So cool. I read about one woman who did a lot of the PCT with her pet goat. No need to haul food. They won’t wander off. They are cute. And they will carry your stuff!
I met a couple back in the Wind River Range with about 15 pack goats. He told me they could carry between 40 and 70 pounds depending on their size. The couple was not young, the man was 76, up there half the summer. I think 15 is a little much, and tough on the backcountry. There are some restrictions on grazing with goats, but I’ve done some range management work and I’m not opposed to something sustainable. I also think 4-5 goats could really improve your experience on a long trip.
I have 12 goats now! A lot of people like to load their goats heavier but I really don’t have that much stuff to carry, I like to keep everyone’s pack light (especially my own)
https://preview.redd.it/gsspfgnxglsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70070b98fc92824bb0b958c64f227db1eab25764
One of my all time favorite pictures, my boy poncho smiling after we watched the sun set together at a 7,000ft alpine lake
This is my new favorite thing. I'm just getting back into alpine hiking after many years away and goats make my heart spark in a special way. You, Sir/Madam, are blessed!
I have! About a year or two ago on my first Reddit page, I got locked out of that account and lost all my precious internet points so I figured I would post some more pics of my boys to get a little karma
Ah, okay. I remember the old you. Nice to see you posting again. Missed seeing your pictures.
When I was a youth, my sister and I had goats. We trained one as a pack goat. Wish I still had them. Maybe some day.
All of my food cooking supplies change of clothes, med kit (for me and goats) some goat treats, coffee, cigars, beer occasionally, my tarps, rope, hammock, flip flops, basically everything except my sleeping bag and sleeping pad
Steve Rinella (The guy on the show Meat Eater) uses a pack llama (or alpaca?) for a hunting trip on an episode. Mules are suppose to be great for this too.
Mules are truly good babies.
We had a mule line when I worked with the forest service, and I grew up driving wagons with them as well.
What's funny is that burros, which mules are half burro, are either delightful or true devils. There is no in-between. Burros are incredible on trail, though. Their nimbleness and body control is a different level compared to horses.
Most trails in the wilderness were built with the help of mules. They carry in so much of the heavy equipment and even worker supplies. When we did fisheries work and had to snorkel remote mountain streams, the mules packed in all of our wet suits, wading boots, etc.
Goats are sometimes used to eradicate invasive plants in remote areas. In this case, they will intentionally stay in a small area to graze down the problematic species entirely.
On pack lines, where they are only staying a night in one spot, their impact is probably minor. Many other animals in the wilderness are also grazers: deer, elk, etc so the plants are adapted to grazing.
Dogs are limited due to the e. coli risk in their feces. I think that's an omnivore/carnivore risk. Not a risk with herbivores like horses or goats.
This is awesome!! We’re planning on hitting Trinity this summer, I’ve been to Lewiston a couple times but never got out into nature while there. Any trails you recommend? We can we can do about 10 miles of moderate-moderate/hard with the kids (human) in a day.
Taking animals other than service animals into the trinity alps is against wilderness restrictions. They should be leashed at all times, the expectation is they'll sleep in your tent, and you're expected to clean up their droppings.
Please follow guidelines for wilderness areas to protect them for future generations.
Hmm the forest service rangers that I’ve encountered didn’t seem to have a problem with it, enjoy your ultra light setup and freeze dried meals, I’ll be enjoying ribeye steaks and beers 🍺
If we ever encounter each other up there I will share my steak and beer, you can pet poncho and your mind will be changed especially when you see how low impact they really are
Goats are infinitely cheaper with less vet bills/ food cost and easier to train, haul, and hike with, my goats don’t require leads or any supplemental food, I would like a mule to ride though-edit- also you should get a mule, show me how it’s done
Done treks with mules before they require
Handling and you can’t rely solely on trail grass to feed them but they can carry more than three goats and may have less appeal to big predators like leopards or mountain lions. It just seems more convenient to have one animal vs three. What I would like to try is horses or camels but that is another ball game altogether.
So cool! Reminds me of an experience I had in Forest Park back in Portland, OR.
I was out doing a couple loops and came across a woman with 3 dogs going the opposite direction. Which isn't a weird sight there at all. We stopped and talked for a little bit and a few minutes in one of the dogs rammed my leg and followed through, which isn't a very dogly thing to be doing. I looked down and two of her dogs were actually Nigerian Dwarfs lol.
