Trek Tales: A Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery Packing Llamas in the California Wilderness

By Donna Dolinar

Trek Tales will inspire your love for adventure, nature, and llamas. The author describes her longing to be in the wild places and to spend more time in nature. On this journey she adopts two amazing llamas and trains them for backpacking. She also meets a friend on a similar journey with her llamas. Together, for many years, they provide friends and family many wonderful backcountry experiences in the California wilderness. The food, scenery and comradery of these adventures draws people together in community with one another. Some trek tales are harrowing and others humorous, but all of them are true.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765229279

Donna Dolinar

Donna lives with her husband, Bill in Los Barriles, Mexico in the winter months, and their cabin near Sierra City, California in the summer. She continues to hike, bike, swim, and kayak as much as possible in both places. She also loves to garden, travel in her camper van, and enjoy time with friends and family.

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Copyright © 2022 Donna Dolinar.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Balboa Press

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www.balboapress.com

844-682-1282

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use

of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical

problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The

intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you

in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any

of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right,

the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Map Images Credit: Liz Dolinar M.A., Archeologist, GIS Specialist

Cover photo by Marcia Briggs

Other photos - Bill Dolinar, Barbara Favilla, Sherry Woolacottt, Norman

Howell, Amy Dolinar, Carlene Lokey, and helpful people on the trail.

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2926-2 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2928-6 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2927-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022909904

Balboa Press rev. date:   06/10/2022

Dedicated to Montana and Peludo.

Without these two amazing llamas, none

of this would have been possible.

Montana (1991–2014, 23 years)

Peludo (1993–2013, 19 years)

No names have been changed to protect the innocent. After eighteen

years of treks, several years of procrastination, a poor memory of

some events, and a growing need as a woman to do things my way,

I have only slightly enhanced these stories and adventures.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

PART 1: I WON’T BE LEFT BEHIND

1     Saddlebag Lake and Yosemite

2     Musings

3     Moonshine, Peludo, and Montana

4     Auburn

5     Desolation Wilderness

6     Rained Out

PART 2: TREKS

7     Caribou Wilderness

8     Trinity Alps Wilderness

9     Loon Lake

10   Tahoe National Forest

11   Thousand Lakes Wilderness

12   Ansel Adams Wilderness and the John Muir Trail

13   Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness and John Muir Wilderness

14   Hoover Wilderness

PART 3: BEYOND THE TREKS

15   Retirement

16   Peludo Then Montana

Epilogue

References

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Foreword

My llama journey started nearly forty years ago when I moved onto an 85-acre farm and started a commercial llama packing venture in the remote northeast corner of Oregon. Over the course of twenty years, I led countless treks into the Eagle Cap, Hells Canyon and Pasayten Wilderness Areas. I wrote a book, Packing With Llamas, as well as numerous articles for Llamas magazine about what I learned, and my experiences on the trail. And for ten more years I continued to live with llamas on that farm before moving on to the next chapter of my life.

Now, several years later, I read with delight Donna Dolinar’s recounting of her own llama journey, teeming with stories of her personal growth and backcountry adventures. As the pages turned, I was moved by the loss of Moonshine, having lost a special llama of my own early on. And I felt like I knew Peludo and Montana as they were clearly brothers in spirit to my best llamas Murphy and Banjo. So many stories spurred my recollections of good times on the trail with groups of women, groups of friends, and groups of people from near and far who came to explore the beauty and inspiration of the wilderness. And to do so while hiking with a long-necked, large-eared, wooly companion.

Donna speaks the truth: llamas are highly intelligent animals and profound teachers. Through training and traveling with llamas I learned as much about myself as I probably taught them about living and working with me. Sometimes it takes a while for that learning to sink into our human minds, but llamas are very consistent in their beings and wisdom. They have and they teach patience. Without speaking they respond to us, and when that response is Yes, let’s go hike up that trail there’s nothing more gratifying and enjoyable.

In her stories Donna conveys both the challenges and the joys of living with llamas. Facing challenges in difficult and sometimes dangerous situations far from the trailhead, she draws on her inner resources to resolve both animal and human problems. She recounts the joys of sharing the beautiful California wilderness lakes and mountains with family, friends and new-friends-to-be on annual women’s treks--not to mention the special comradery with her partner-in-llama trekking, Gibby. I only wish our paths had crossed back in the day when we would have doubtless spent hours sharing stories, trekking tips, and more than a couple glasses of wine.

My recommendation is to take this book on a hike where you can sit under a Ponderosa pine tree by a glacial lake or mountain stream, pour yourself a glass of your favorite trail beverage, and laugh and cry as you travel with Donna, her family, friends, Peludo and Montana on their remarkable journeys.

Stanlynn Daugherty, author of Packing with Llamas

Introduction

Welcome to Trek Tales! Even as they were happening, I knew that maybe someday I could put my stories of hiking with llamas in a book. Here, you’ll find stories of people and places of beauty, as well as frightening and sad times. Not everything worked out the way we wanted, even if we planned the adventure right down to the smallest of details. During these treks, I never anticipated calling for a helicopter or being available for a good friend in a very bad space.

