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[pct-l] Pack animals on PCT



 > A close friend and I are considering making the trek up to entire PCT
some
> time within the next 5 years. We recently got into a debate on the
> feasability of bringing along a mule, donkey, or some other pack animal.
Can
> anyone comment on how realistic bringing a pack animal would be?

If you currently have so little experience with pack animals
that you cannot form a reasonable judgement on this
question yourself, then I would counsel you to expand this
question to how realistic it would be for *you*.

The PCT is designed to accomodate horses and pack animals.
There would be places in the Sierras and Cascades where the
trail conditions would be a challenge and require an
experienced hand and an experienced animal. However,
it can be done and people on this list have done it.

You'll need to know where you'll find forage and plan
your nightly camping stops more exactly, because there
are restrictions on where you can camp with pack animals.
You'll have to be able to care for your animal's needs
and take care of any veterinary problems that crop up.

Where you might run into a different kind of problem is
making mileage. If you are on foot and leading a pack animal,
you may find it quite hard to average the 22 to 25 miles a
day that you must average to do the whole trail in one
season.

Taking any kind of animal on a thru hike requires you and
your animal to be a strong, experienced team on the trail.
You can't just hook up, like you might with a hiking
partner. If this is your plan, start prepping for it asap.

Just my $0.02