Backpacking with goats | Oregon Field Guide

Backpacking with goats? Yes! Long-time backpackers reveal how goats helped them better enjoy the backcountry of the western Cascades.
This Oregon Field Guide story premiered in February 2000. Produced by Eric Cain
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#packgoats #OregonFieldGuide #OPB #Oregon #PacificNorthWest

[@SamSeth]

Hey, thanks for uploading some of these old segments. Reminds me of watching Oregon field guide as a kid

[@andycloud1]

Thanks for uploading this vintage segments. Very nostalgic. 2000 doesn't seem so long ago, but when you see it, it does.

[@lanecountybigfooters5716]

Oh my, they are cute and useful! A good life for these boys that they otherwise would not have.

[@wild-radio7373]

❤OMG I just love Oregon and our people 😊

[@suzettecalleja3122]

I've been watching the gentlemen on Fire box stove with his goat for years. 😊

[@Sadhu1]

Such a sweet story.

[@MikeH-sg2ue]

Sounds great! I’d love a bit of help carrying the load these days. With cougars, bears, & wolves around, it would present some challenge to the hike! Play carefully, & smile often!

[@brianjones6500]

=] Normally I'd argue with Oregon Field Guide. Today I'll just smile.

[@DanitaReynolds]

We saw these goats a good many years ago in the Wallowa Mountains going up Lostine Valley trail to Mirror Lake. It was the first time I had seen pack goats and was really impressed. Though I worried about them eating the plants around those lakes. There were areas marked off from use because of over use but goats can't read. Also I wondered how the owners protected their goats from cougars and bears.

[@serenity9633]

Nice video! Would you mind if I shared it?

[@shelleypilcher3812]

Where can one get the goat packing book they wrote and talked about?

[@ericc5329]

The book is “Practical Goatpacking” by Carolyn Eddy. I believe it is out of print now, but you can probably find a copy online. Carolyn passed away in 2018, after helping to found the still-active North American Packgoat Association..

[@spicyroads]

This looks like it was filmed 30 years ago

[@andycloud1]

It nearly was! 24 years ago.

[@Shoop...]

Mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes seem problematic. Do the goats get their own tent to sleep in at night for protection?

[@thePrisoner1000]

It's pretty rare that predators will come around a campsite like that.

[@matthew3136]

Dogs are along for help with that.

[@Shoop...]

Dogs are usually the targets so I'm not sure what help they would be.

[@lanecountybigfooters5716]

I would imagine that they'd make a lot of noise if a predator was around, and hopefully their owners brought protection along.

[@Shoop...]

This is the problem with human imagination, it is just guessing. Predators attack with surprise. They don't engage in 'fair' face to face duels. Mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes are highly intelligent and crafty, beyond simple reason. When people fail to protect their dogs at night in the backwoods, their dogs disappear.

[@professorsogol5824]

Puma concolor?

[@repriser9876]

Animal abuse!!!

[@user-xz8bi1yj6b]

Well, this may be an unwelcome comment....but watching those women heft those packs onto the goats - they looked pretty heavy for such sturdy, but SMALL, animals to carry. Couldn't those ladies have carried a fair portion of that weight themselves??!!

[@rowandawson9750]

They evenly distribute the weight, and goats aren't very delicate animals. The women both said they had injuries that prevented them from carrying much