[pct-l] Pack animals on PCT

[tahoe.cat at verizon.net (Bill & Cathy)]

Hi All My mind isn't all together right now. I forgot to mention after my
little bear springs hike about a tree down across the trail. I really can't
remember exactly where it was after little bear springs but we had to crawl
under it. I laid on my stomach with my pack on to get under it. It was so
big that we could not go over it, but could go under. You can't go around
it, so live stock will end up turning around. Sorry but its somewhere
between little bear springs and the messed up deep creek bridge. I wish I
could be more specific but I don't remember. Again Sorry.   Ground Pounder
Bill
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marion Davison" <mardav@charter.net>
To: <DjgPct@aol.com>; "PCT List" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2005 8:28 PM
Subject: Re: [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
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