Bucket List Adventures for the Extreme Mule Rider by Angie J. Mayfield
People ask me all the time where my next adventure is because I try to ride in at least two new places each year. Even though I’ve trail ridden mules in all 50 states and six countries, there is an endless list of places I have yet to explore in North America (and Mules and More readers and my Facebook friends are always the first to hear about them when I do). However, here are a few of my most memorable adventures that I recommend for those ultimate bucket list trips. The scenery and riding is so good that you’ll want to go back again and again.
Pack Trips
You can’t really call yourself an extreme mule rider until you’ve experienced a week-long pack trip. It’s truly a roughing it, remarkable adventure. You’ll witness God’s canvas in a whole new light. Go to a packing clinic and travel with an outfitter or some experienced packing friends your first trip. To see country that vehicles and most humans have never experienced, Bob Marshall Wilderness in northwest Montana is the ultimate pack trip with mountains, prairies, and roaring rivers that make the eyes bulge and the heart skip a beat. Yellowstone is another great packing destination with abundant wildlife and varied terrain. We go solo, but for guided trips I recommend Scott and Sandy Sallee at Black Mountain Outfitters or Mike Thompson at Wilderness Yellowstone Pack Trips.
22 • April 2020
Scott Sallee (pictured standing on his mule at left) and his wife Sandy, Emigrant, Mont., operate Black Mountain Outfitters. They also operate Slough Creek Outfitters, two deluxe tent camps in the 980,000 Absaroka-Wilderness area in southwestern Montana. They are permitted to ride through Yellowstone National Park to access the camps, and take guests for outstanding riding and amazing Yellowstone Cutthroat fishing in July and August. Photos at left by Sandy Sallee Mules and More Magazine
