About Evolution Pack Goats
The slippery slope
We started packing goats in 2020 as a way to make hunting elk in truly wild and remote areas feasible. There would be just four goats. It would be easy. We loved packing our first goats, but they weren't quite perfect. What if we just bred the best and used those as our packers? Our simple plan to get a few goats for elk hunting rapidly expanded into a quest to develop lines with the ideal combination of traits for "expedition" style multi-week traverses in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church wilderness areas and for running supplies into our backcountry ski hut in the Buffalo Hump. All told, we pack our goats more than 30-40 days each year.
The Evolution Pack Goats Ranch
Our ranch sits just outside of Troy, ID, on the breaks of Little Bear Canyon where our goats spend spring, summer, and fall foraging in the forest and steep, rugged shrubland. Climbing and jumping over downed trees and pushing through thick brush is just a regular day to day activity for our goats and exposes them to selection for trail hardiness even when at home. Pasture potatoes do not last in this environment. We also take the goats on regular hikes through our network of forest trails, particularly in winter when they are cooped up and bored eating grass hay. Our trails offer excellent training opportunities for young goats to learn trail manners, become familiar with running water, and develop confidence when traveling through rocks and cliffs.
