Becky the Fire Mule taught me a lot about backpacking with animals - long ago during my first summer job with the NPS at Saguaro. Two of us responded to a small fire to relieve the initial attack crew and we took Becky along to help carry the gear we needed. It was an interesting trip - about fifteen miles mostly off trail through reasonably rugged country.

After a day putting out the fire, we packed up Becky and our selves and continued on down to headquarters. About 10PM we hit the circular drive through the Saguaro forest, which we learned was a local lover's lane.

Imagine the consternation we aroused, two really dirty guys and a laden mule, rising out of the desert like an apparition in some cheap horror movie. We were the Lost Dutchmen, reincarnated. Our mission in life was to disrupt many romantic trysts, which we did as engines roared to life and tires peeled.

We finally reached the headquarters, where we tied Becky to the flagpole and sacked out. Living up on the mountain, we had no idea where anything was. The Chief Ranger finally found us and took us in for the night.

Becky was patient, but after all, she was a mule. It didn't help that somewhere along the way, we managed to lose her saddle blanket. Caring for stock complicates life, and generates route finding problems that don't exist for humans. Most of us these days simply don't have the expertise and experience, a lot of which is needed to care for the animals that will take care of you.

The bottom line for me that summer, after working with Becky and Willie Caballo, was that basically I was a hiker and not a rider.