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In mid-September, we volunteered to staff an aid station during a 100-mile ultra marathon, the Idaho Mountain Trail Ultra Festival (IMTUF 100), near McCall Idaho (http://imtuf100.com). Our 4 boys were joined by fellow goat packer Harriet Aiken, with her 4 goats. Our 8 goats packed in all the supplies for the runners, including snacks, 1st aid items, camp stools & chairs, for those who wanted to sit down & take a short break.
Our aid station was located at mile 75 of the 100-mile course. We hiked in 5 miles one-way, up 2000' and down 1000', where we set up our remote aid station & waited for the runners to arrive. The first runners showed up around 1130 PM & about 60 more came through during the course of the night. The runners really appreciated our efforts, & seeing the goats was a real morale boost, especially after they had been running for nearly 100 miles. I took photos of each runner with our goats, as they came through, & some of the folks are even using my photos for their Facebook profile photos.
The next morning, we packed everything up & hiked back out.
I placed a donation jar at the finish line/after race party area, & forwarded the proceeds to the North American Pack Goat Association (NAPgA).
Although we were quite tired at the end of our shift, it was extremely fun, not to mention a great chance to spread the word about the benefits & capabilities of pack goats & using goats as pack stock in so many situations!
Feel free to contact me if you ever want to do something similar to this in your local area--Saph
Our aid station was located at mile 75 of the 100-mile course. We hiked in 5 miles one-way, up 2000' and down 1000', where we set up our remote aid station & waited for the runners to arrive. The first runners showed up around 1130 PM & about 60 more came through during the course of the night. The runners really appreciated our efforts, & seeing the goats was a real morale boost, especially after they had been running for nearly 100 miles. I took photos of each runner with our goats, as they came through, & some of the folks are even using my photos for their Facebook profile photos.
The next morning, we packed everything up & hiked back out.
I placed a donation jar at the finish line/after race party area, & forwarded the proceeds to the North American Pack Goat Association (NAPgA).
Although we were quite tired at the end of our shift, it was extremely fun, not to mention a great chance to spread the word about the benefits & capabilities of pack goats & using goats as pack stock in so many situations!
Feel free to contact me if you ever want to do something similar to this in your local area--Saph