Posted by Sarah
Here is my goat packing story! Got home Sunday. Goats and hikers all survived. We had great weather and became well trained by the goats.
"God damned goats" - that expletive left my mouth before we even started our 6 day pack trip with our 2 rented pack goats- Elvis and Sanuk.
At 150 lbs, Sanuk is literally dragging me around the trailhead trying to steal food before we even finish packing. Each goat will take 25 pounds off our backs and, at 70 and 74, we are hopeful these frisky goats will extend our years of traveling off trail in Idaho's wilderness. Each of us is done lugging 50 lbs on our backs- tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses, camping stove, and food for 6 days. We had never Learned the art of going fast and light with 20 lb packs and 20 miles a day like the new breed of ultra light travelers.
So here we are studying 3 pages of "goat packing" 101 while being dragged around trying to keep them from eating our sandwiches.
"Never, ever, feed the goats human food", the instructions read. I make skid marks trying to stop Elvis, frantically yelling for help before he gets the sandwich and potato chips from the picnic table. Two hours of sorting, packing and meticulously weighing each goat pack within 0013 ounces of each other, we are ready to leave. Of course, we wonder at the absurdity of the arrangement when our own backpacks weigh more than either goat's.
At 4 pm we are finally ready. 10 minutes, then Elvis stops. I pull, he goes until he finds a shady tree. He stops, I pull. It's hot, they lay down panting like boxers in round 10. Bob hikes slowly and pants in the heat as well with his 35 lb pack. Three old goats on the trail and at 5 pm I am ready for a glass of wine! We have gone exactly 1 mile!
Here is my goat packing story! Got home Sunday. Goats and hikers all survived. We had great weather and became well trained by the goats.
"God damned goats" - that expletive left my mouth before we even started our 6 day pack trip with our 2 rented pack goats- Elvis and Sanuk.
At 150 lbs, Sanuk is literally dragging me around the trailhead trying to steal food before we even finish packing. Each goat will take 25 pounds off our backs and, at 70 and 74, we are hopeful these frisky goats will extend our years of traveling off trail in Idaho's wilderness. Each of us is done lugging 50 lbs on our backs- tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses, camping stove, and food for 6 days. We had never Learned the art of going fast and light with 20 lb packs and 20 miles a day like the new breed of ultra light travelers.
So here we are studying 3 pages of "goat packing" 101 while being dragged around trying to keep them from eating our sandwiches.
"Never, ever, feed the goats human food", the instructions read. I make skid marks trying to stop Elvis, frantically yelling for help before he gets the sandwich and potato chips from the picnic table. Two hours of sorting, packing and meticulously weighing each goat pack within 0013 ounces of each other, we are ready to leave. Of course, we wonder at the absurdity of the arrangement when our own backpacks weigh more than either goat's.
At 4 pm we are finally ready. 10 minutes, then Elvis stops. I pull, he goes until he finds a shady tree. He stops, I pull. It's hot, they lay down panting like boxers in round 10. Bob hikes slowly and pants in the heat as well with his 35 lb pack. Three old goats on the trail and at 5 pm I am ready for a glass of wine! We have gone exactly 1 mile!
