potato ranch llama packers

As a hiker in my 60's, I am not as eager to carry a backpack as I once was. I've used mules before to haul gear in and out, but that restricts us to a base camp. This year, my group of seven (ages 55 - 71) wanted to hike across the Northern Yosemite canyon country. We decided to try llamas. The results exceeded expectations.The owner gave us a comprehensive three-hour basic course in llama wrangling. The next day we were ready to set off for a week, accompanied by six llamas. A llama can carry about 60 pounds. Six were sufficient to carry all our gear, along with a few luxuries. A glass of wine at 10,000 feet tastes great.Llamas are gentle beasts. Yes they spit, but rarely, and at each other, not at people (unless said people get in the way of llamas having a "discussion"). They can live off the land, although we were given some llama pellets, which llamas seem to like as much as kids like candy. They do take time. We got better as the week went on, but it takes 45 minutes or so at the end of the day to stake the llamas in a meadow, unload them, and make sure they have water. In the morning, the packs need to be balanced (both panniers need to weigh about the same). Once on the trail, the llamas had as much endurance as we did, and nicely adjusted their pace to whomever was leading them.The owner delivered the llamas to the trail head and picked us up at the end of the week. He even had a pleasant surprise for us as we hiked out.Altogether, this was a great way to get to country that I'd no longer want to attempt with a backpack. Strongly recommended, especially for aging hikers.