Mad River Pack Llamas is a small farm of what are some of the best mountain country pack buddies. You can learn more about pack llamas, the type of animal I value trying to produce – and my llamas – below the product links.
The horse has proven invaluable throughout history. I used a good horse on pack trips for many years. Slow and steady, gentle minded, and not bothered by going out alone; he would pack anything you put on him and lots of it. They’re the most popular mountain pack animal by far, but they do have some drawbacks.
A horse requires a bunch of feed. A good portion of the high country that I travel into is loaded with vegetation, but doesn’t have a high percentage of grass. Especially in the fall, if you plan on leaving them unattended for most of the day, you need to pack in a large amount of feed. A horse needs a lot of water. It’s a hassle if you don’t camp by a water source. Horses are noisy. A horse’s metal shoes on rocks loudly announces their presence, plus they often like to nuisance paw at the ground when idle and whinny greetings to other horses or people when they see them. Llamas don’t have these issues.
The average llama doesn’t make a good pack llama. Pretty much any llama can learn to carry a pack, and from my experiences and observations, many ‘pack llamas’ are more of a hot air packer. They look like they might be a good packer. They’re well trained and saddle up and lead out for a trip like they might be a good packer. But, at the first sign of their pack feeling heavy, or a hill getting steep, or the pace fast, or the trip long, or the temperature warm – or anything else they can think of – then there’s not a packer in sight. This inferior type ‘packer’ has caused a poor general reputation for what a llama’s capacity as a pack animal is. The exceptional pack llama is a different story. Tireless, tough, capable, easy to get along with. *(There are obvious common sense limits – you can make any type of pack animal fail, no matter how good they are, by asking them to do too much. An exceptional pack llama will give it everything they’ve got for effort, but you can’t expect more from them than is realistically possible.)
Plenty of info out there about what makes for a great pack llama. In North America, many pack llama breeders and promoters seem to be in one of two groups. One that favors the tall, large, athletic, ‘ccara’ llama, with a lesser emphasis on coat type, and one that puts a major emphasis on the seasonally shedding ‘classic’ coated, athletic llama with a preference for a smaller animal. *(‘classic’ is also accurately used to describe the coat of a large ‘ccara’ llama that has a seasonally shedding coat and the term ‘ccara’ doesn’t define a specific required size range, but ‘classic’ and ‘ccara’ are the popular identifiers used by each group to imply their ‘type’ of llama.) Lots of excellent llamas and opinions in both groups. My favorite type of pack llama is at the top end and a little larger of the size typically found in the classic llamas, or the bottom end for size of the ccara llamas – with a classic coat. I have experience packing with a tall, heavy llama with good endurance that I’m certain was capable of carrying 150+ lb. loads; a tall, narrow, long striding llama that was a tireless packer; plus a couple of average height/size llamas that might not have been as impressive to look at, but were up to anything you could reasonably throw at them (and not so reasonable on occasion). So which type was the best? The answer is all four of those llamas were great. I’ve packed with several other llamas that weren’t great and that will try to take the fun out of a trip more often than not.
The pack llama ideal depends on what a person likes to do with their llamas. The largest, athletic, ccara llamas are surely the best for commercial packing operations or people that need to haul the very heaviest loads on trail and would be great for most off-trail work. The person that has llamas for pleasure packing and typically has moderate loads, likes to go at a fast pace and see lots of country, and/or likes off-trail, rough country packing, probably couldn’t find a better packer than the smaller, ultra-athletic, classic llama – many of these llamas are also very capable of packing a heavier load when needed.
Much of the pleasure packing I do includes off-trail work and I hunt with my llamas. The ideal llama for me needs to excel at traversing the steepest ridges, basin side walls, chutes, slides, loose shale/scree slopes, and thickest downfall timber that a llama could be asked to travel. This includes when there are added poor footing conditions (wet, muddy, snowy, hard frozen ground, ect.) while packing heavy loads of meat when necessary.
Tosi was what large pack llama proponents would look at as small – 45½” tall at the shoulder, 320 lb.s. He was also a strong, dependable packer in rough mountain country. Tosi packed 120 lb.s of buck deer up a basin side wall that was extreme steep and covered with a skiff of slick crusty snow; then over the top for an easy +/- 2 mile hike off the mountain to camp. On another venture with 85 lb.s of venison and camp, he and Grapthar dropped into a canyon and worked through an hour’s worth of heavy downfall timber to pick up a trail at the bottom and go +/- 4 miles with pace to the truck – with no complaints or any signs of overexertion on either trip.
