The other day my somewhat fit husband came to me with a brilliant idea. His friend, the outdoor guy other guys envy for his lifestyle, is planning a summer-long hike in the rugged Idaho Mountains with his wife and a rotating cast of llamas for support. The trip is organized into segments so various friends & relatives can drop in and out of the
death march hike. Would I like to join in for six days in early July? Now, this shouldn't be daunting to me. I'm a western gal. I've backpacked and hiked many trails in the Idaho mountains, rafted rivers, paddled inflatable kayaks & thrown a fly line into the purest streams. I've climbed (most of) Kilimanjaro. For that, I trained like a madwoman enjoying the luxury of 2-3 hours of training a day in the final run-up to hike day! But, well, to use a very trite phrase, life comes at you fast. Six moves, two teenagers (now 1 college student and 1 graduate) and a lot of running around later I'm simply OUT. OF. SHAPE. So, I've about 60 days to train and do my homework on how to get along with a llama.
About those llamas. You know all of the cute story books and photos of llamas with their sweet faces? They don't give you a clue as to the actual size of llamas. About a year ago, I was scrambling around the Machu Picchu ruins along with hordes of other tourists. Ooh! Llamas! I spotted four of five of the group that roams the grounds freely, chomping the grasses and posing for charming Andean photos. I grabbed my camera and moved in. One of the big fellows moved toward me and I realized, he was big, strong and had no intention of stepping around me. It was close, but I managed to dodge him after catching a shot of him posing on a ledge. The encounter leaves me understanding one thing about llamas. They're not easily pushed around. I'll have to learn the art of negotiating with llamas if I'm to survive 6 days.
Let the llama psychology research begin! And, oh yes, fitness training.