Our women’s llama treks took groups of women backpacking for three days every year for eighteen years. The coed llama treks were four-day backpacking trips held annually for eleven years. We also went on countless training treks and many friends-and-family treks without paying customers. All these treks were supported by llamas. When I say supported, I mean that the llamas carried the food and gear needed to support the backcountry camping experience. This allowed clients, friends, and family to have a backcountry wilderness experience with a lighter pack, and good food and drink other than the usual freeze-dried variety.

Through the years there were seven llamas involved in Paradise Llama Treks. My good friend Gibby and I ran our little business with the help of our four-legged friends Peludo, Montana, Tyrol, Kenney, Buck, Shasta, and Gabriel. The llamas lived on our respective properties in Paradise, CA, and on most of our trips, we had four of them with us.

What I didn’t know when I decided to write this book was that it was a personal growth story too. The llamas affected my life in a deep and meaningful way, and helped me form a community of support, growth, and adventure. The experiences nurtured my spirit and assisted me in becoming the person I was meant to be. I owe a lot to their presence in my life and the people they brought closer to me through these experiences.

Writing this book has been almost as much of an adventure as living it. It has taken a long while but has been absolutely worth it. I have grown so much, learned so much, and have been supported so well. I hope that you enjoy the stories and that they inspire you to seek your own adventure in some small or big way.

PART I

I Won’t Be Left Behind

Chapter 1

Saddlebag Lake and Yosemite

We knew we were getting close as we descended the winding highway in the big curve toward the amazing view of Mono Lake. It was late July, and everything appeared dry except for the ancient lake itself.

Yosemite National Park and the surrounding area can take your breath away. I’ve been to many beautiful places, but what I especially love about Yosemite and the Sierras is the sense of stillness it brings me. Being among the trees, the streams, the pristine lakes, and the majestic granite gives me a special sense of peace. I often reflect on the history of the people that have lived in and visited the Sierras with a similar appreciation.

My husband Bill, stepson Eric, and two of Bill’s friends were going backpacking from Saddlebag Lake, located just outside the Tioga pass entrance, to Yosemite National Park near Lee Vining. I was to remain at our base camp at Saddlebag with my stepdaughter Mira, age eleven, and our daughter Liz, age two. We had four days to camp and play, then pick up the guys at their endpoint north and deliver them back to the base camp. I was excited! I love the great outdoors and because I was balancing work as a registered nurse with a demanding family life, I was ready for a change of scenery and a little break.

Bill and I were married in September of 1990, months before Liz was born in February. We had been living together with three of his four kids—David, Eric, and Mira—and decided to get married when Amy, his second eldest, was visiting since we were all together.

Our wedding was a simple ceremony with an elderly retired minister, flower bouquets for the girls and me, and a small wedding cake at home. Three weeks later, we had a big party with friends and family. We lived on five acres in a log home that Bill had built from a kit eleven years prior. We had just finished some repairs and built a large redwood deck on the south side of the house off the kitchen and dining room. Our new redwood deck was the setting for the wedding and party.

When I reflect on our simple and wonderful wedding ceremony, at home among the oak trees and ponderosa pines, I recognize myself as a woman in love. In love with a wonderful man, family, and home full of love and beauty. I was also a twenty-nine-year-old pregnant woman about to officially become a stepmom of four kids ages seventeen, fourteen, twelve and nine. Through my happiness, I was very aware that I could easily lose myself in this scenario. It was a pattern I had followed before, but now I needed to be wiser. Part of this path to be wiser was to accept my emotions as real and to listen to my inner voice and intuition. All these thoughts and emotions were playing themselves out on our adventure to Yosemite.

Here it is, Bill said as he pulled in to the campsite at Saddlebag Lake, parking the car after our long drive. I began to unload the car and set up the base camp for myself and the girls. We three had the bulk of the gear since we were car camping, and the others only had their backpacking gear.

Don’t unload your whole pack, Bill explained to Eric. We’ll be taking off really early in the morning. Just take out what you need for tonight.

The other backpackers did the same. Since we had eaten an early dinner on the road, we were able to relax and hang out in camp for the remainder of the evening, enjoying the stars and the clearness of the night sky in the mountains. We then went to bed early—it had been a long day, and the guys wanted to be rested for their hike the next day.

My own experience of backpacking was limited. As a kid, I had been camping in campgrounds like this one, and though I enjoyed the one backpacking experience I had in my college years, I remembered it being extremely exhausting. I was a youth leader for a young life group in San Francisco that needed a last-minute female leader for a weeklong backpacking trip in Hetch Hetchy Valley, the northwestern part of Yosemite. I borrowed all my equipment, including boots, backpack, sleeping bag, pad, and mess kit. Luckily, my pack was a little lighter than normal because the horses dropped off our food at our base camp two days into the backcountry. I was twenty years old and full of energy, but I was a rookie backpacker who was expected to be a leader. I was completely exhausted at the end of that week!

