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 most trips, 30 lb/person is allotted for personal gear (clothes & camping gear, including tent and pad). The exception to this is the minimalist Goat Rocks trek, where the llamas only carry 25 lb/client. Light weight (< 3 lb) high quality rental sleeping bags are available for $22/trip. This leaves about 20 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.
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, or Scouting-style treks. Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated!
We provide 2 guides for a group of 4 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 Aid card (at a minimum)
- 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 and hunting trips, where we transport gear in and out for you.
What We Don’t Do
We don’t offer trips over weekends, the trails are busy then and our Operating Permit with the USFS does not allow weekend trips. We also don’t offer llama rental services, there are too many risks.
Pompey Peak | 3 days, 2 nights
Juniper Ridge | 4 days, 3 nights
Upper Lewis River | 2 days/1 night, or 3 days, 2 nights
Vanson Lake Loop | 5 days, 4 nights
Goat Rocks | 5 days, 4 nights
Drop Camps | We transport your gear
