The sure-footed, even tempered llamas are ideal companions on the trail. Six thousand years of domestication by the Inca tribes of South America’s high Andes have resulted in these cousins of the camel being wilderness packers without equal. Their calm, intelligent manner is quickly communicated to their human friends.

They can be easily led by those with no previous experience handling pack stock, and even by children. The llama’s padded feet, which do less damage to fragile alpine terrain than a hiker’s lug-soled boot, and their deer-like browsing ability, enable us to travel with less impact on the wilderness than is possible with traditional pack animals.