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Special thanks to "Charlie Horse" for donating his artwork for this announcement and the Tshirts! 
Let’s gather and celebrate Goat-Packing!
North American Pack Goat Association NAPgA Rendezvous Thursday June 25-Sunday June 28
Who: Pack goat enthusiasts of all ages, goats welcome too! Dogs allowed if kept under control at all times.
Dates: Thursday June 25-Sunday June 28
Cost: Free! Donations to NAPgA gladly accepted.
Location: 11 miles north of Island Park Idaho, and 3.4 miles west off Highway 20. Google Maps link: 2015 Rendezvous location
Camping/access: This is a primitive camping area. No hookups. Restrooms (portable outhouses) will be provided. There is no running water, some will be provided for humans and goats, or you can bring your own. This is a large flat open area with lots of pine trees and camping sites. Access is good for cars, trailers and RVs (gravel road). There is plenty of goat browse. Weed free hay is also available, must notify http://kentdaniels@msn.com ahead of time. Firewood can be gathered adjacent to the camping area. THIS IS BEAR COUNTRY! Please see link for camping and food storage in Bear Country: Bear Ethics
Other Lodging Available: Red Rock RV Park (hookups), Drift Lodge, Island Park Village, Macks Inn, all within 10 miles
Typical Weather: daytime highs in the 70s, nighttime lows in the 30s.
Cell phone service: (ATT and Verizon) available
Nearby Amenities: Island Park (11 miles) has gas, groceries, ice
Island Park Amenities
Highlights:
NAPgA Country Store/Auction--This is a good opportunity to support the biggest fund raiser for the NAPgA as well as get some cool items and pack gear for a great price. Donations will be gladly accepted! To donate items, contact: http://kentdaniels@msn.com
Featured speakers, John Mionczynski, “Father of Goat-Packing.” Also Dr. Maggie Highland will be presenting her latest research findings regarding disease transmission between domestic sheep and bighorn sheep and the implications for goat-packing.
Educational sessions--proper packing techniques, goat care, backpacking and goat-packing tips and tricks, and more!
Preregister by emailing http://kentdaniels@msn.com with # of humans and # of goats. Contact phone after 4PM Mountain time: 208-351-7111
Tentative 2015 Rendezvous Schedule will be updated as more details emerge- June 25 Thursday--Registration. On own or a local hike. Maps available.
5PM-6PM NAPgA Country Store open, (proceeds benefit NAPgA) stop in and buy some cool stuff!
- June 26 Friday--Registration continues
9AM-4PM Work project, Clear 4 miles of trail (Downed trees and brush) from Sawtell peak road to Rock Creek Basin.
4PM-6PM Country Store open (proceeds benefit NAPgA) stop in and buy some cool stuff!
6PM Social Hour/Potluck Dinner/Potluck Dessert?
Guest Speaker (tentative): Dr. Maggie Highland, Agricultural Research Station Washington State University. Domestic – Bighorn Sheep Interface. Problem Overview and Research.
7PM-9PM Country Store open(proceeds benefit NAPgA) stop in and buy some cool stuff!
7:30 pm Evening speaker Randy Gravatt-Naturalist , Wolf & Grizzly Discovery in West Yellowstone. Bears & wolves/bear spray demonstration
- June 27 Saturday
Breakfast
12 PM-2PM, 4PM-6PM Country Store open
Goat Weighing
Games--games, obstacle course, “bonded goat.” Prize to who can collect the most trash
Classes--hoof trimming, GPS, map/compass navigation. Dehydrating food for backpacking. Making natural cordage from dogbane. Forest Service wildlife trailer, bear claws and paws and animal skins
6 PM Potluck Dinner/Auction of unsold items from Country Store
7 PM Speaker John Mionczynski, Author of “The Pack Goat.”
- June 28 Sunday--
Breakfast, pack up,clean up
Special Offer! NAPgA Tshirt, only $25. Show up to the Rendezous making the ultimate "fashion statement! For more info, contact Charlie Jennings http://vigilguy@gmail.com

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Oh gosh... completely spaced this! Do I need health papers for my goats to come into Idaho?
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06-22-2015, 12:04 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-22-2015, 03:14 PM by Saph.)
The short answer is "yes."
http://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/current/02/0801.pdf
An example of a "large animal health certificate" is found in the following document (p 35):
http://extension.uidaho.edu/teton/files/...Manual.pdf
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I don't have time to do justice to the Rendy tonight, but I want to post one picture that was supposed to go up last week before we left. I thought I accidentally deleted it, but lo-and-behold! when I imported all the Rendy photos this evening, the batch of deleted photos was somehow still on the camera!!
This is Cuzco the night before we left. I was preparing to load the trailer with gear, and the moment I opened the door Cuzco jumped in and stood there with an eager look on his face that said plain as day, "I see I have a private apartment this time. Close up! I'm ready to leave immediately!" 
