What kind of terrain are you talking about hiking in on? If riding isn't a prerequisite, all you want is a critter for company and to haul your animals out that's a pretty easy find. A mule broke to pack and not ride will be cheaper than one to do both. But that being said, if you're not able to dally the lead rope around your horn and drag if necessary to get him started, ...
As you can see by the thread so far there are many many variables. But either way you go, if all you want is to pack not pack/ride, that should make your options cheaper and easier. Training one to pack is a much shorter, and easier and therefor cheaper option.
Just my $.02
Thanks, ya, that is pretty much our thinking. We both have some small physical limitations that lead to kinked backs and a sore knee or two, nothing that would limits us from hiking, however the thought of losing a heavy pack when going from say 7000 to 10,000 is mighty tempting. Most of our hunting is on the Sierra on National Forest land, no wheels allowed, not even a cart.
We usually hunt 200 miles from home, pre-scouting most of the time is not possible. Sometimes water isn't where it is supposed to be, trying to take extra water in case the creek on the topo it dry, can be a back breaker. Just having an animal to take in 15 gallons of water and a few other things could be a godsend. Then losing the water and replacing it with meat would make for a lot easier trip.
