Mules Lucy, Sadie, and Suzy, and Charlie, a horse, were all tied to the fence at Hobbyhorse Place, north of Polson, waiting for something to do on a recent Saturday. That something was about 20 children coming to a mule packing, camping, backcountry event put on by the Mission Valley Back Country Horsemen.

The kids were divided into four groups, and they rotated through each of four stations: packing/safety, the trail course, Light on the Land and camp. 

With a resume including 15 years of running an outfitting business with his wife Connie, Mack Long welcomed his group of kids and introduced them to the mules and Charlie.

Then it was straight into the fun business of practicing leading an animal, standing beside their head and holding the lead rope without wrapping it around a hand.  

There was a bucket of brushes for kids to brush the critters, too. Youngsters also led an animal over a “bridge” that was on the ground and around cones and through a brushy tree.

Mack explained tying an animal. He demonstrated a slipknot, and then kids were off with a Mission Valley Back Country Horsemen guide or Mack to watch, help, and then ask the kids to repeat

Next came an introduction to a packsaddle. Mack uses Decker packsaddles, so he saddled Suzy, pointing out the differences between a packsaddle and a riding saddle, mentioning that mules don’t have much in the way of withers, so the saddle pad needs to go much further forward than on a saddle horse. 

Mission Valley Back Country Horsemen's Scott Kiser had a tent full of interesting stuff. His station was Light on the Land, which is the Back Country Horseman’s educational platform. 

Kiser had his groups checking the weight difference between canned food and freeze-dried food. He displayed a personal water filtration system and then a large system for camp use to avoid giardia. 

Discussing planning a trip and what food to take, Kiser said preparation is enjoyable. 

“You can find recipes for anything," Kiser said. "It’s fun to try at home.”

He demonstrated a chocolate cheesecake camp dessert put together in the morning and then cooled in the creek all day.

Under a tent on a grassy spot, Mark Potter talked to his groups about camp, like picking a flat place for shelter and no rocks under a sleeping bag. He emphasized making a clean camp with all food stowed by hanging from a rope high overhead.

Connie Long also suggested going a little way out from camp to dig a latrine and avoid leaving "Charmin" lilies all over the place

The “Mountain Manners” booklet each child received recommended burning cans for a few minutes to clean them up. It’s a camp mantra to pack out all garbage, leaving the campsite in better condition than it was found.

The trail course portion of the program was led by Keith Brandt. He quizzed his groups on what they might find on the trail, getting answers such as bears, garbage, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, bees, skunks, and bird flushing. His advice was to try to figure out a way to get your horse used to some trail sights that could spook a horse. 

“Take a whip or a stick and tie a black plastic bag on it,” he said, adding to wiggle it along the ground about 40 feet from a horse to get it used to the noise and motion, then keep moving it nearer, until the horse is used to it. That will keep the animal paying attention but not jumping of his skin. 

Kids also mentioned bicycles and hikers who don’t know what to do about people on horseback. 

“Mountain Matters” suggests giving them the right of way if possible and getting hikers to talk so horses know they aren’t aliens.

The groups, together with a yummy sloppy Joe lunch cooked by Connie Long, made for an interesting and informative day for the youth and their parents.