pack goats

H

hawken11

New member
Anyone here ever use a string of pack goats. Looks like a good way to get into the rougher country (like all of Idaho).

I would love to find someone to rent a string from in late October.
 
I've never heard of anyone using pack goats, I don't think, but there are several guys using llamas and Alpacas. On Bowsite.com several of these guys post about training the animals etc. What area are you looking at in Idaho? There are several groups that rent horses, but I don't personally know of anything else.
 
The nice thing about them is if you get lost you can always eat them. Most of the folks I know that guide and pack around here use mules and horses, though I have seen some folks in Oregon using Llama's for back packing, but not for hunting. Goats don't take well to much shooting around them, real skittish animals at times, much more so than horses.
 
One of my distant ancestors is credited with introducing the infamous "Fainting Goats" to Tennessee back in the 1800s... I can just see some one trying to use them for packing supplies in some mountainous terrain...

They are really skittish and I can imagine a whole string 'fainting' at the sound of a gunshot and them all falling down into a ravine with all the supplies... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Quote:
Goats don't take well to much shooting around them, real skittish animals at times, much more so than horses.


 
A friend of mine has used them. Biggest problem is you need quite of few of them to pack out a bull elk, actually a small herd, LOL. The other problem he had they chewed through his tether lines while tied up over night and wandered off a couple of times. He did find them, but this was before we started raising wolves in Idaho. Pass the goat please, aahhoooo.

Boom
 
It is about getting the last 3-4 miles where the mules refuse to go.
Here is a cool website showing the process. One photo here has a string of goats packing across a fallen log to bridge a raging stream. I have heard of the goats eating all your food, ropes, etc.

http://www.summitpackgoat.com/
 
I have talked to a few people who use pack goats in the Russian Wilderness and Trinity Alps (Northern California). It is my understanding there are several company's that make Paniers(spelling?) just for them. They pack about 40 pounds each and you do not need to pack them any food or water (they browse like a deer). A friend I talked to said he took a single with him on day hunts and let it carry his day pack. He said the goat spotted the deer for him before he did. You might ask around for some of the many outfitters that specialize in the Trinity Wilderness (Northern California, Trinity County) Maybe they would have some info for you.
 
Do a web search.

There's a site for a guy out of Oregon that uses goats.
There's a site for someone in Tooele, Utah that rents pack goats
Someone in the Vernal, Utah area uses goats.

I've tried some borrowed llamas in Utah. I'd say unless you're willing to invest in your own llamas and dedicate some time to training and conditioning, they're a waste of wool.

I can backpack more weight myself and get there faster than poorly conditioned and trained llamas can -- and I'm an out-of-shape 50+year old.

Well trained and conditioned llamas are a different story, and I assume its the same with goats.

I used horses as a kid in Washington. Poorly trained and conditioned horses can still be useful in the amount of weight they can carry, but the downside is they're big enough to hurt you if you don't know what you're doing.
 
I am from Tooele and know a little about the guy who has the goats. He is an anti hunter so if it is a hunting trip its a no go. Hope this helps a little.
 


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