Her 1990 marriage to Bill meant becoming a stepmom and welcoming a new daughter into the world. Donna yearned to go on Bill's backpacking trips with friends but how to transport little Liz?
Cargo-carrying llamas, of course.
Talking with a friend put the idea in her mind, and a visit to "a small llama ranch called RMC's Stonybrook Pond" nearby began a llama love affair.
Eventually Dolinar took other women on backpacking trips; "through the years there were seven llamas involved in Paradise Llama Treks. My good friend Gibby and I ran our little business with the help of our four-legged friends Peludo, Montana, Tyrol, Kenney, Buck, Shasta, and Gabriel … on most of our trips we had four of them with us."
These three-day trips took place "every year for eighteen years. The coed llama treks were four-day backpacking trips held annually for eleven years." For Dolinar "it was a personal growth story too." That meant facing challenging times, like having to call a helicopter for Bill, dealing with stinky llama spit, or having to admit she had guided her group on the wrong path.
The stories abound in "Trek Tales: A Woman's Journey Of Self-Discovery Packing Llamas In The California Wilderness" ($17.99 in paperback from Balboa Press; also for Amazon Kindle) which includes maps and a picture section. Dolinar's welcoming and humble account of trekking wilderness areas like Caribou, Trinity Alps, and Thousand Lakes draws the reader into life on the trail.
After losing their home in the Camp Fire, there were more adventures to come. Montana and Peludo, owned by "mama llama" Dolinar, play an immense part in the awakening of something deep within the nurse from Paradise. "When I listened to my inner voice and trusted it," she writes, "I found my path."
