What we can see on the Track the Hikers page indicates the Trip 2 team is near Anderson Lake.
Llama Amos has carried Pass to Pass hikers’ gear for several years and yesterday created some excitement. He took off after a muddy trail slip and Pass to Pass Board President Brian Lorenson tried to retrieve him.
A little help from new friends
Through hikers whose trail names are Bubbles and Rocket found Amos and brought him back to camp. We are so appreciative! It’s rare that a llama takes off.
Bubbles, from Israel, and Rocket, from Seattle, are trail buddies who have been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail the last four months from Mexico. The through hikers met Bill’s wife Nadean at the Chinook Pass trailhead as she waited for Bill to hike out. They relayed the story of Amos’s run and Nadean fed them apples, oranges, cherry tomatoes, chips, cookies, and brownies, and rewarded each of them with a Pass to Pass stocking cap. Bill also gave them his trekking poles since Bubbles broke one of his. Bubbles and Rocket then set off to Stevens Pass and then Canada.
Learning about llamas
By now the Trip 2 team is mastering saddling, leading, and caring for the llamas. Each Parkinson’s hiker can put 25 pounds of gear on a llama. Support hikers carry their own gear. Each llama has a pack saddle fit specifically for them and carries a matched pair of panniers (saddle bags). For a llama’s health and comfort, it’s important the panniers are equal in weight so the load is even on both sides. A hiker is assigned to weigh the panniers each day before the llamas are loaded.
Llamas spend the night unsaddled and staked out on long ropes around the campsite. They eat grain—which they also carry in their panniers—and can graze on non-poisonous plants. Hikers fill collapsible water buckets for the llamas. On this hike there is a lake near each evening’s planned campsite. Llamas are in the camel family and do not need to drink every day.
Setting up camp
For the hikers, settling in for the night can include digging a latrine, setting up tents, inflating sleeping pads, filtering water, and boiling water to rehydrate freeze-dried dinners. The team works together to complete these tasks. Most likely hikers will then pull up a log or a camp chair, reflect on the day, talk about tomorrow’s itinerary, and get to know one another better.
