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[pct-l] Pack animals on PCT



DjgPct@aol.com wrote:

> 
>In a message dated 6/6/2005 4:41:50 P.M. Mountain Standard Time,  
>ECPG@peoplepc.com writes:
>
>They are  not motorcycles and a bad/tired/confused animal will wreck your 
>hiking  plans faster than 20 feet of snow anywhere.
>
>
>
>===========================================
> 
>This reminds me of a funny story that I heard.  A local fellow who  packs 
>often and has done so for years, was engaged to teach some young girl  campers 
>about packing with llamas.  He and the camp counselors planned a  long weekend 
>trip into our nearby wilderness area, where he had packed many  times.  He 
>brought along 15 or so llamas.  About 3 hours into the  trip, all the llamas sat 
>down.  He could not get them off the ground for  anything.  Finally they had to 
>cancel the pack trip.  The girls went  home.  The llamas stayed put just 
>sitting for TWO DAYS!  Finally they  decided it was time to get up, and they did.  
>It was his last llama  experience!
> 
>Betsy
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>  
>
During our first summer season with llamas, we planned to do a 350 mile 
trip.  We ended up doing only 125 miles, because one of our llamas would 
go for about 4 hours, then lay down and refuse to get up.  At that time 
we thought we should just be nice to our llamas and they would do what 
we wanted them to.  During that summer we learned how to make a llama 
get up.  We call that technique "spin the llama".  We retired that 
particular llama from the trail at the end of the season, and henceforth 
never allowed our llamas to stay down.  As soon as they go down, we get 
'em back up with gradually increasing insistence tactics.  We require 
them to march further, then give them a break at an appropriate place. 
We typically will hike 8 hours a day, 4 hours in the morning, a noon 
break of up to two hours, and four hours in the afternoon.  This gets us 
12-16 miles depending on terrain and trail conditions.  The llamas know 
they will get a noon break so they are willing to go on, and not insist 
on picking their break time.  Llamas are very much creatures of habit.  
If you establish a routine they will follow it, and they will remember 
it for years.  We have routines for catching them, for hooking them into 
a string, for loading and unloading, for saddling, and for hiking, and 
as long as we follow the routine they are highly cooperative.  It took a 
full year of working together to achieve this, and also for us to learn 
their capabilities, proclivities,  and limitations.
llamalady