Fellow packers,
The fact that this group proposes to cut corners by using Ralide, plastic buckle together gizmos hints at a much larger problem. Managing pack animals on a long trip requires many other kinds of experience. As an example the stock for the proposed trip is coming from many different places. These animals will likely not have been intoduced before they are tied together and asked to go down the trail. I would give a $100 to see a video of their first day. There will be packs and dunnage strewn for miles, with some animals on their backs in a heap, and some running back to the stock trailers.
Keeping backs from getting sore and keeping weight on a long trip are other examples that take experience. They will encounter rock slides, bears, mountain lions, darkness, blizzards lots of other stuff. Swimming a pack string or jumping logs in the dark with a pack string is not for the uninitiated.
I have been in Texas. My brother lived outside Austin for 20 years and my ex-wife is a UT graduate. Texas boys are good ropers from all that arena time. Some are good with cattle, but they come from flat hot country. A summer wrangling dudes surely has opened their eyes.
They would be well advised to spend some time with some people that know how to pack for a few weeks before embarking on such an ambitious venture. Maybe they can find a packer to go with them for the first week or two.
I am disappointed that more people can't see the contributions made by modern mustangs to the horse world. They are actually a great choice for a trip such as the one being proposed. I just hope that the boys from Texas get some help before they head out.
