Howdy

[mulepackin]

You can also directly buckle your pannier straps to the decker hoops. Just a bit cumbersome and unwieldy. The decker originally was designed to be used with mantied loads, which are then attached with any number of hitches. The basket hitch, the barrel hitch being the most common. This system allows a lot more flexibility in that your container, the manty tarp, is made to fit your cargo, rather than your cargo having to be made to fit into a fairly rigid or unyielding container, the pannier. It does require more experience and practice mantying, loading, tying hitches and balancing loads, but once you get it down its a great system. Here is a basket hitched manty:

Jim

[Timbo]

Nice lookin' mule Jim!!! I want to pack with mules someday....all I've ever packed with is horses. I'll have to study up on the mantied loads and your hitches. All I know is panniers, top loads, center loads, tarps and squaw hitches..........and even when I was learning this stuff, in the back of my mind i was saying....."there has to be a better way"...........and it looks like there is.

In our defense though, we have to pack some really weird looking bags and luggage into the mountains. A gal brought a bag this summer that could not be lifted by one person alone. Turns out she had at least 2 changes of clothes per day and I saw her wear at least 5 different pairs of shoes. She had enough clothes for 2 months and was only out for 5 days. Shoot, I only bring along another pair of jeans in case I get mine torn or skunked. Granted they will stand up by themselves at the end of the trip but the horses don't mind......and I'm the only one in my tent.

Thanks for posting the info and the pic.

Tim

[TomSwede]

Welcome to the board Mulepackin!

As you've allready seen there is lots of helpful people here so this is really the place where you can look forward to gain new experience, knowledge and new friends...even all the way from Sweden;-)

Tom