# Two nights in the Sierra Nevadas above Tamarack Ridge



## 5th_overture (Apr 2, 2011)

Below is a link to our blog which has all of the pictures from our trip. The pictures have too large of a resolution to post them directly on here. We didn't take any of the kids yet because they are only about 7 months old.

http://sierrapackgoats.blogspot.com/2011/09/coyote-lake-trip-2011.html

What do you think of our packs?


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

Looks like a great time was had by all !

When was this ? 

How much weight were they carrying ? 

Did you make the packs ?


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## 5th_overture (Apr 2, 2011)

Jake said:


> Looks like a great time was had by all !
> 
> When was this ?
> 
> ...


This was on September 2, 2011 and they were each carrying about 20 lbs of gear, give or take a few lbs. Yes we did make the packs. A lot cheaper than those expensive panniers online. They're just ABS plastic crates that you buy at lowes.


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

It looked like they would have been carrying more, are these using saddles ? If so did you make them also?


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## 5th_overture (Apr 2, 2011)

Jake said:


> It looked like they would have been carrying more, are these using saddles ? If so did you make them also?


Ha yes it does almost look cruel the way we loaded them, but yes, they really were not carrying very much weight. We packed as light as we possibly could to avoid putting too much strain on them since it was their first hike for quite a while. And yes, they are all wearing saddles, the packs have a rope going through them that allows us to simply hang them over the cross-bucks. We made 2 of the saddles from oak, and the other two were given to us and are made of aluminum.


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

It looks like you did a nice job.


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## 5th_overture (Apr 2, 2011)

Jake said:


> It looks like you did a nice job.


Thanks!


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

Thanks for sharing. 
It looked like a great trip!


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

5th_overture said:


> We didn't take any of the kids yet because they are only about 7 months old.


I had my kids hiking at 10 weeks. Even if I only need one goat I take all five now just so they all get the exercise.

The packs are interesting. They look like they'd be a bit top heavy. Dd you have any problem with the saddle slipping to one side?

I have the most problems when the load is a bit high. Were they clamp on lids or attached with a hinge?


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## 5th_overture (Apr 2, 2011)

Bob Jones said:


> [quote="5th_overture":2ftbdzex]We didn't take any of the kids yet because they are only about 7 months old.


I had my kids hiking at 10 weeks. Even if I only need one goat I take all five now just so they all get the exercise.

The packs are interesting. They look like they'd be a bit top heavy. Dd you have any problem with the saddle slipping to one side?

I have the most problems when the load is a bit high. Were they clamp on lids or attached with a hinge?[/quote:2ftbdzex]

Our goats get plenty of exercise from running around in our fenced pasture. They would be more of a worrying distraction for the mother goats than anything on the trail.

No, we didn't have any problems with our packs. We weighted them evenly on both sides to prevent them from slipping. The only problem we had was that they would often bump into each other and have to figure out that the packs won't slide past one another.

We never had a pack fall off during the hike in, nor in the hike out. I assume the only reason why they would fall would be if I didn't put on their packs correctly (Such as not fully cinching the belly strap). And, no, no hinges were involved. I used something much more reliable: Duct tape!


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