Image of Mule Rescue Team Heading to Help Hurricane-Ravaged Western North Carolina Is So Touching

By Diana Logan

Mon, September 30, 2024 at 11:58 AM MDT

from Yahoo News

It can often be hard to imagine what life looked like before the modern era. After the flooding disaster in west North Carolina this weekend, people were baffled as to why the emergency response was not quicker to the ravaged area. But the problem is that many of these regions are complexly unreachable. The passes, bridges, and mountain roads that led to rural regions in the Appalachian mountains have been destroyed, which make it very hard for rescue teams to even access the area.

In the olden days, the best way to travel the rugged terrain of Appalachia was with trains of pack mules, and even in the modern era, these beast of burden can provide much needed relief in the face of a disaster like the one the region is currently facing.

In this post, a company specializing in pack mule training courses reveals that they are sending their animals into areas affected by the flooding with supplies in order to help reach communities and victims of the disaster in North Carolina.

Photo: from Mountain Mule Packer Ranch

Today, the mules are headed to Weatherville, but they are putting out a call for groups or communities to reach out if they need these services.

“Please reach out to us at 910-885-1402 if you know of specific needs and areas that we can get our mule strings in to help!” They write. “We can bring supplies or pack in what your group has acquired already!”

The History of Mules in North Carolina

Though it may seem surprising, there’s actually a long history of using mules to help people get supplies in and out of mountainous regions in western North Carolina.

Everything old is new again.

“Mules are a surprisingly big part of our culture in North Carolina,” writes one person on Reddit when they saw the post. “They're featured in local art, literature, and one town (Benson) even has a week-long festival called Mule Days that celebrates our agricultural heritage; people bring in their mules and horses from all around the state. Now here they are, being put to work to support our local communities in need. Such wonderful animals.”

Even in the mid-twentieth century, there were over one hundred thousand mules living in the state, and people relied upon them for supplies, transport, trade, and agriculture.

Mules are the perfect animals for pack supplies as they have high levels of endurance and can work as long as twelve hours a day while only needing half as much feed as a horse. Their strength is also extremely useful is the rough terrain of a mountain whose roads have been destroyed by floods.

How You Can Help, Too

The best way to help the victims of this terrible disaster are to donate to organizations on the ground in North Carolina who can help those in the communities affected. Mountain Mule Packer Ranch has put up a Venmo link if you want to send funds to them, and there are a variety of local agencies that are accepting donations. World Central Kitchen is already on the ground in several areas providing meals to victims as well as rescue teams. More good places to Dontae can be found here.

Experts advise people to stay away from the region unless you are officially working with a rescue team or charity, due the danger of stressing the already slim resources.