Our tourguide on the rainy hike to Tomales Point mentioned her company has taken “llama hikes,” which translates to: going camping in the backcounty and letting llamas carry most of the gear.

Here’s a Usenet thread on hiking w/llamas. Sounds very cool; apparently the animals are adept at noticing other wildlife — like bears — long before people do. Also, they aren’t hooved beasts, so they don’t tear up a trail like a horse does.

Of course you’d have to feed ’em along the way, but it would sure beat the heck out of carrying all that weight on your shoulders.

Update: I found a couple Llama related sites: Backcountry Llama and Llama Web, where the site’s keeper describes how a llama can do more than merely haul the heavy stuff:

On another occasion, I nearly fell over during a river crossing, but my llama Pumpernickel lept in next to me, and instead of rushing past (the normal mode for llama river crossing), he stopped next to me. I lurched over and grabbed the pack saddle to steady myself. Then he waited until I was ready to walk on and just walked beside me through the water. At the next crossing, instead of waiting for me to walk into the river, he stepped right into the river with me and walked right next to me so I could steady myself. Pumpernickel (who was our first llama) was a really impressive pack llama.”

How’s that for a handy trail companion?