He did great at the Rendy and the four days of travel there and back didn't seem to bother him much at all. He had a great appetite the whole time and only got a little stiff. He was not as tired as he usually is after a long trip. I'm thrilled to see him feeling this well.
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Hey, y'all. It was great meeting up and hanging out! Can't wait to see your pics!
-Phil
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Awesome! It looks like it was a ton of fun. I wish I could have been there! I recognize Amy's goats from YouTube videos, they are impressive.
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Great photos, Nancy! It was absolutely wonderful to meet folks like Nancy, Irene (Saph), Curtis, Charles (Vigilguy), Ken (TOU), Kent (Kentd71), etc. and put faces to the names of all the great folks I've met online and meet their beautiful goats. It was also fun to catch up with folks I met at the 2013 Rendy like Clay and Charlotte Zimmerman, Larry Robinson, and Dwite Sharp. We also got to know a lot of great folks who we've never met before in real life or online. We were thrilled to be able to meet John Mionczynski for the first time and hear his fascinating stories and listen to him play "goat songs" on his squeezebox at the campfire on Saturday night.
There were a ton of people at this Rendy, and it was really well organized. Thanks to all you hard-working folks who made that happen! Kent chose an incredible location. It was roomy but shady, there was lots of forage for the goats (I didn't have to feed hay at all), there was a lake nearby so we could swim, and the trail we "cleared" was beautiful. Great job Kent! Irene did a great job bringing it all together and getting the store organized. The talks were all interesting and we made off with some really nice stuff from the store and auction.
Thanks for a great 2015 NAPgA Rendezvous, you guys!
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Before I begin, I want to add that the weather on this trip was incredible. It was not too hot, not too cold, not windy, and it didn't rain or hail or pelt us with bugs.
The first thing Phil and I did on the way to the Rendy was get our trailer fixed. We discovered that morning that the lights weren't working and we had to stop off at the trailer repair place to have the man look at the wiring. The goats had to be unloaded and tied out of the way while we waited.
Friday was a fun day. We had about three miles of trail to look over and remove obstacles. Nancy brought her beautiful Oberpackers. Sadly, her biggest boy, Scout, had to be put down recently so there was only Hobbes and Cruiser to do the packing for Nancy and John. They purchased a new little Ober at the Rendy and brought him along to watch the fun and learn how big goats do things. His name is Blazer. Isn't he cute?
We got to a beautiful overlook where we stopped for a short break. Cuzco was a champ that day. He carried the chainsaw in one pannier which was balanced with gas, oil, and me and Phil's lunch and water in the other pannier. He carried around 35 lbs. that day and he never missed a beat. He was proud as punch to have such an important job.
Cuzco's Rambo shot o' the day.
Phil found a golf ball on the mountaintop which he practiced twirling on this finger.
Phil tried to get Finn to pose and look noble for the camera, but this goat was on the move and didn't want to be restrained for anything!
My younger crew was loud during certain parts of this hike--especially Sputnik. Then he would set the others off. My "Three Stooges" kept getting excited and running ahead to join other people and goats, but then they would lose where we were and start bawling their heads off. It didn't help that Phil and I walked separately most of the time, so the boys were perplexed about who to follow. It's NOT ok for the herd to get separated like that! Cuzco, on the other hand, was totally chill. He's old and wise and he knows we'll all find each other eventually.
It was a lovely trail, but there was a lot of up and down and very little shade for most of it. The views, however, were spectacular. The best part of this hike was taking time to talk with the other hikers and getting know them better as we went along.
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I love this photo of Greg and Amy and their whole crew. They had three big boys with magnificent horns, and one little rescue to tag along, plus the dog. They were great fun to talk to and it was a pleasure getting to know them on this hike.
Sputnik's butt aside, I loved this mountain with its terraced slopes. Apparently the snow would build up and then melt all at once and flood the plain below every spring, so terraces were dug in the mountainside in the early 1900's to slow down the water flow.
I can't remember whose goat this was, but he looked very classy with the saw perched on top!
Look at that grin on Cuzco's face!
We didn't have many logs to clear, so when I finally broke out the chainsaw to remove one it was a major event.
Cuzco was thrilled to have the all-important job of carrying the chainsaw, but when we turned back toward home I decided that there was no need for the old fellow to wear himself out--not when there were several much younger goats on the hike who were perfectly capable of taking his load. So we gave the chainsaw to Romeo to take back to the trailhead. He did an excellent job. Cuzco still wore his pack so he wouldn't feel snubbed, but he carried it mostly empty. I love the toothy grin on that Ober's face as he looks at the camera!
I can't resist ending without a picture of Cuzco striking a regal pose. He had every right to be proud of himself that day. He carried a respectable load on a hot day over rough terrain and never lagged or complained even though he'd spent two days previous riding in a trailer. What a good boy!
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