packing goodies and camping style

There are several distinct styles of llama packing. One extreme is gourmet; the other is frugal.

One takes everything, the other does not build a fire, eats cold "stuff" and sleeps on the hard ground with skimpy pads and sleeping bags.

We are maybe on the high side. Being old folks, we love our collapsible cots (meaning a little bigger tent). We usually take a two-burner propane stove, an old coffee pot to stick into our evening fire, stools, and table, and even take a collapsible stool and seat to use as a toilet. (Decadent, yep, but after a few days out it is a wonderful luxuary.)

We love out outback oven.

Depending on the trip, we will include a cooler for frozen items. Late in the fall or when we are going into weather that will be really cold, we have an outfitter tent with a small wood stove that we have taken with us. Having to huddle under a tarp in a drizzle for a couple of days is not nearly as nice as sitting on stools around a hot wood stove. We have done both, the latter being much more pleasant.

My wife sleeps cold, so for a number of years she has taken a hot water bottle. I toss and turn too much to combine sleeping bags. She prefers the hot watter bottle.

The downside of our decisions about equipment is -- the more "stuff" the more llamas. The more llamas, the more planning, the more impact, and the more possibilities of other problems.

We are not purists about impact. We are concerned. WE realize everytime we enter the wilderness we have an impact. We take a fire blanket, we camp in carefully chosen locations away from others whenever possible, we clean up after ourselves (and others), scatter llama droppings, and try to camaflouge our campsite to minimize any visual or real impact while camping and after we leave. We are most happy when others cannot find where we had a fire or beleive we have camped in that location.

Choosing a pack llama

There are almost as many ideas about the "right" pack llama as there are owners.

Some insist on size, others focus in on conformation, and some throw in function and movement.

When my wife and I were looking for breeding llama stock - stud and female, we decided to breed the average "normal" height. We looked for a good balance in their structures, we prefered shorter fiber, we wanted good guard hair, but most of all we want animals that were put together well and moved smoothly as they walked. We particularly looked at the hips. We video-taped all the animals -- coming and going for our own review later and also asked Gwen Ingram to look at their movement.

We wanted our animal's size to be such that the average packer and especially women would not be intimidated. We found that the average sized llama that was well-put together and moved smoothly carried all that we would be asking for. We were not into hunting or into extra heavy demands.

Because we were in the northwest we insisted on good guard hair. We were surprised in our looking around how many in the drier areas seemed to discount this feature.

Some of the animals we looked at moved as though each part of their body functioned on its own. Some of the high priced studs seemed anything but smooth.

We were aware of the discussions about what makes the "right" pack llama and respected others for their opinions. Those were just some of the choices we made in our search. A couple of our best packers were under-sized 43 inch fellows who just happened to be wonderful atheletes. They carried their share of the loads just fine.

We have seen some truly large and well-put-together "monster" llamas. We have been impressed by some of the breeding stock that some have developed. We have also seen some huge well-known animals that moved very poorly.

We still are happy with our decision to produce "average" height animals. If we were packing great loads, going into incrediblly difficult terrain, and having to cross over lots of blowdown with an elk carcass we might be persuaded differently.

In the end, it comes back to what use and need one has. When someone asks me what car or computer I would recommend, I always ask, "What are you going to use it for?" The lesser the demands, the easier and cheaper it is to pick up what you want. For picnic hikes it is a pretty simple job, for hunting and constant commercial type packing, one wants to get more informaiton, look closer and become a much pickier.

It is hard for a new to llama person to pick a llama. They all seem so "pretty" with their curious look and big eyes. They often seem to ready to buy the first ones they see -- or the cheapest.

We have tried to convince people to look at a number of llamas and make sure to visit ranches of people who actually pack. Even better, take a trip with a commercial packer or with the person you are considering buying from. Learn as much as possible, clarify what you are going to expect and want, gain an "eye" for llamas.

Too many people buy too quickly and then are stuck with less than what they wanted.

Decide what you want a pack llama for, visit several llama ranches, go on a llama pack trip, take a class, and consult with llama packers and attend pack llama events.