Steve Putnam writes...
We were very lucky. We got a burro that was very good. At the time, we
could only get one because the rest hadn't made it back to Ponil or had
pack sores. This one was very docile. It went were it was lead and didn't
kick.
There are several downsides. They will only let them carry 50 pounds per
burro. In our case, that was the food only. In addition, most of them
aren't as well behaved as the one we had. They tend to kick and not want
to be lead.
In addition, the training will slow you up on the day you pick them up.
We tried to be on the trail as early as the boys could get themselves
moving. We didn't leave Ponil until approximately 11:00 AM. A real late
day leaving which meant a late day arriving so we set up camp in the
rain and missed the spar climbing at Pueblano. We did it the next
morning but that made us late that day too. In addition, you have to
allow time to put the packs on and load the burro and also to care for
the burro after you arrive. This was about .5 to 1 hour on each end.
Overall, we were lucky. The boys would do it again. I voted against it
but it was the boys decision.
Comments...
Steve's experience is virtually identical to mine in 2001. There are many
more crews going from Ponil toward Miranda than the other way, so crews
only get one burro going to Miranda, while I believe you can take as many
as three from there.
50 pounds divided by your crew size is not an appreciable difference in
individual pack weight, at least not significant enough to be a factor in
the decision.
While we also were about 11 am leaving Ponil, we did get spar pole
climbing in that afternoon at Pueblano. And for our particular trek (#21)
doing it the next morning would not have been an issue, since it was a
VERY short day, just to Head of Dean.
Our burro was also very well behaved, and the boys had a blast with it.
My vote (but I didn't have one) would have been Wilson Mesa. Hopefully
will get a chance to do that next fall on our Autumn Adventure....
And echoing a couple of other comments, its the youths trek. As an
Advisor, I try to give them the benefit of my experience in evaluating
alternatives, but not to influence them to choose my preferences. While
burros still would not be my choice, I certainly would not discourage
taking them. Clearly, it is an experience that would be virtually
impossible to duplicate anywhere else (at least for the vast majority of
crews).
- Al Thomson, Troop 236, Schooley's Mountain NJ
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Received on Fri Aug 29 15:47:41 2003
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