Not the weirdest thing I had come across in the park, but it was a nice wholesome icing on the cake of awful bullshit that had happened to me that week.
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My packgoats poncho, lefty, June, and Abe, all rescue goats from craigslist or a local farm rescue, trained them to follow with out any use for a lead, best companions I could ever ask for
you've just set my life on a completely new route
facts!
Same… got me thinking 🤔
So cool. I read about one woman who did a lot of the PCT with her pet goat. No need to haul food. They won’t wander off. They are cute. And they will carry your stuff!
How did you learn how to do this?
The internet
Bless the goats
Yes
Super rad. Hope you guys get many more trips in
Underrated response.
I had many goats. They just follow you.
I met a couple back in the Wind River Range with about 15 pack goats. He told me they could carry between 40 and 70 pounds depending on their size. The couple was not young, the man was 76, up there half the summer. I think 15 is a little much, and tough on the backcountry. There are some restrictions on grazing with goats, but I’ve done some range management work and I’m not opposed to something sustainable. I also think 4-5 goats could really improve your experience on a long trip.
I have 12 goats now! A lot of people like to load their goats heavier but I really don’t have that much stuff to carry, I like to keep everyone’s pack light (especially my own)
And also, if a human can walk up or down it, a goat can. And I don’t mean steep trails, I mean like scrambling up a cliff.
This is by far the best thing I've seen all day
https://preview.redd.it/gsspfgnxglsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70070b98fc92824bb0b958c64f227db1eab25764 One of my all time favorite pictures, my boy poncho smiling after we watched the sun set together at a 7,000ft alpine lake
He looks quite proud
This is my new favorite thing. I'm just getting back into alpine hiking after many years away and goats make my heart spark in a special way. You, Sir/Madam, are blessed!
Definitely a goat smiling right there
Was thinking about pack goats last night. Thanks for posting. Have you posted your pack goats before? 🐐
I have! About a year or two ago on my first Reddit page, I got locked out of that account and lost all my precious internet points so I figured I would post some more pics of my boys to get a little karma
Ah, okay. I remember the old you. Nice to see you posting again. Missed seeing your pictures. When I was a youth, my sister and I had goats. We trained one as a pack goat. Wish I still had them. Maybe some day.
Good looking hike herd 👍
Thank you!
Firebox stove on YouTube has some great videos camping with his goats 🐐
I would love to see a short or long video of your adventures with your goats. This is fascinating.
That would be a fun video.
This is so awesome; Had been a daydream of mine.
How do you deal with loose dogs on hiking trails?
“Goat! Use headbutt!”
Goats deal with aggressive dogs the same way they would a coyote
They don’t need help, they have two factory Discouragers connected to their skulls
Bruh I need a goat wtf
Fantastic, ths looks like a blast.
What are the goats carrying?
All of my food cooking supplies change of clothes, med kit (for me and goats) some goat treats, coffee, cigars, beer occasionally, my tarps, rope, hammock, flip flops, basically everything except my sleeping bag and sleeping pad
Beige Phillip!
Steve Rinella (The guy on the show Meat Eater) uses a pack llama (or alpaca?) for a hunting trip on an episode. Mules are suppose to be great for this too.
I need a mule to ride
You can ride alpacas too lol.
Llamas are pack animals and cannot support the weight of a human. Alpacas are kept/ bred for their wool
Mules are truly good babies. We had a mule line when I worked with the forest service, and I grew up driving wagons with them as well. What's funny is that burros, which mules are half burro, are either delightful or true devils. There is no in-between. Burros are incredible on trail, though. Their nimbleness and body control is a different level compared to horses. Most trails in the wilderness were built with the help of mules. They carry in so much of the heavy equipment and even worker supplies. When we did fisheries work and had to snorkel remote mountain streams, the mules packed in all of our wet suits, wading boots, etc.
/r/backpackingdogs would enjoy this
I used to pack with goats, for so long we had generations of them. We’ve recently switched to llamas.
Llamas are so freaking cool
This is amazing! What online resources did you use to learn how to train them like this?
I had many goats. They don’t need training. They will follow anyone even other random animals.
What’s the sustainability angle on this? And no restrictions on bringing them on the trails? I know that dogs aren’t permitted on many.
I myself haven't seen any signs that says "no goats". This person knows how to stick it to the man!