*Any llama that can pack a 120 lb. load is exceptional (adverse conditions or not). There’s nothing exceptional about a llama just carrying 85 lb.s. Spending an hour carrying 85 lb.s in high stepping, close maneuvering downfall timber is a much tougher deal. Doing it all on sidehill terrain down a steep canyon is extremely demanding work. Follow it up with a quick 4 miles or so of trail and these are the kind of performances that exceptional rough country packers are routinely capable of.
Tosi had some superior physical qualities that allowed for his packing abilities – high shoulder, short back, narrow but thick built frame, exceptional body balance. Even though there are some dubious looking characters in his background that caused minor cosmetic issues (and maybe his bit of a ‘tude), there are also several great classic type animals that he inherited from his excellent compact, athletic structure. He did a bunch of pleasure packing, made plenty of hunting trips, and saw many high ridges where the only sporadic trails are left by deer.
Quite a few of the best pack llamas imported into this country have been of the smaller classic type. Producing taller, larger, ccara type animals has been touted as an unquestionable improvement by the majority of pack llama breeders in the U.S. for as long as I’ve been packing with them.
My small herd of llamas display some of the best physically reminiscent representations that are still around of the Mark Spitz (?”), Mr. Bojangles (?”), Highlooker (43¾”) , Highlookers Casper (44¾”) , and Snake River Bandit (46”) bloodlines (*Highlooker Llamas is a farm name – Casper and Highlooker have no known relation.). Mark Spitz and Mr. Bojangles are names commonly seen in the pedigrees of many top pack llamas, but finding an animal that still resembles the predominant physical type that was seen in their offspring is difficult. Highlooker, Highlookers Casper, and Snake River Bandit were great packers and studs in excellent pack llama breeding programs, but have practically disappeared from pedigrees. In each case, my llamas have at least one woolly coated ancestor. Despite the fact a great majority of their bloodlines trace to classic coat type animals, this has resulted in coats that range from excellent to not so good.
As with DuPont and Clark’s dads (see list), I would like to continue introducing other llamas into the herd. Adding animals with excellent physical attributes for packing is the priority – not a particular size range. In the herd, the focus shifts to emphasizing structure qualities conducive to handling heavier rough country packing chores, strengthening the influence of the llamas with the best traits, size control, and restoring the superior classic working coat. Working dog and horse breeds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, all having been developed to excel at specific tasks. There isn’t a single size or structure type that exceeds all others for working performance at everything. Exceptional pack llamas that can best fill a use niche for what I like doing with them, is the goal.
Any llama that can be successfully used for a mountain pack trip is better than no llama at all. A person can get by with decent mediocre type packers if you pamper them, but there will be many times when you wonder if they’re worth the trouble. Exceptional pack llamas of any type are just great to pack with, but some rough parameters for the size range and physical characteristics that I want to see in my llamas are:
The 45½” to about 47½” tall at the shoulder llama (45½” – 46½” being ideal), with a high shouldered (not lower than the croup), more up headed, shorter backed, narrower framed, somewhat deeper chested, higher flanked, shorter cannon boned, well muscled (but not over-muscled), lighter weight, feet squarely under them make-up, that is stout, athletic, agile, durable and versatile.
Really, the largest examples of a structure type found in some of the best smaller classic packers. They’re my favorite for off-trail, extreme rough country, heavy packing and are more than capable of exceptional performance for any kind of on-trail packing that I do.
As enjoyable as they are for packing with, these great animals are just as enjoyable at home. Here are the llamas:
FEMALES
Mad River Toots
(Grover’s Tempest x Mad River Cozy)
d.o.b. – 5/25/09 shoulder height – 48½” ILR# – 279699
Toots is a pretty tremendous female. High shoulder, gentle personality, and a very good coat. She’s quite a bit taller than the type of llama that I’m ultimately wanting to produce, but her structure is excellent.
Mad River Chilly
(Llonesome Llake Grapthar x Mad River Toots)
d.o.b. – 6/28/15 shoulder height – 44¼” ILR# – 289385
Chilly was born small and stayed that way. Her stance is a little too wide and so is she. She has many excellent llamas in her pedigree though, stands square on her legs, has a short back, and a high shoulder.
Mad River Strawberry
(Llonesome Llake Grapthar x Mad River Toots)
d.o.b. – 6/20/16 shoulder height – 47½” ILR# – 290525
Strawberry was born on the first day of summer and it was a full moon – the Strawberry Moon. She has great structure and inherited some of her dad’s excellent athleticism. Along with her mother’s, she shows the Snake River Echo and Mr. Bojangles influence.
