Dear reader,
60 years ago, Smoke taught his first horse and mule packing class for the University of Montana at the Fairgrounds in Missoula. Eight students huddled outside in the snow eager to learn the ropes in January. “It was one of the best packing classes ever taught,” one of the participants, now a long time mule packer and friend Mike Chandler, likes to say. Smoke wasn’t the legend back then. He was just a young guy from Ohio who wanted to be an outfitter and feed his family when he couldn’t run pack trips in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in winter. So a few weeks before he walked the graduation stage to receive his diploma, he became a university instructor.
But it wasn’t only Smoke that made the class unique that day, it was the wealth of experience. With him were his mentors, four of the most seasoned outfitters in Montana: Bob Toelke from Charlo, C.B. Rich from Seeley Lake, Howard Copenhaver from Ovando, and Ferd Procknow of Missoula. Smoke had just managed to buy Ferd’s outfit - a few horses, pack saddles, bridles, and moldy tents - with a $2000 bank loan backed by a friend. Now he was also training to take over his packing class. But Bob, Howard, and C.B. weren’t only there to help with the class. In April, they were scheduled to load their horses and mules on the 1964 Montana Centennial Train to travel to the World Fair in New York City. So the students brushed a lot of horses, cleaned saddles, and learned how to train animals that only knew mountain trails to safely parade parade through a dozen busy downtowns across the U.S.
60 years, many mountain miles, mules, and classes later, another group of University of Montana students want to learn about wild places and how to pack gear on mules and horses. This time, I am the main teacher and the weather is nice, but Smoke sits close by, watching as each student makes their first load. The class is small this year, just four students - an engineer, a wildlife biologist, a journalist, and a Parks, Tourism and Recreation major. On the first day of class and they don’t ask many questions yet but they are eager to learn and their curiosity is bubbling up with each minute. It is fun to watch. Learning how to pack comes easy to those used to learning with their hands, for others it takes time. The quickest learner, Smoke likes to say, are the Navy Seals. He taught hundreds of them how to pack and they master the skills of a six week class in three days. “You show them once and they remember,” he says with a smile and admiration. “They just do it and don’t think too much about it.” I had to take Smoke’s pack class twice, work for an outfitter, and tighten a few loose packs on the mule above a steep mountain cliff, before I could turn off my brain and the craft became muscle memory. I still learn something new every time I teach a student.
Smoke showing UM students how to manty a perfect load.
There are many ways to pack a mule and each packer has a slightly different take and some strong convictions how to do it. First, the gear needs to be assembled and wrapped in a canvas sheet (see video). We usually use military style metal boxes to practice. They don’t fall apart like the sleeping bags, clothing, and tents in the field will. After the canvas is folded around the gear or mantied, the manty rope keeps the load together.
With the students watching, Jeff Miller, one of Smoke’s first wranglers and assistant, demonstrates how he did this work hundreds or thousands of times. Every move is practiced and confident. I remember how I saw him tie off the load and place it on a mule’s pack saddle for the first time, full of admiration. Learning packing, like any new skill, requires patience, being ok with making mistakes, and openness to other peoples advice. It is a humbling experience, and I am proud of my students for trying it over and over again, until they stand up with a broad smile and a sore back from bending over but proud of their first mantied load.
When I came up with the idea of the three week UM summer class “Wilderness Policy and Packing”, I wanted students to use their hands and their brains, because I think only with both real, long-term learning happens. So in class, they don’t only practice how to make a load and pack it on a mule safely. We also talk about how intricately connected packing is with wilderness and how human and animals alike have been connected and been part of wild places forever. But just like Smoke years go, it is the wealth of knowledge of many people around Missoula that makes this class a truly unique experience. For example, Tim Ryan from the Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, MT tells us about how the Salish people on their seasonal rounds have carried their equipment for millenia, first on their backs, then on animals to live with the land that is now called the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Jamie Jonkel, the bear expert of Montana’s Fish & Wildlife and Parks, shares how Grizzly bears need wild places to survive. Others share their knowledge about impacts of wildfire or recreation on wild places, or discuss how to manage fish, clear dams, and keep wild places wild.
Each time I see the students learn and grow in this class and I with them, I think about what Smoke once told me: “It is not one person, but the choir that makes all the difference.”
Auf bald,
Eva
NEWS and upcoming EVENTS
On my first ride in the Hush of the Land tour bus, I thought we needed a sticker to complete the fun. Here is a sneak peak:
Maybe we can bring a few stickers to our next reading in Helena this week!
Paradise, MT, June 19, 6-7pm, Paradise Center
Lincoln, MT, July 27, Sculpture in the Wild
Kalispell, MT, September 3, Flathead Valley Community College, 6-7:30pm (60th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act!)
Seeley Lake, MT, December 6, Community Foundation Bldg, 2pm, hosted by Alpine Artisans
Virtual HUSH OF THE LAND Storytelling & Reading with book signing!
We are currently working on offering a virtual HUSH OF THE LAND Storytelling & Reading with book signing event. Please get in touch (info@evamaggi.com) if you would be interested in having us talk to your community or join your book club via zoom!
You can also find HUSH OF THE LAND on Facebook and Instagram.
Smoke Elser packing class, June 1 & 2
Smoke and Jeff offer one more two-day packing clinic at The Barn in Missoula’s Rattlesnake Valley for anyone interested to learn how to safely pack a mule or horse. Contact Smoke at 406-549-2820 for more information.
And remember when you reach the end of the rope:
The instruction, knowledge, experience and stories are all greatly appreciated. But there is something of even greater importance. This sharing by Smoke and Eva activates a strand of our DNA that can only be activated by spending time in wild places. Thank you!