Hike with a Llama Deep in the Tennessee Woods

Last week, while scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled upon a post that made me do a double-take. It was on a page I follow called Hidden Gems USA Travel, which highlights unique and cool experiences across the country.

This particular post caught my eye because it was about something in Tennessee, which is pretty close to the Tri-State area. The experience was unlike anything I'd seen before, so I had to share it with you.

It's called Llama Treks in the Smoky Mountains, and it looks fantastic. You get to hike with a llama companion! I checked out their website for details and was intrigued by the concept, so I reached out to the owner and operator, Steve Garrett, to learn more about how this unique idea came to be.

Get our free mobile app

First off, tell me about your llamas. 

We have 13 llamas, two alpacas and one guanaco.  All three are from the camelid family and have two other cousins. The camel is the largest of them all and the vicuña is the smallest of the family.  All, but the camel, live in South America in the Andis Mountains.  Most live at 6,000 ft and above, they don't have a barbershop to stop in and get a haircut so they use elevation to keep them cool in the warmer months and come down the mountain to forage for food and stay warmer in the cooler months.

On the farm, they do need a sheering once a year, and is usually done in April/May. I have used their fiber to insulate the walls in my garage.  The vicuna is the most valuable fiber of the camelid family.

 I hear Llamas spit. Do they spit? 

My guys spit for three reasons.  The first, is for food, the spit at each other when the other llamas come over to their part of the trough to steal their food.  So, they spit to keep them at bay while they finish their food.  The second, is because another llama, alpaca or guanaco got into their personal space.  The third, is due to a full moon or an eclipse.

Can you go on the website and pick your llama ahead of time or does your guide pick your llama?

I allow my clients to pick their own llama to hike with.  I do steer people towards one that will fit them, usually kids.  They want some really good-looking llama that is out of their league.  Meaning they won't be able to handle them on the walk.

Do they ever carry gear is or is it more just for just a fun buddy to walk next to you on a hike?

We use to have the llamas carry tables, chairs and coolers and have a lunch along the way.  We do have two llamas that retired from Mt. Leconte, which is the third highest mtn in the smokies.  They use llamas to carry fresh bedlinens and perishable foods up the mtn to a hiking lodge.  That has since been removed from our offering.  The llamas are just hiking companions for you as you take a stroll through the smokies.

Tell me about the difficulty level of the hiking trails you go on.

Our hike is a one hour hike that is an hour long.  I would say in our area the trail is rated as easy.  For most of my clients I would say that it's rated as easy to moderate.  It's no Clingman's Dome.  The trail has been made with an excavator and is approximately 4-5 ft wide with minimal roots for most of the trail and then we get to a narrower section with some roots exposed for about 100 yards.  For the most part, I have made it easy for all ages to partake in a llama hike.  We have had kids from 2yrs old hike with us up to a hundred year old man just a couple years ago.

What if someone can’t hike but wants to have a llama encounter?

For those that can't hike or don't want to do that kind of experience. We do something called a farm visit.  Its a glorified way of saying a petting zoo.  The client gets up close and personal with them.

We put you in a large area with all of the llamas and a brief conversation has been had about llamas and then your free to mingle with the llamas, alpacas and the guanaco.

Tell me about the Llama Treks. How did you get into this? What made you decide to do this?

How did I get here...

Thirty years ago my wife, Johnna, and I were honeymooning in North Georgia in the mountains and we stumbled across a sign that said Appalachian Trail GA - ME.   I told my wife that was a misprint and we ended up at the Ranger's station. He pulled out a 4' map of the AT and said it was just short of 2,200 miles through 14 states and is equivalent to doing Mt Everest 16 times.  I was in the corporate world and my wife told me one day I should hike the AT.  So I went to work the next day and asked for a leave of absence for next year.

While I was out hiking I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do when I grew up and decided when I returned home after my hike.

[Years later after various jobs] Johnna and I had a conversation about what's next and she said why don't you stop being a puppet and become the puppet master. The next day I was at the office and found a website where you can post your business for sale and was overwhelmed at what I read.  About every industry you can imagine has a business for sale.

I went home that night and asked myself one important question....what would I like to do?  (Not how much money do I want to make?)  I looked at all my hobbies and none paid.  I said I do like hiking, I don't know where you can hike for a living but what if I own an outfitter and sold outdoor gear?  The next day I searched for outdoor/hiking/kayaking/climbing businesses.  I came across Smoky Mtn Llama Treks for sale.  I thought, "Ya, I have never seen a llama nor have I lived on a farm before. I'm not doing that!"

For three weeks God worked on me and told me I was moving to TN to buy llamas.  I told him that the radio station is pretty fuzzy.  A few days later Johnna ends up in my office and sees the llamas on my screen and says "I can see you doing that.  Let's go check it out!"  I said, "Honey what are you smoking?"  I called my in-laws up in Florida and they met us in Gatlinburg and we decided on the 11-hour trip back home to buy llamas.

That is how one ends up with llamas.

Since llamas, I have accomplished so many more goals that would take a book to tell you all the stories.  Actually, I am writing that book.  It's pretty amazing who has been on a llama hike with me.  Most of my stories are one degree of ridiculousness.

As Steve said, the hikes are pretty easy so children and adults can participate. The hikes are $45 - $65. Totally worth it in my opinion for such a unique memory making experience! To book or for more info, visit https://smokymountainllamatreks.com/.