Born to Carry Heavy Loads : Llamas Put Hikers on Easy Street

It’s backpacking made easy, or at least easier.

The secret is hiking with “Mama’s Llamas,” an enterprise that uses 28 of the creatures who have proven that they are not only handy in the Peruvian Andes but anywhere the outdoor enthusiast chooses to travel.

Francie Greth-Peto and her husband, Guy, operate “Mama’s Llamas” out of their 20-acre spread outside of Placerville.

With each llama being able to carry a pack of between 70 and 80 pounds, hikers need carry only their jackets, cameras and lunches.

And, for the llama, carrying those burdens is doing what comes naturally. The animals, who are related to the camel, have long been valued for soft wool and carrying capability.

Easy to Train Them

“It’s almost bred into them,” Greth-Peto said. “They have been domesticated almost as long as the dog and cat, and it’s easy to train them to carry a pack.”

“They are incredibly adaptable,” she pointed out. “They can live from as far south as Phoenix, Ariz., to Fairbanks, Alaska.”

In any conversation about llamas, someone is likely to mention that they will spit in your eye. But the observation occurs far more frequently than the actual spitting.

“They won’t do it unless they’re really provoked,” Greth-Peto said. “It’s more likely to happen in a zoo situation when they’re pestered. They like to meet new people. They’re curious and real alert. They like to look at the scenery as they pass by.”

When they do spit, it’s likely to be caused by “the competition with other llamas for territory.”

Greth-Peto is fond of llamas, and she treats her animals like ordinary household pets. All 28 are named, and all respond to their names. They also respond to basic hand signals to get into line and stay there.

Lengthy Fascination

“I had a fascination with them since I was a little girl in the fifth grade in Oakland,” Greth-Peto, 43, said.

That attachment, along with her husband’s preference for outdoor work, coalesced in 1977 into what proved to be a pioneering effort.

In the nine years since then, they have averaged 14 trips a year. Their trips provide llamas, and professional guides and either a natural historian or an interpretive naturalist.

Before they began “Mama’s LLamas,” Greth-Peto said, “nobody in North America had used llamas commercially. Now there are 18 (such services).”

As a rule, “Mama’s Llamas” trips are organized for three, five or seven days in a variety of sites, including the Point Reyes National Seashore, the northern Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park, Alaska and Peru.