The Perks – Part 3

Now that we've covered some of the business side of working for the park service we can return to the fun perks of living in “America’s best idea”. If you can work your way into a skilled position in the Park Service, it is often necessary to work at remote locations. We've covered one method of travel in The Perks – Part 1, but we’ll discuss another one today. Mules.

When people think of mules they often imagine the western expansion of the United States, complete with wagon trains and farmers working to clear and prepare new land for crops. To many people living outside of rural areas the idea of using livestock for everyday tasks seems alien. What could a living, breathing animal do better than a machine? Well, for one, they’re darn good at dealing with the harsh and undeveloped terrain that is a core feature of our National Parks.

Mules, like the lovely Skinner posing here, are a crossbreed between horses and donkeys. While they don’t have the speed and grace of horses, they also don’t have the ornery nature of donkeys. As explained by a friend who manages livestock “A mule won’t like going up a mountain, but will do it because you ask. A donkey will sit at the bottom and won’t go a step further until it’s damn well ready.” So, when you need to go rugged places, and don’t want to argue with your ride every morning, a mule is your best choice. They may not be the fastest ride, and they may not be the smoothest ride, but they’ll get you there in one piece, and are smart enough that they won’t walk of the edge of a cliff, even if you tell them to. (Which I've heard can be an issue with horses, though always as an anecdote). 

So, if your two-day plan includes 17.5 miles of difficult trails, 9,028 feet of elevation change, 3 people, and 200 pounds of gear, you go make friends with your friendly local wrangler. (Or Packer, as they tend to be officially titled).

Once you've made friends with your packer, AND convinced them that yes, you really do need to haul all that stuff down with you, AND woken up at the crack of dark to get to the corrals on time, you’re treated to the most effective way to get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon! It’s a bit slower than the helicopter (about 4 hours instead of 20 minutes) but doesn't require any fossil fuels, aerospace grade metals, or thousands of dollars of running costs per hour. Congratulations, the hard work is now done. You can now sit back, hold on, and enjoy the view as the study and sure-footed animal carries you through some of the most scenic areas on earth!

On the way down you get time to really enjoy the scenery. Normally when you’re hiking you've got to keep an eye on your feet and the trail ahead so you don’t end up eating dirt. When you’re on the mule you can just let the animal do the work, and besides the occasional bit of direction to keep them from stopping to enjoy a nibble on any vegetation that catches their eye there’s not much you need to do. You can keep your head up, your eyes on the scenery, and occasionally try to snap a picture. (Note to those with cell phone cameras, HDR or High Dynamic Range works by taking multiple pictures in a row, then combining them. If you’re bouncing around on top of a mule and try to take one it will end up blurry, hence the lack of amazing action shots in this post >.< )

Once you've let your majestic ride carry you to your destination you can start the real work. And, because you're not tired from hiking 10 miles before you even started your actual task, you can complete it and still have the energy to snap a couple pictures of the beautiful location you have the pleasure of working in.

And, now that all of your work is done, and you've had a good night's rest in the lovely NPS-managed bunkhouse, complete with a hot shower and a bed, instead of sleeping in a tent on the ground, you can get up early the next morning to head out, and enjoy the real perk of mules; Not having to hike UP! 

While getting a ride down into the canyon is a pleasant perk, not having to hike OUT of the canyon is something that people would kill for. Imagine, you've had all of the enjoyment, all of the scenery, and none of the effort. This is not to say that hiking is bad, or the effort is not worth it, (Even with perks like these I do my best to go on a long hike in the canyon at least once a month.) but there's definitely some enjoyment in being able to enjoy the canyon without the work. And it lets you have the energy to take pictures like this on the way out to share with the lovely readers of this blog.

~With much enjoyment (and a very sore butt),  CBD.