Mad River Redenbacher
(Llonesome Llake Grapthar x Mad River Cozy)
d.o.b. – 7/9/16 shoulder height – 45½” ILR# – 290524
To go with a smoky gray stripe down her top line, Redenbacher was born with a very faint orangy-red mask on her face (that has pretty much disappeared now that she’s grown). She’s built a lot like Punkin’s, but with her dad’s shorter back, and has an excellent classic coat.
Mad River Annie Oakley
(Llonesome Llake Grapthar x Mad River Duper)
d.o.b. – 6/29/17 shoulder height – 46” ILR# – 290739
Annie appears to favor the Snake River Bandit and Highlookers Casper influences. This is a narrow, but stout built girl with a good short back and excellent athleticism. Great personality – gentle and kind, but confident, independent, and energetic.
Mad River DuPont
(Evaines George Washington x Mad River Chilly)
d.o.b. – 5/9/19 shoulder height – 44″ ILR# – 293681
DuPont set a new smallest cria record at Mad River Pack Llamas. Her dad has registered imports from England to Canada, Canada to the U.S., and Chile to the U.S. in his pedigree. There are a large number of classic coat animals in her background. DuPont has a narrow frame, is confident and independent, but calm. Easy to be around and work with.
Mad River Roustabout
(Mad River Clark of the Teton x Mad River Redenbacher)
d.o.b. – 9/8/21 shoulder height – ILR# – 296729
Roustabout was another small cria. She stands straight up and down on her legs and has good athleticism. Great gentle and kind disposition.
Mad River Moxie
(Mad River Clark of the Teton x Mad River Strawberry)
d.o.b. – 1/20/22 shoulder height – ILR# – 296728
In spite of -15 and -17 degree overnight lows that immediately frost-bit the tips of her poor little ears, Moxie’s pretty cutie lookin’. Stands on vertical legs, is strong willed and independent, but mostly easy to get along with.
Mad River Bronwyn
(Mad River Clark of the Teton x Mad River Annie Oakley)
d.o.b. – 5/28/22 shoulder height – ILR# – 296727
Bronwyn has her mom and dad’s exceptional thick, narrower framed, very athletic, powerful build. Excellent friendly, playful demeanor and confidence.
Mad River Bondurant
(Mad River Clark of the Teton x Mad River Annie Oakley)
d.o.b. – 6/7/23 shoulder height – ILR# – 298531
Bondurant also appears to have her parents exceptional physical attributes – like Bronwyn, with a little more stretch maybe. Fun, full of her stuff personality.
Mad River Merna
(Mad River Clark of the Teton x Mad River Strawberry)
d.o.b. – 6/13/23 shoulder height – ILR# – 298532
Petite, but looks to have really good structure. Great gentle, kind, relaxed, friendly nature.
Mad River Ardenvoir
(Mad River Meriwether of the Bridger x Mad River Redenbacher)
d.o.b. – 6/14/24 shoulder height – ILR# –
Not too shabby.
Mad River Janey Jo (Joey)
(Mad River Meriwether of the Bridger x Mad River Annie Oakley)
d.o.b. – 6/17/24 shoulder height – ILR# –
Not too shabby.
MALES
Mad River Stehekin
(Llonesome Llake Grapthar x Mad River Cozy)
d.o.b. – 6/16/15 shoulder height – 47” ILR# – 289386
Stehekin has a mostly great pedigree, but inherited some poor features that you have to go back quite a few generations to find. Despite the flaws, he stands square, has a high shoulder, and heavier than average muscle and bone. I bred him to Duper and their son Crockett looks like he has potential.
Mad River Jack
(Llonesome Llake Grapthar x Mad River Cozy)
d.o.b. – 7/10/17 shoulder height – 45¾” ILR# – 290741
Jack has two dark colored llamas in his background that his structure as well as color appears to favor (one of them named Jackie). Mark Spitz is a grandpa of both, and both were 46½” tall. He stands square on his legs and has his dad’s excellent athleticism.
Mad River Meriwether of the Bridger
(Mad River Tosi x Mad River Toots)
d.o.b. – 7/11/17 shoulder height – 45½” ILR# – 290740
Meriwether is a very representative Tosi son. He’s got his dad’s powerful compact build and athleticism with a quieter personality that is very much like Tupac’s was. He jumped a 5′ fence when he was two years old. That fence has a hot wire running above it now.
