By Jenny Hards
For the Fall 2003 issue
This spring, Derry Walsh and Bill Chase invited a friend to join them on a llama hike to the South Chilcotins in July. The following is an illustrated letter that she sent to another friend in Germany.
Dear Baerbel,
I hope things are going well with you in Germany. Now, I have a super tale to tell you!
You won’t believe this but I have just spent my summer holiday on an amazing trip. I went llama-trekking with your old boss, Bill Chase, and Derry!
You remember visiting them in Langley the last time you came over and we tried feeding grass to their llamas, we inched closer with outstretched arms, and they nervously craned forward, ears back, about to flee at any moment, or worse, to spit? We were terrified! I’ve not been closer to llamas since then until this July, and now I have just spent nine great days with seven wonderful people and eleven llamas. What an epic trip, you would have loved it!
It all came about after meeting Bill and Derry in early June and they told me of their plans for going to the South Chilcotin area north of Whistler. I used to have a “Save the South Chilcotin” poster above my desk, remember? So, with lots of e-mails back and forth and much rushing around, I managed to get organized and joined them. It was a bit of a struggle as I had initially heard that “my” llama would carry 50 lbs but I hadn’t realized that, included in that, was the weight of the saddle, the panniers and the pound of compressed hay per day for the animal. That left 26 lbs for me! No hope for my air mattress, or my pillow or the beer. In the end I decided to throw out some food rather than leave my “toys” behind, my sketchbook, camera, flower book and binocs.
It all worked out well, maybe more by luck than good judgment, and I wore every bit of clothing I took before the end: we had some nights when it froze hard, some rain and some really hot days. Anyway, I never could have managed to carry all that stuff myself, so having the chance to go in with pack animals was a chance of a lifetime and almost a dream come true — I have always said that I needed a gorgeous young guy to act as a sherpa!
Off we went and, for me, into the complete unknown as far as travelling with llamas is concerned! I shall not go into all the details, Baerbel, but I can tell you that llama-trekking is a full-time occupation, you can’t wander along as I tend to do, with my head in the clouds, day-dreaming and gazing off into the distance or looking at trees and flowers and birds. Oh no, you have always to be aware of your companion and the soft furry nose close to your right ear that, for me, was Finnegan. He was wonderfully agile and sure-footed and delightfully walked behind me for 90% of the time, only occasionally pulling away from me to grab something to eat, or spinning on ahead in an attempt to get “home” faster. Streams were sometimes an interesting experience when he couldn’t bear to wait for me to teeter from rock to rock and he would jump past me. The hardest was trying to prevent him from sitting down for a dust bath, which for him was like having a cool shower! I became very attached to Finnegan, he was an ideal companion, very quiet, only shrieking an unearthly alarm call when he spotted a grizzly bear or a deer. He was a superb security service for the wilderness!
We hiked for miles, through wooded valleys and up through trees and flowers
into sub-alpine and then alpine meadows to snow-covered passes. The views were magnificent of the snowy peaks of the Coastal Mountains to the West and the Chilcotin Mountains to the North. The scale of the country was perfect; in one day, we could haul ourselves up through one valley and over into another one with a whole new panorama around us.
We encountered two grizzly bears, one ahead of us in a meadow and he went determinedly and thankfully his own way.
The other visited our campsite at night and rummaged through our pots and pans on the picnic table. He couldn’t reach our food which had been pulled up out of harm’s way, but he fancied a bag of utensils and dishes for his kitchen — we never did find them!
We met quite a few people, including some curious hikers, bikers and horseback riders. The regional park warden came by at one campsite and was interested to meet our entourage. He told us that he may not have a job there next year as the Government has not decided if this area should remain a Provincial Park. It would be like destroying a precious jewel to let this place be opened to logging and mining etc. I must find out where to write to plead the case for preserving this magnificent area — so you can come over some time and see it too . . .
It was indeed a fabulous trip and I am so grateful to the people I went with, Jane and Brian Pinkerton, Marie Seabrook, Bill and Derry, Chris and Monique, they all put in so much hard work ahead of time to make it all possible.
I’ll include a few pictures for your interest.
Hoping all’s well and ’bye for now.
Love from Jenny
You can also see photos of this hike and a short slide show from the trip.
Back to Index of Articles
About the Club | About the Logo | Home Page | Club History | Coming Events
List of Member farms | Newsletter | Photos of Club Activities | Spinning Group
Birth Announcements | 4-H Group