How Long You Been Doin This?

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 10:30:00 GMT

I frequently get asked the question, “How long have you been doing this?”. By this, I take it to mean packing a multiplicity of goods on mules and horses in the wilderness and back country. Or do they mean throwing a leg over a horse/mule and riding?

My “ending up as a packer” has a long history of knowledge bumps & bruises, joys & happiness, extreme heat & cold, a plethora of scenic beauty and of course a stream of cuss words over the years.

I first “threw a leg over a horse” at 4 years of age. It wasn’t exactly a horse, and it wasn’t exactly broke either! Apparently my first word after the regular Momma and Daddy was HORSE. And from what I understand that word was incessantly used until a Shetland Pony was purchased for me when I was 4. Now my well-meaning parents, knowing not much about equines, bought a yearling un-broke stallion Shetland pony for a 4-year-old to learn to ride. Turns out, I was more stubborn and un-broke than that pony and learn to ride, I did – no saddle, no formal lessons. In fact, this pony stayed a stallion til he was 9 years old. I started dragging mares home and getting him gelded was a necessity to say the least.

After and during Shetland pony time, I convinced Dad I needed something bigger to ride and he bought a couple of $100 “shitters” for me. Turns out that for that kind of money you don’t get broke or well-trained horses of good breeding but I rode them anyway. Sometimes I rode them as fast as they could run away with me through fences and bogs. Some were too crazy to keep. Some turned out pretty good.

Dad used to take me to live horse racing as a kid and I loved watching the speed and beauty of running horses. We watched thoroughbreds and quarter horses as well as catching a few sulky races back east. At 17 I went away to college and ended up with my first registered quarter horse, she was a big running bred filly, the type I still love to this day. I spent hours a horseback riding hills, plains & mountains. To this day, I never have bought a broke, trained horse, I’ve made them myself.

After college I started cowboying “cowgirling” and with that started packing salt to cows on mountain allotments. Now packing salt is pretty simple. Just throw 2 blocks in bags, aka panniers, on each side of a horse and go. Simple, but….. I was riding colts packing on broncs – not simple. A bronc throwing salt blocks around, hitting the young horse you are riding, wrapping the rope under the tail of your horse on the side of a mountain –potential disaster!

Then in 2014, my kids (Wyley & Tia) and I moved to Challis, Idaho to be with George McQuiston, owner of Wild Idaho Outfitters. Naturally I would be riding with George helping him pack. Packing for outfitting is a little more complicated than packing salt. Of course, George was lucky, haha, in the fact I moved my herd of horses to Challis also. So, we had broke mules of Georges and colts I brought to pack on. The green colts get lots of packing in the spring of bear bait. Simple like packing salt. Even weight in panniers on each side of the animal. They can buck bait out, run it into trees, break piggin strings, lay down, tip over backwards, break open buckets of frosting, etc and no loss!

Come fall, things get serious. We run on timelines and can’t ruin clients’ belongings. We are packing guns, cameras, optics, sleep apnea machines, eggs, whiskey, sleeping bags, boots, etc. We pack heavy even loads on each side plus top pack soft goods. Items must be kept safe from weather and branches snagging & tearing things. We use tarps and lash cinches and lots of fancy knots and hitches like diamonds, double diamonds, basket, basket with crows’ foot, and box hitch, just to name a few. Loads must be meticulously weighed and balanced. A string of preferably mules is put together and down or up the trail we go. I started out helping George and as Wild Idaho Outfitters evolved and Castle Creek Outfitters got purchased and farms got leased to grow more certified hay, everyone got busier. Every year, the kids and I took over more packing. George got busier running businesses and of course guiding. Packing wasn’t always smooth at first. I had unbalanced loads that tipped. I spent a lot of time it seemed getting off, pulling loads back into place and putting rocks in the “lighter” side. I sored a few animals too. One thing I detest the most in the outfitting world is soring animals. Not only does it mean a saddle doesn’t fit correctly or a load is not on properly, but it also means the animal is out of commission.

Through the years Wyley and Tia also have become good packers, they didn’t have a choice!! Wyley has moved on to guiding and being part owner in Castle Creek Outfitters (even though he still helps pack occasionally) and Tia has become my right-hand girl. There are times when George packs still and it’s always enjoyable for both of us. Every year, I enjoy packing more and more. Every year I yearn to lose myself into the wilderness more and more. So, to circle around to the question, “How long have I been doing this?”, the answer is a lifetime and the Good Lord willing, I hope I’ll continue packing for a long long time!

Contributed by Kelly Swingruber (Wrangler for Wild Idaho Outfitters and Castle Creek Outfitters)

Working for Idaho Wildlife

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 11:00:00 GMT

Heath’s Triple Crown

What we hoped to accomplish in 1 week took almost 13 months and 3 trips to Idaho, but it finally happened. Heath F. is an avid hunter and wanted to pursue predators and wanted to get what we would deem the “Triple Crown” of lower 48 predators in the form of a wolf, black bear, and mountain lion.

He sought us out and in early January 2021 he came out on a predator hunt for all three and we were successful in getting him a wolf. Fast forward to August 2021. He calls up and says he has some vacation to burn, and do we have room for a bear hunter in fall bear camp? Well, of course we did, and he wanted to take advantage of the fact that he already had his hunting license from earlier in the year and this time he was successful on a respectable color phase black bear.

After the bear, we knew we had to have him back to try for the third leg of the “Triple Crown” and after a few scheduling challenges, we finally connected in late January 2022, and he scored on a nice specimen of a Mountain Lion completing his goal.

In Idaho, central Idaho specifically, where the landscape lends itself very well to wildlife and predation is a true threat to healthy ungulate populations, hunting these predators is a true benefit and much needed management tool to grow healthy populations of elk, deer, mountain goats, and sheep in our little slice of heaven!

Heath did his part to help with the population and we thank him and congratulate him on 3 very well-placed shots and some very serious effort!

Maybe it’s time for you to get out and enjoy your public lands and do a little predator hunting while you are there?

Happy hunting!

A Lifelong Dream Fulfilled

Thu, 03 May 2018 21:43:53 GMT

Hello, past and future Castle Creek hunters! We have a big announcement to share with all of you! Castle Creek Outfitters has come under new ownership! We will be offering quality Elk and Mule Deer, and Spring and Fall Black Bear Hunts, in the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Eastern Idaho. We look forward to getting to know all of you as we begin this new journey! George McQuiston, Caleb Bergeleen, and I (Camden Powell) have come together to fulfill a lifelong dream and we purchased Castle Creek Outfitters from Shane McAfee! We will have many more updates to come and we invite you to contact us with any questions you might have. We look forward to getting to know all of you and showing you what we are all about.

Idaho Elk, Mule Deer and Black Bear Blog

How Long You Been Doin This?

Working for Idaho Wildlife

A Lifelong Dream Fulfilled