Several logistical questions, pretty much unrelated to the plot and theme of the movie:
I don't know anything about farming or cattle or sheep or grazing or any of that, so forgive me if this is a silly question, but why were these herds of sheep on National Forest Service land anyway? Why weren't they on the land of their owner? Why were they allowed to eat the grass and mess up our forests? Why weren't the sheep allowed to be closer to where the campsites were, rather than 3-4 miles away? Why were they moved at different intervals in the story? And why were they brought back down to (I'm presuming) the same place they started? I just don't get it. Basically, what was the purpose of the sheepherding -- what was gained from it, and for whom? Surely these sheep were just meant for slaughter, so why move them all over the place? I'd think the owner would want them fat, dumb, and happy basically in the safety of his own farm, rather than out exercising and at risk of death all the time.
I know that's a lot of questions. It would just help me to know these things, cause in my ignorance, I just can't figure out what Jack and Ennis were doing up there in the first place. Thanks.
They weren't in a park, they were in a national wilderness area.
I'm sure someone in the know probably knows why they are allowed to be there. I only know that they are.
I've backpacked into the Shoshone and Fitzpatrick wildernesses in Wyoming and as I hiked above the tree line and onto the tundra of the pass through the mountains, my group ran across a herd of cattle. It was disconcerting to have to hike around cow patties, and we couldn't sit down on the ground lest we pick up some cattle ticks. Luckily though, we weren't going to bed down on open ground, but up higher in the mountains, where there are no pastures.
Like cattle, sheep eat quite a bit of grass and usually small ranches don't have the land area to keep them fed, hence the constant search for good pasturage.
Why were they moved from place to place? Good question.
I don't know if that's a herding thing or a national wilderness area thing to keep the sheep from stripping an area of all the vegetation. They weren't the only sheep herders up there, don't forget. And elk and deer also need pasture, so I'm sure the national forest service also has a say on where and for how long they can pasture the woolies.
Why did they go back down the way they came?
In national wilderness areas, there are usually easy ways in and out of the mountains already marked as trails. You don't trail blaze all by your lonesome. You can, but the boys aren't interested in forcing the sheep through unknown backcountry, possibly losing some, or ending up in areas they can't take their horses through. They'll stick to the established trails to make things easier for everyone. And remember, Aguirre needs to know where they'll come down and have the trucks ready. They can't just come down and out anywhere they choose. He has to know where to meet them and the place where he meets them has to be conducive to trucks and loading sheep.
And it's faster and easier going
down the mountain, than going
up the mountain. We hiked into the wilderness area, into the mountains, up to glacier level and took a few days to do it. We hiked back down the mountain and out in one day.