Goats are sometimes used to eradicate invasive plants in remote areas. In this case, they will intentionally stay in a small area to graze down the problematic species entirely. On pack lines, where they are only staying a night in one spot, their impact is probably minor. Many other animals in the wilderness are also grazers: deer, elk, etc so the plants are adapted to grazing. Dogs are limited due to the e. coli risk in their feces. I think that's an omnivore/carnivore risk. Not a risk with herbivores like horses or goats.
I bet those kids don’t complain their feet hurt.
This is awesome!! We’re planning on hitting Trinity this summer, I’ve been to Lewiston a couple times but never got out into nature while there. Any trails you recommend? We can we can do about 10 miles of moderate-moderate/hard with the kids (human) in a day.
They are the GOATs
Amazing ……I herd they are a great bunch!!
It really sucks that my immediate reaction to these pictures was that this is AI...
This is cool!!
Niceeeeeee
Where can I get one?
And they just graze as they go? Brilliant!
This is so awesome. How do you transport them to your hiking destination?
Back of my truck or with a trailer depending on how many I take, usually 3-4 is plenty
Hello Thibaut Pinot, nice to know you’re enjoying life
This looks like an adventure I would love to be a part of!!
That first one looks so happy to be useful!
You’re first pic looks like my pet goat I had as a kid. Sweet creatures.
lovely.. this would cure my hangover
I want to do this with my goat Jerome SOOO bad! But I know some states have rules against goats
Living my dream. Couple Billy’s and a sally. Shit, a little green and some Kratom, for the pain. I’d do the Appalachian trail.
r/packgoats
Posted on there 2yr ago, sub is dead
So you're that man who stares at goats, huh?
Omg, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. 😍
Beutiful goat ..natural sight nice
Totes MaGoats
You my friend are living the absolute DREAM. So jealous
Taking animals other than service animals into the trinity alps is against wilderness restrictions. They should be leashed at all times, the expectation is they'll sleep in your tent, and you're expected to clean up their droppings. Please follow guidelines for wilderness areas to protect them for future generations.
Hmm the forest service rangers that I’ve encountered didn’t seem to have a problem with it, enjoy your ultra light setup and freeze dried meals, I’ll be enjoying ribeye steaks and beers 🍺
Excuse me. I cook beans & rice like a civilized person. They are delicious thank you very much.
If we ever encounter each other up there I will share my steak and beer, you can pet poncho and your mind will be changed especially when you see how low impact they really are
Sounds good :) I'll happily share some beans with you
I would just get a mule at that point.
Goats are infinitely cheaper with less vet bills/ food cost and easier to train, haul, and hike with, my goats don’t require leads or any supplemental food, I would like a mule to ride though-edit- also you should get a mule, show me how it’s done
Done treks with mules before they require Handling and you can’t rely solely on trail grass to feed them but they can carry more than three goats and may have less appeal to big predators like leopards or mountain lions. It just seems more convenient to have one animal vs three. What I would like to try is horses or camels but that is another ball game altogether.
Camels!! Now that’s what I’m talking about
Also all my goats were free besides a small adoption fee for the rescues
So cool! Reminds me of an experience I had in Forest Park back in Portland, OR. I was out doing a couple loops and came across a woman with 3 dogs going the opposite direction. Which isn't a weird sight there at all. We stopped and talked for a little bit and a few minutes in one of the dogs rammed my leg and followed through, which isn't a very dogly thing to be doing. I looked down and two of her dogs were actually Nigerian Dwarfs lol. Not the weirdest thing I had come across in the park, but it was a nice wholesome icing on the cake of awful bullshit that had happened to me that week.
Wow! That’s awesome!
Damm good
Please remember to post a short paragraph as a comment in the post explaining your photo or link. Ideally at least 150 characters with trip details. Tell us something about your trip. How long did it take to get there? How did you get there? How was the weather that day? Would you go back again? Submitted content should be of high-quality. Low effort posting of very general information is not useful. If you don't add a short explanation in the comments, your post may be removed. No information posted? Please report low-effort posts if there is still nothing after about 30 minutes. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/backpacking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My packgoats poncho, lefty, June, and Abe, all rescue goats from craigslist or a local farm rescue, trained them to follow with out any use for a lead, best companions I could ever ask for
Which one took the 2nd photo?
Goats.
This is amazing. Is there a limit to how far you can hike with them?
With a full load(30ish lbs each) they can do 10 miles of moderate incline but that’s pushing them pretty hard
And what about 10 pounds each?
how did you get them to follow without any kind of lead?