He's kidding, I presume, but I do glance quickly at one of our pack animals anyway.
In his general view of the palace (Stephens 1843, vol. 1, frontispiece) Frederick Catherwood captured a moment of heavy traffic in front of the palace, made up of horsemen, porters, two caches or litters, pack animals, and a hunter, all heading north.
A half century later, Anthony Howarth's "People of the Wind" (Milestone, $39.95) crosses much the same ground with the Babadi, an arm of the Bhaktiari, as they drive a million sheep, goats and pack animals into great boulder fields, across icy turquoise rivers, upward into mountain passes and down to vast expanses of pasture.
We could also have gone on a trail ride or on a "take a llama to lunch" trek, which uses llamas as pack animals, browsed the two dozen art galleries, or attended the Sun Valley Summer Symphony's free open-air concerts.
"We always intended to allow them to have one litter because they are social pack animals that live in family groups so it is better for their welfare," Ms Gilbert said.
The mud and the slushy ice of the two routes proved exhausting, killing or incapacitating the pack animals and creating chaos amongst the travellers.
The majority of the estimated 59 million donkeys worldwide are found in developing countries and are mostly used as draught or pack animals [ 1].
Horses and pack animals are permitted on almost all trails in the park, however there are only five designated backcountry camping locations for pack animals and these campsites are far from the high mountain passes.
Teenagers are pack animals.
