When Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, the Toberer family sprang into action with the help of volunteers and a pack of mules.
The parents of three ropers —Zack (26), Jet (21) and Gracie (19) —Mike and Michele run Mountain Mule Packer Ranch in Mount Ulla, North Carolina, which specializes in teaching troops (and civilians) how to pack mules into rough and difficult terrains. After regaining their own power at home, they saw the devastation Helene inflicted and got to work.
“We went over to eat at [my parents’] house that Sunday (Sept. 29), and [Dad] was like, ‘I’m going up there to Asheville in the morning,’” Zack, who just won the JX2 Virginia Fall Classic #13.5 WSTR, explained. “[My dad] took a few guys up there, and that’s what he’s been doing pretty much since then.”
Mike, a private military contractor, moved to North Carolina from California to work with Special Forces. With over 30 years of packing experience from his days as a guide in Northern California, he was well-equipped for the task in North Carolina.
“I’m pretty confident in them,” said their youngest son Jet, who lives in Lipan, Texas, and recently won the #14.5 at the WSTR Abilene Special.” My dad’s been doing this his whole life—he used to pack mules for the Forest Service in California and help with fires and stuff, and then that’s what he does now. He trains the military, Special Forces and Navy. His program also sells [mules] to the military, and then he has a course that he’ll train teams to pack mules.”
The delivery
Armed with a string of about 10 mules and one draft cross, Mike and Michele began orchestrating supply drop-offs where the surrounding communities came together to fill horse trailers with supplies. They set up a staging area in Montreat Sept. 30, and the following morning rode into the Black Mountain area, 20 minutes east of Ashville, with the supplies.
With devastation all across Western North Carolina, the Mountain Mule Packers focused primarily on inaccessible areas since the mules are so well-equipped for that hard terrain. From food and water to toiletries and medical supplies, the list of supplies they were able to bring in is a mile long.
“We had hauled a load of supplies up there, like food, waters and stuff for everybody,” Zack said. “Some parts are different than others, but a lot of it the roads are blocked in from landslides and stuff, so there’s no way to get oxygen or insulin and stuff like that there unless it’s through helicopter. That’s where my dad kind of came in with the mules.”
Zack joined the team Oct. 2, and helped out for four or five days during the heat of the battle. The Mountain Mule Packers also had the help of Cajun Navy 2016, a nonprofit search and rescue group from Watson, Louisiana, aiding in their drop-off efforts and giving them insights as for where they needed to go.
“We can go over it like a side-by-side or something couldn’t,” Zack said. “A lot of the roads were hollow—the ground had washed out from underneath. That was little bit sketchy. [We’d] just pack loads in there and give them to people. All the people he was working with, the Cajun Navy, they kind of gave him places to go, that way we kind of knew where we were going.”
With Hurricane Helene leaving the areas looking warzone-like, the surefooted mules were best for the job. But it still took strategy in navigating the closet starting points and not wasting the mules’ energy in terrain accessible by car.
“It kind of depended on the day,” Zack said. “A lot of it’s trying to find and then get as close to where you’re going, so you’re not just taking off riding 30 miles in a day when you could have drove 20 of it. You try and get as close as you can, but they’re all little mountain roads, so some of it was kind of tight driving.”
The Mountain Mule Packers and crew packed supplies to Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Burnsville, Spruce Pine and parts of Tennessee during their 10-day trek and hauled in at least three, 40-foot trailer loads full of donations. Despite the horrific conditions, they were always met with gratitude.
“I think there was one time they sent us up to a helicopter pad to drop stuff off, but other than that, you’d pretty much meet everybody up there,” Zack said. “They were pretty happy to see you, too. Even people who could get out and go to town and stuff, we ate dinner with them; they invited us over for dinner. Everybody’s just super grateful that you’re there.”
The communities continue to rally
As more and more equipment enters the area to continue clearing roads, the crew was able to go home briefly on Wednesday, Oct. 9. But as of Oct. 11, they are back in the mountains.
“Everybody’s up there without a home and stuff, and I really think the churches need the most help now,” Zack said. “Because they’ve been up there taking care of their community, feeding and cooking for everybody, taking donations and taking care of a pretty good-sized group of people; but the people doing that, they more than likely lost their house also. They probably lost everything and are still taking care of everybody else.”
While the devastation is overwhelming, watching multiple communities come together and people from across the country donate to the cause is a glimmer of hope in dark time.
“That was probably the neatest part about it all, seeing everybody just come together and help,” Zack said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. From all over the state and even South Carolina; there’s so many people up there wanting to help, and there were a lot of people brought equipment up there clearing roads. Everybody’s just helping out however they can, and I think that’s probably in times like that, what you should do.”
Michele continues to organize donation drops, and interested parties can keep up with the locations on their Facebook page. Michele’s Venmo is also available for monetary donations.
