Packer Apprenticeship Reflections

By Christian La Bar, 2021 Packer Apprentice

I can't say I had many expectations going into this packing apprenticeship. My experience in wilderness throughout my twenties has been nothing short of profound. These travels, often on foot, have brought me tears of joy, and also tears of pain and despair. Some days these walks were more like a saunter, and others, a trudge. Some walks were meditative to hear the world, and others to hear my mind. Some to quiet my mind, and others to amplify it. Any lover of long walks knows the unpredictable lubrication of the mind that walking provides—with each step, thoughts get knocked loose from the subconscious, and unknown and unexpected ideas and feelings rise to the surface; many times the insight we have been searching for weeks.

Now at 30, my goal was simple--the wilderness has given me so much and it was time for me to give back in the little way that I could. I felt it was time to pursue a passion that has always been there, packing mules in the Bob to aid the stewardship of the Bob Marshall Complex.

Challenging myself to, once again, be a beginner at something was much more challenging than I expected. Learning how to manty and pack loads, remembering all the knots, learning to listen, communicate and work together with a string of mules, understanding that getting into wrecks was just part of the work, and how you respond is a big factor in your success. This was a lot for me to take in. Time and time again, this apprenticeship was a lesson in letting go of the desire to control. These landscapes are wild, the stock can act a little wilder than you'd like, and all you can do as a packer is look ahead at the trail to come, and look behind at the mules and loads, and what comes, comes.

On my last trip into Big Prairie it all came together. At one point along the trail pulling a string of nine mules--everyone working together--it just felt right. I thought to myself, "wow, this feels like exactly where I should be right now. This all feels so right. I am packing a string of mules into the Bob and it's going really well!"

While there is still a lifetime of learning for me in packing, this apprenticeship got me to a place where I feel confident and competent. I can't wait for the years of packing that lie ahead for me. This is an invaluable opportunity for folks looking to get into the often competitive packing industry, and this affirmed that taking a chance, being a beginner at something, is a path well worth traveling. You never know where it may lead.