Oh - It was a great time. The guy is a friend of my dads, and I went down to ride his patrol with him for 8 days. At the time, I had fancy wussy Arab show horses, and I spent 8 days on a mule. What a fantastic experience. I adored mules after that trip, and think they are absolutely premier as a trail mount. This is me... then :~D
We camped, his pack string was loose, just following along. He'd turn the mules loose at night to eat, leaving only their mother, a buckskin QH, in camp, and only needing to bring enough feed for her. They stuck ~fairly~ close, though he was gone a good while looking for them some mornings ;~D