Bill, Eric and the rest of the backpackers were up at six o’clock sharp to have breakfast, repack their gear, and get on the trail.

Rise and shine, Bill exclaimed when the alarm went off. I was up too, getting the coffee going and putting out the breakfast foods. Thanks Donna, Bill said as he stirred the milk and sugar into his coffee.

No problem. I took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, my eyes skimming over the still surface of the lake. It was beautiful out there, and I found myself suddenly jealous that I wouldn’t be joining them. I hope you have a good trip.

We will. You know where to pick us up, right?

I nodded. Yes, I’ll be there by three o’clock on Thursday, for sure.

Mira and Liz were still in the tent, nestled in their bags as the guys discussed water filters, stove fuel, and the weight of their packs. The two of them crawled out toward the door for kisses goodbye before Bill put on his pack. I too gave Bill a kiss and Eric a hug, then all four guys went wandering through the campsites toward the trailhead. I was still happy to be at beautiful Saddlebag Lake, but I was surprised to find a little resentment in the mix as I watched them go.

Okay, girls, I said when everyone was awake. Let’s have some breakfast and pack our lunches. We’re going hiking in Yosemite too! It was time to take charge, plan some fun days, and enjoy our vacation. As the girls and I were getting organized, I thought about how weird and different I acted when the guys were around compared to when I was alone with the girls. It was like I relinquished a part of myself, the part that was independent and self-sufficient. The strong woman in me was thrown off balance. It was subtle, but apparent. These thoughts infused the next few days.

Even with these thoughts of introspection, Mira, Elizabeth (at two years old she was still most often Elizabeth), and I had a great time! We enjoyed the camping and our daily adventures. We purchased our weeklong pass to Yosemite that morning and set off on our first outing, Elizabeth Lake.

The hike to Elizabeth Lake was more than two miles from the trailhead where we parked, and much of it was uphill. I had a backpack for Liz to ride in, but she liked to hike on her own as well. We stashed our water and snacks in the pouch under her seat in the backpack. Of course, I chose to hike to this lake to have a memory of little Elizabeth at Elizabeth Lake. Like most high Sierra lakes, Elizabeth Lake, at 9,500 ft., is very picturesque with its many evergreens and amazing granite. We had it all to ourselves on that glorious summer day in 1993.

We found a place for lunch at the lake’s edge and took off our hiking boots to soak our feet in the cold water. Liz picked up pebbles and threw them in the lake as she nibbled on some cheese and crackers. Mira and I collected as many flat rocks as we could find and practiced skipping rocks.

Donna, I did four skips, Mira exclaimed with excitement.

Well, I guess you don’t need a lesson. I gave her a high five. That’s really good!

Just then, a mama duck with six ducklings in tow came into view from around the corner. They were so cute, and it was even cuter watching Liz pointing at them and yelling duck in her little voice. The hot sun and the cold water felt so good. I felt great about making it to our destination and enjoying this time. We found a grassy shaded spot to relax after lunch before we headed back to the trail for our hike back.

The next day, we headed up to Lembert Dome in Tuolumne Meadows, not too far from our base camp at Saddlebag. I had rock climbed an easy route on the face as a beginner in my early twenties. I knew that there was a trail on the backside that could easily get us to the top of the dome. It’s considered a puppy dome, but for the girls and me, it was just right for our next adventure.

Granite is the best. Such a beautiful rock, so sturdy and grounding by its weighty nature. We headed up the rock on the easy path, enjoying the fresh air, the forest, and not too many people on the same excursion as us. We made it about halfway up before I noticed Mira had become unusually quiet.

Hey Mira, I said hanging back until she caught up to me with Liz on my back. Are you okay? What’s wrong?

I’m scared, said Mira, looking up at the sheer granite face in front of us. I tried to see the hike from her eyes. It was pretty steep, and at times we were on the side of the dome with a view of the ground below.

We’ll take our time and go as slow as you need, I promised, but we’re making it to the top! I knew Mira could do it. My inner nature guide, coupled with my stubborn parent, was willing to dawdle all the way up as we breathed in the fresh pine-filled air of the mountains. I assured Mira again and again that she was safe as we slowly made our way up the path.

When we reached the top, Mira let out a big sigh and glanced around at the rounded granite surface and beyond toward Tuolumne Meadows.

Isn’t it beautiful up here? I asked. Aren’t you glad you made it?

Mira nodded, beaming, and continued to look around at the incredible landscape surrounding us. We stayed atop the grounding granite of Lembert Dome for a while, playing, picnicking, and celebrating Mira’s success. She was proud of herself, and I was proud of her for experiencing her true nature.

I felt completely content to be Mira’s nature guide. It was a part of myself I didn’t indulge enough, but my years of hiking and loving nature had made me good at it. Again, I thought of the guys and wondered what it would be like to join them.

Years later, Mira shared with me that this hike was the reason she was no longer afraid of heights. I would add that