“NEW” Packsaddle
Since I left the Mountain regions of Northern Idaho and Northeastern Oregon, I have been thinking back fondly to my days of packing horses and mules into wild and scenic parts of the West. i expressed how I missed slinging a load on a pack horse to my uncle who exclaimed “Well heck, I have a pack saddle in my garage I never use, you might as well have it.”
This Saturday I received it and gave it a good goin’ through. It’s a Sawbuck saddle and the leather was in pretty good shape. After a coat of Neatsfoot oil, it was in better shape. I couldn’t resist, and caught up my saddle horse, Shorty to see how he would take to being a pack horse.
You can watch the 40 picture plus slide show of Shorty getting his first pack load on Photobucket.com
So now I have another tool in the arsenal for getting out and getting back. I figure Shorty gives me an additional 150 pound payload. That means that if I am able to go on foot, shorty could easily pack 50 # of his own feed, 600 feet of electric fence, posts and energizer plus my backpacking camp. If I am successful then he would fill the Meat packing role while I shouldered my pack for the walk out.
Much of this project was spurred on by the discussions that Phillip at the Hog Blog and I have had of late about a “single horse” hunting trip, and whether it was feasible. I hope I can get a chance to try it out on a trip this Fall in the California backcountry. Whaddya say Phil?
That looks pretty good, John!
Actually, if the timing works out and you’re interested, there are a couple of places on the Golden Ram properties that are supposed to be ideal for horseback hunts. It would probably be base-camp rather than pack-in, but it could be a good opportunity to try some things out.
Lots of great wilderness areas out there too.
I’m game.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Where at in Northeast Oregon? My family has hunted in Hell’s Canyon for over 40 years - spend a lot of time up in the Wallowas, too. Purty country up there. Good looking pack you got going there. I’d say if a guy isn’t too picky about how his camp is set up, a one horse per person horseback hunt is plenty feasible. That’s all we ever take into Hell’s Canyon - save some weight too by hobbling the horses instead of packing all that fencing stuff. A lot of times, we just tie them up with about a fifty foot rope or so - they’re pretty good horses (Norwegian Fjords) and have never had a problem with them on these trips. There’s just something about those pack in hunts - makes it extra special.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:46 pm