Need a hiking buddy this summer? No prob-llama!
Paragon Guides, an outfitter in Vail, Colorado, lets you borrow llamas to take for a hike, and the scenic jaunt in one of Colorado’s best mountain towns includes a stop for lunch, too.
Sign me up. Alpaca my bags!
The guide company offers different routes for its “Take A Llama To Lunch” adventure in Vail, which is about two hours west of Denver. While the skiing is great, this mountain town is deserving of a visit in the summertime, too, with fun adventures like whitewater rafting, golfing, ziplining, and an alpine roller coaster in addition to llama hiking experience.
The Arrowhead Llama Lunch is based out of the Arrowhead Ski Area, and is an easy to moderate half-day hike. The Backcountry Llama Lunch is a full-day hike in the wildnerness that is for more serious hikers. If hiking is not your thing, there’s also a wine and cheese option in the Arrowhead Ski Area.
Llamas do great with children due to their gentle nature, according to Paragon, so these hikes make for unique family or group outings. Plus, the llamas are excellent trail companions and pack animals and can carry as much as 80 pounds.
But don’t mistake them for horses and start any llama drama: You can’t ride them! The company gives this fair warning: “They do not like being ridden no matter how much grain we feed them.”
But you know what you can do? Pull out your camera and say “but first, llama take a selfie.”
Love llamas and can’t get enough of the cute, wooly creatures?
For intrepid types who want to conquer one of Colorado’s famed 14er’s (a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet), Four Seasons Resorts and Residences Vail offers an exclusive experience: “Hike a 14er with a llama.” The hotel has partnered with Paragon for the two-day adventure that’s available mid-June through September. The llamas will join you up the “14er” carrying your food and goods.
Those on the East Coast, we didn’t forget ewe!
High Hampton Resort in Cashiers, North Carolina, which is an upscale resort in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has llamas you can hike with to the base of Rock Mountain.
Want to relax with a game of golf instead of sweat? A llama will join you on the greens and act as a caddy. “They are pros at carrying your clubs, however we can’t vouch for their advice on reading the greens,” the resort explained.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUz_ebTAFp4/?taken-by=highhamptonresort
(As if you needed another reason to visit High Hampton Resort, they also have miniature donkeys named Fred and Ed, who you can feed!)
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to book your next llama-focused vacation!