We have been official “Deputy Camp Hosts”
We have been unofficially and jokingly dubbed “C.I.s” (confidential informants)
Now we are “Donkey Babysitters!”
This area along the Idaho-Oregon border is the land of the pack train. Horses, mules, and donkeys are loaded up to head into the backcountry, just like in the old westerns. While camping below the Eagle Cap Wilderness we camped next to a couple of bow hunters heading in for the month long elk season. They were using donkeys to pack their gear into camp. They headed in, but returned the following day with a lame donkey. Over the next few days, we stopped by to chat with the guys and to check on the patient. We happily offered to watch the burros so they could head to town to track down a farrier. A few days later, the abscess in the hoof was healed and the donkey train was off.
Gimpy, Lips, Nougie, and BB were our charges for the day!
All names have been changed to protect the innocent😎