Haul Road with pack stock

[squirrel]

Im curious as to why it is never mentioned. 5 miles is nothing with stock to carry the poundage. As I see it there is the logistics issue of getting the stock there, huge expense, fuel, stops for grazing +/or supplemental feeding. a square bale of 4th cutting costs what in Tok?

2nd would be the tundra walk itself. Animals to carry the weight and caribou handle it quite well, albeit with very specialised hooves.

Have any of you tried it or witnessed some one who has? Now coaxing 4 llamas into a Raft over the sag would add a real wrinkle... maybe goats would be the alternative.

Just wintertime musings, but I think it would be a kick in the ass to try, do polar bears floss with llama yarn?

 

[YellCoAR]

Watching this one. I think I know the answer but not very experienced with pack animals.

 

[Chumsnagger]

I have seen pack animal trailers and camps at the chandalar shelf airstrip across the road from the DOT camp on the south side of Atigun pass. This was 15-20 years ago.

 

[mooster]

Would think there'd be a huge risk to animals legs in the open tundra.

 

[Behlftball]

That tundra is brutal, plus the sinkholes. Id like to see it happen

 

[Beendare]

Stock? One more food source I suppose. That tundra sucks- literally. .

Fun fact: the Dalton hwy used to be closed to the public past the Yukon river bridge due to hundreds of miles of nothing- only open to rig trucks. Break down, good luck. AK opened it up to travel about 20 (?) yrs ago- i cant remember exactly- travel at your own risk and bring everything you need. Seems to me a candy bar was $6 at the Yukon station.

We think 50 miles is a long way between services in the lower 48- thats nothing up there.

 

[rayporter]

there are pics in the pack forum somewhere of horses up to their belly stuck. they had to be unloaded and pried out. i imagine this would happen multiple times on a five mile trip in a lot of places.......
if they don't break a leg,

 

[BadEarth]

I have seen pack animal trailers and camps at the chandalar shelf airstrip across the road from the DOT camp on the south side of Atigun pass. This was 15-20 years ago.

I was up for caribou last fall and there were stock trailers in the same spot. I hiked in for sheep up the chandalar shelf a few years back and we saw horse tracks a long ways back there

 

[squirrel]

Interesting responses guys all stock bring different skills to the table. Personally I would think horses would be the least capable in the tundra of commonly used animals. I think the most likely to succeed would be llamas based on their similar features of the caribou. But the caribou do have a slightly enlarged hoof over the llamas, but with slightly more body weight also.

I do know it would make for a grand adventure to find out. The question is: do I bring my 5 best so that it works... or my 5 worst in case they get et???

 

[ruralnv]

The only down side to pack-goats would be the abundance of water. Most goats hate to get wet.

 

[Bambistew]

There are a few guys I know with horses that hunt, but not on the tundra. Plenty of drier areas to hunt than the tussok fields.

Maybe Joe Wants @wantj43 will chime in. I think he knows a thing or two about running horses around in the Brooks.

Pack goats are a no go for much of Alaska. I believe they are prohibited for hunting sheep/goats/muskox. Could be a bit of a gray area if you're hunting in areas where those animal exist, even if you are not hunting them? I've seen caribou well above sheep, many times.