Local club teaches stock packing skills

Two teenagers are unlikely to go pro when it comes to any future mule-packing contest, but they now have a fairly good idea of how to utilize stock animals to ferry supplies to sites in the field.

David McGonagle of Plains and Faith Palmer of Thompson Falls finished the Stock Packing Clinic at the Sanders County Fairgrounds on Friday by winning the “Packer Scramble” and getting the coveted bragging rights prize. It took the team only about 15 minutes to saddle and mantie the mule Rosie and walk her around the area to make sure the load was properly attached.

McGonagle and Palmer were two members of the Plains Ranger District’s Youth Conservation Corps, which participated in the clinic put on by the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen. In second place was the team of Sam Burcham of Thomson Falls and Matthew Wyatt of Plains, followed by Claire Wrobleski of Plains and Wesley Powers of Thompson Falls in third, and Gavin Schrenk of Plains and Kinzie Cox of Thompson Falls in last place.

The near seven-hour clinic also included seven boys and girls and team leader Will Cuddy from the YCC Superior Ranger District. Parker Flock of Plains served as the assistant team leader for the Superior group. The 19-year-old Flock had participated in the WHPBCH clinic twice as part of the Plains YCC, but it was the first time for the majority of the kids from either group.

“Back Country Horsemen have a number of mission goals. One of those is to educate, encourage and solicit active participation in the wise use of the American backcountry resources,” said Plains resident John Errecart, one of seven club instructors for the day. Errecart’s three mules – Lady, Bullet, and Rosie – served as pack recipients for the day. Other instructors included David and Laurie Crawford of Ronan, Dan Mathis of Trout Creek, Jean Nemeth of Camas Prairie, Sherry Caldwell of Plains, and Cheryl Burt of Paradise.

The YCC students ranged from 15-18 years old and were from Thompson Falls, Plains and Superior. The YCC program, which began at the Plains Ranger District in 2007, is a combination of hands-on work and education. Marie Errecart of Plains was once again the YCC team leader, assisted by Chantel Jessop, a Forest Service staffer. One of the goals of the program was to introduce teenagers to job opportunities of the Forest Service. The Stock Packing Clinic is only one topic the YCC members do during the two-month program, which began two weeks ago and will finish on July 29. In past years, they’ve worked on fire lookouts, cleared trails, studied streams, repaired trail bridges, and this year will take a field trip to the Forest Service’s Coeur d’Alene Nursery in July.

The WHPBCH has given the class a handful of times since 2016. During Friday’s clinic, the students learned how to approach a horse or mule, the basics of grooming stock, how to put a halter on a horse or mule, and how to tie the animal’s halter to a fence. David Crawford, who has close to 45 years’ experience of packing stock, gave a presentation on the history, types and uses of saddles and gave a saddling demonstration. Nemeth taught the students three common knots. Mathis demonstrated the preparation of a mantie, a large canvas tarp that covers the load, and showed the kids how to properly attach a mantie to the animal. Errecart gave an overview on cargo packing methods and how to place riding and pack saddles on stock. The students had the chance to practice each of the topics taught, including how to spread a mantie, balance the loads, and man tying a load horizontally and vertically.

John Errecart served as the lead instructor. He is a retired Forest Service member with 22 years of packing experience under his belt. Errecart said the club enjoys interacting with the young adults, watching them interact with the stock, and having them dive into the challenge of saddling the stock, man tying loads and slinging them on the stock. “Basically, we enjoy sharing our skills and experience with packing stock with everyone that is willing to learn, young and not so young, in the hopes they'll use the skills they learn and pass them on to the next generation,” he said.

The WHPBCH has 79 members throughout Sanders, Mineral and Lake counties. It is one of 17 chapters in Montana and of 212 chapters in 30 states, according to Errecart, a member since the local chapter started in 2006. The WHPBCH’s current volunteer labor donations exceed $39,000, he said. The National BCH convention next year will be held in Kalispell to celebrate its 50th anniversary.