Mad River Crockett
(Mad River Stehekin x Mad River Duper)
d.o.b. – 6/25/18 shoulder height – 46¾” ILR# – 291762
Crockett favors his mother and the Snake River Echo influence. He doesn’t have any of Stehekin’s poor qualities, has an excellent coat, and very good athleticism.
Mad River Clark of the Teton
(Vali Shaman x Mad River Toots)
d.o.b. – 5/25/19 shoulder height – 50” ILR# – 293680
Clark is strong willed, independent, and noticeably powerful. He, his dad (Canadian import), his dad’s dad (Monashee Bonanza), and several llamas in his dad’s mother’s background have structure aspects that are very similar to what Tosi’s were (*Bonanza is also a great-grandpa of DuPont’s dad). Clark is tremendous (albeit a lot taller than I prefer), and all of his crias so far have a form of this similar structure. He stands vertically on his legs, and like Tosi’s was, I would rate his pound for pound strength and athleticism for body type as exceptional.
Mad River Topaz
(Mad River Meriwether of the Bridger x Mad River DuPont)
d.o.b. – 6/21/24 shoulder height – ILR# –
Beat DuPont’s smallest cria record by a pound. Good lookin’ little chit, though.
On To New Homes
Mad River Cozy
(Snake River Echo x Punkin’s)
d.o.b. – 7/8/04 shoulder height – 47¼” ILR# – 256272
Cozy is in the pedigree of all the younger Mad River Pack Llamas but one. Both of her parents were excellent and the qualities that she has passed on to her crias are exceptional. Cozy had an easy to get along with personality and a very good coat.
Deceased
Mad River Tosi
(Highlookers Tupac x Highlookers Mime)
d.o.b. – 6/14/05 shoulder height – 45½” ILR# – 265484
Stout, athletic, headstrong, generally good natured, loads of his own character – Tosi was a dandy. And he was as good of a rough country packer as you could find.
Mad River Duper
(Snake River Echo x Highlookers Mime)
d.o.b. – 6/16/04 shoulder height – 49¼” ILR# – 255747
Super Duper always looked just that. Tall, narrow, long easy stride, very good coat, and a confident, fun personality. She had a warm, hoity-toity character that made her a favorite with visitors.
Llonesome Llake Grapthar (Bo)
(Snake River Baylor x Autumn Frosty)
d.o.b. – 7/3/00 shoulder height – 45” ILR# – 231179
Bo had superior athleticism. It’s just about impossible to still find a llama that traces his male line of descent back to Mr. Bojangles, let alone one that exhibited physical qualities that were commonly seen produced by that bloodline (he’s also in Frosty’s background). Mr. Bojangles is a name frequently seen in the pedigree of top pack llamas – the athleticism is surely a big part of why.
Highlookers Mime
(Highlookers Casper x Highlookers Rifka)
d.o.b. – 11/6/93 shoulder height – 46” ILR# – 115885
Mime was a narrow framed, very athletic girl in her prime with a little heavier than average muscle and bone. I give credit to Casper for his influence that I think I see in her, Tosi, Annie, Meriwether, Bronwyn, and Bondurant – an influence that helped make Tosi the fantastic packer that he was.
Highlookers Tupac
(Highlooker x Highlookers Precious)
d.o.b. – 6/1/93 shoulder height – 46” ILR# – 114110
I saw more mountain country with Tupac than I have any other llama. He was outstanding. Stout, tough, always game for a pack trip; Tupac had extreme want to for packing – he didn’t have any quit in him. Tosi got a lot of what made him great from Tupac.
Snake River Echo
(Snake River Bandit x Snake River Jenny)
d.o.b. – 4/30/90 shoulder height – 47¼” ILR# – 74833
Echo was a tireless packer with a good flat back, long easy stride, great personality, and an excellent seasonally shedding classic coat. The two daughters he sired here grew up to be the mothers of Mad River Pack Llamas.
Punkin's
(Captain Kirk x Mindi)
d.o.b. – 10/25/88 shoulder height – 46” ILR# – 71309
Punkin’s was a Mark Spitz great granddaughter; which doesn’t mean much unless those physical traits had been inherited – but she had. There isn’t a picture available of Mark Spitz, but Punkin’s grandmother displayed the predominant look and build exhibited by his other offspring. Punkin’s very much appeared to still have that great structure and it is a major influence in some of my younger llamas. Super quiet shoulders when she walked, powerful stride, and just as upright and solid on her pasterns in old age as she was throughout her life.