We all look back at when we started packing, and just laugh…We tell stories around the fire of where we packed in our first time. Who we went with, and how we built our loads and tied them on, not to mention the trouble we had along the way. If we are lucky, none of our friends that were with us had a camera to post pictures of our problems on Facebook. I’ve seen a guy at the trail head with a how to pack book propped up against his horse’s neck trying to follow the diagram on how to tie that knot that holds the load on. I’ve passed 3 gals on a hot summer day that were wearing string bikinis and cowboy boots pulling a welch pony loaded to the max with black hefty trash sacks full of their gear. I was told just this week about a friend of mine when she started packing she would fill her sleeping bag and then tie it across the horse and hang the Coleman lantern around the saddle horn and headed down the trail. Now, as the years pass, my string looks like something off a magazine cover. Every load wrapped in a tightly bound mantie, even my saddle bags are canvas so the saddle horse matches the canvas on the pack string. I get phone calls daily at our store, Trailhead Supply, and get asked questions on various topics, but mostly building and securing loads. As I travel around the Northwest doing pack clinics and seminars I get a lot of those questions “Don’t you think it would be better if ???” And on those packing forums on Facebook where everyone has to chime in on every question asked… I’ve gotten to the point in my life when asked is he or she doing that right? Is there a better way?? I reply, “If they got from point A to B and they along with their animals didn’t get hurt. If they had a great time and would love to go on another pack trip, then they did it right!!!” There is plenty of time to learn a new knot or some of the tricks other folks have learned along the way, but the real thing you need to learn is to make time and get out on the trail. If you need a hand getting started feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email we are here to help….
See you on the trail!
Andy
Brett Vaughn says...
Yes good write up. I’ve been doing it a while but what I do and how I learned was real simple. I pack for myself and just what it takes to get me in and out safely. You can read on those facebook pages from all kinds of experts and all kinds of hitches and what they use to do.. but not many that are doing it now…and not many actually spend much time actually doing it.. Thanks!
April 25, 2018