[pct-l] goats and nps land (was a boy and his dog...)

[dsaufley at sprynet.com (dsaufley@sprynet.com)]

To your point, I never saw a horse or burro curl up on the sofa with their owner, or sleep curled up with them under the sleeping quilt as Sid did, so goats certainly can get close to humans in a way that equines cannot.  Sid was house broken, so that too definitely deepened the relationship I observed.  So I can see how their company and endearing ways would make them a favorite.  Twenty-five pounds is a substantial amount of weight, and not having the logistical challenges of feed or hay drops is super.  

BTW, I looked to see if Katherine and Rob left their email address here, and they did not.  Their names are Katherine Cook and Rob Robicheaux; maybe you could connect with them up trail via postcard.  I'll try to get word to them Kennedy Meadows, where they should be arriving soon if not there already.  I know they plan to stop in Tuolumne Meadows.

I never thought of it much, but goats have served man greatly for centuries, much in the way that dogs and horses have.  There are still places in this world where a person's wealth is measured by the number of goats in their herd and paper money means nothing. 
 
L-Rod


-----Original Message-----
From: Carolyn Eddy <ECPG@peoplepc.com>
Sent: Jun 25, 2005 6:57 PM
To: dsaufley@sprynet.com, goslowgofar <goslowgofar@yahoo.com>, 
	pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] goats and nps land (was a boy and his dog...)

We do a lightweight approach also, but that also means we can carry some 
extras that we need to accomodate our handicaps, such as a folding stool.

Goats can carry 35 pounds for 10-15 miles per day and still have plenty of 
time to forage and not lose weight. We tend to only put about 20-25 pounds 
on each goat, but that's a lot of stuff, when approached from a lightweight 
perspective. One goat out of the 4 we take just carries a saddle and 
basically gets rotated so no one is working very hard. And, with that we can 
carry enough food to go for 2-3 weeks without restocking.

I have a friend who packs with donkeys and I like them but I just don't bond 
with them like I do the goats. I teach horseback riding and so I like 
getting away from horsey attitudes once in a while.

Carolyn Eddy
"Sweet Goat Mama"
www.goattracksmagazine.com