moved all the riding and pack stock 63 miles from the summer HQ in the mountains to Bob's ranch in the Owens Valley. We had over 200 head of mules and horses and I was riding the jerk line mule used to lead the 20 up hitch for the old US Borax wagons from Death Valley. This mule "Kate" had an extra gear at the walk and left the whole herd in the dust. We would be sitting in the shade drinking iced tea waiting for the rest of the group to show every day going over 20-25 miles in the mountains. She would go to the lope with a small squeeze. That was the kind of mule that could out run the Indians back in the old days. A mule was worth 2 horses on the Oregon Trail in places like Ft. Laramie.

Hikenhunter · 07-17-2012, 01:16 PM

I don't know squat about pack animals but I can definately see how having a donkey or a llama carrying my gear would make my experience better than it already is.