Several members of the SBBCH got together this weekend for a mini-pack session of sorts. Janine and I expressed an interest in learning more about proper packing techniques and engaged the assistance of Jake Lemon and Ellen Knapp, who agreed to take time out of their busy schedules to demonstrating their personal packing techniques.

Jake felt that if we were going to learn this thing the right way, it would be best to learn on our own animals with our own gear. With this philosophy in mind, I loaded Jack and Annie and drove to Jakes in Emmett. Annie has come a long way considering her past, but she is still a bit skittish. I brought Jack along in hopes the presence of “her horse” would help to calm her.    

I pulled into Jakes a little after noon to find the rest of the crew had arrived. I could not blame my bad sense of direction for tardiness this time. This time, I would blame Annie. She is not the easiest critter to catch when she does not want to be caught. Yeah, I’ve read the books on how to catch the hard to catch mule –Annie, however, has not.