Our Ritual of the Packing of the Llamas
Jul. 28: I write to you from the comfort of the Best Western in John Day. We hit the trail toward Halfway around 11am. Even with an early bird group, it takes about two hours to gather and saddle up and pack the llamas.
Our route out from Crater Lake involved mostly retracing our steps except for a small stretch on a parallel trail. As breathtaking as the views were, I held back from taking pictures. I knew in the end, they’d all look the same as the ones on the way in. Needless to say, we all were relieved to get to the spring that bubbled out of the side of an otherwise arid and hot mountain side. There were dozens, if not hundreds of butterflies fluttering around. It was obvious that they loved the moisture as well and told their friends and family about it.
The hike was hot and rugged and often involved hopping from rock to rock. This being said, we hiked an extra mile more than we did day one and it took us about half an hour less. The hike was mostly a decline in elevation, but there certainly was some up and down. I got so dusty and sweaty on the hike out, it was hard to believe that just 24 hours earlier, I was clean. It’s funny, but hiking in, we didn’t recall the downhill parts. So when we hiked out and hit uphill sections, we said “hey we didn’t have the luxury of going downhill a few days ago.”
Spectacular Views Every Way We Looked
The bus and truck were parked in a way that was advantageous to loading up the llamas since they backed up into a loading ramp. Yet, by doing so, the entrance of the parking lot was blocked. A man named Ray who had just moved to Halfway, fresh in from Idaho was ready to leave, but couldn’t. Ray ended up helping to get the llamas loaded up. He just jumped right in like one of the gang and I heard him and Raz chatting a bit. I think in this neck of the woods, time moves more slowly and community members form bonds in these types of situations. I experienced a lot of this sort of thing when I lived in New Mexico.
Humans in the Front, Llamas in the Back
Our descent in the bus was slow, and I don’t believe the speedometer went above five miles per hour until we were back on level ground. Then we picked up the pace to fifteen miles per hour. Raz entertained us with stories of errant llamas and lost campers. I guess after being immersed in llamas for decades, some llama drama is inevitable. But, never fear, no camper or llama was ever lost with serious consequences. We all laughed picturing these scenarios. Clark is the most adventurous llama. He ran away and survived for a couple months on his own, before being returned to Raz. He is famous near and far or, at least, near and far in the Halfway area.
Raz also taught us that the word Wallowa comes from the Nez Pierce. It was a pointy tripod device (that resembled a mountain peak), that the native tribes used to catch the salmon that were spawning into what is now Wallowa Lake.
Back at the ranch, the unloading process went quickly and efficiently and Raz offered to show the baby llamas to us. But Dan and I had a long trip so we gathered our stuff and said our thank yous and moseyed on down the road.
More Llamas Back at the Ranch
We had an 8.5 hour drive (with no stops), and wanted to split up the long haul over tonight and tomorrow. Towns with hotels (or towns in general) are few and far between in this part of the world. And believe me you – I was thrilled beyond belief to get to the Best Western in John Day and do some laundry and do a thorough scrub down. So here we are, blogging from John Day, Oregon. Which by the way, has a fascinating museum you can get a tour of if you happen to be here someday. It’s the Kam Wah Chung Heritage Site. I have done it in the past, it’s awesome.
We took the long car ride to recount some of our highlights. That is always a funny task, since an engaging trip is comprised of back to back incredible moments, almost all worthy of honoring in some fashion. But some moments stand out and some things warrant more discussion. Anyway, we talked about this unique style of travel (a guided tour with pack animals) and compared with other travel we have engaged in, together and alone. And while it’s not for everyone, it really does cater to a few niches. Those who have backpacked in the past and now want most of their load carried. Those who have not backpacked, but want to wet their appetite for doing so. Those who want to support a traditional way of living, using pack animals. Those who are open minded and seeking a unique type of experience.
So if you think you fall into any of the categories I just mentioned, then start doing some research about where you live (or places you want to go) and go have fun with the llamas. . . . .
At Summit Point with the Blue Mountains in the Background