I probablly should have spelled out a little more detail from the start. My partner and myself are both in our fifties, we can both still carry a decent sized pack into National Forrest, but were thinking how much more enjoyable it would be with an animals to help us carry gear in, and animals out, six or seven miles.
I have a friend who has a ranch and deals in livestock quite a bit, and has owned a lot of animals, cattle, horses and mules. My partner and I were thinking about buying him a mule that he would let us borrow. He has the trailer, room to put him, and also knows animals and has trained mules before.
I was trying to get a handle on what would be the best animal to follow a couple of guys in six or seven miles, then we would approach him and see how he felt about us buying him a mule or other pack animal. I don't think he hunts, but his son has expressed an interest in going with us. He might already have an animal we could use, but I would rather offer to buy one we could borrow for the next fifteen years, then just ask to borrow his.
I'm sure he would be willing to teach us about the animal and the problems we could expect with it.
