We provide guided backcountry trips using pack llamas to carry gear. We provide the kitchen, food and cooking, as well as tent, sleeping pad and camp chairs. On the trips, 25 lb/person is allotted for personal gear (clothes & camping gear, including tent and pad). Sleeping bags are available upon request if you don’t have one, but it’s usually better if you bring yours. This leaves about 15 lb/person for personal items on most trips.
Our trips are in mountainous areas, which means participants should be in good physical condition. The trips are 2 to 5 days in length, mostly in non-wilderness areas of the beautiful Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Olympic National Park.
We practice a high level of Leave-No-Trace during the trips. We plan ahead, pack out every scrap of trash, camp on the most durable surfaces available, use cat-holes (or WAG bags in wilderness areas) for human waste and manage our llamas to minimize any evidence of activity.
On the trips, we provide food, flitered water and meal preparation. Meals include fresh food for the first 3 days and dutch oven cooking if fire danger allows, except the minimalist Goat Rocks trek. Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated!
We provide 2 guides for a group of 6 clients, allowing better management of a health issue or injury, particularly if evacuation is required.
We maintain the following competencies for each trip:
- Wilderness First Responder card
- Washington Food Handler card
- Leave-No-Trace (LNT) training and ethics
- Trained, fit, athletic llamas ready for the trail
- Trip planning and logistics; we have good lists and experience
- Backcountry cooking with Dutch oven, weather allowing
- Reliable equipment for transportation, reliable trip gear
We also provide Drop Camps for fall outings, where we transport gear in and out for you.
What We Don’t Do
We don’t typically offer trips over weekends, the trails are busy then. We also don’t offer llama rental services, there are too many risks. We refer any requests for Day Hikes to http://www.topstallfarm.com in Roy, Washington