On an overcast but humid July day, five Nubian pack goats brazenly led the way up the steep and winding Dorothy Cleveland Trail on South Whidbey, guiding three humans deeper into the forest.

The unusual hiking party made quite a sight, with some passersby pulling out their phones to take photos and others expressing their admiration.

“Right on,” one man called from the window of his pickup truck down by the Possession Beach Waterfront Park boat launch.

Shepherd David Ross has been hitting the trails with his herd of boys for years but only recently decided to invite other humans to join the pack.

“I would constantly be running into people, and they would ask if they could come along or follow us along for the day,” he said.

Thus began the idea to lead weekly hikes with goats. Whidbey residents and visitors alike have enjoyed getting to meet the farm animals up close and go on a walk with them.

For Ross, who loves both goats and people, it’s the perfect world.

“I get a kick out of it but I mostly get a charge out of watching people that haven’t been around the goats interact,” he said. “Usually there’s so much laughing, so many smiles.”

Ross and his wife, Molly Jacobson, own Blackberry Moon Farm in Clinton. The couple have been dedicated to goat farming since 1994. When they lived in Sitka, Alaska, Ross brought a goat home to surprise Jacobson, after hearing that a woman on a local radio show was giving one away.

“We’ve had goats ever since that day,” Ross said.

Now, Ross and Jacobson have somewhere between 30 to 40 goats on their farm. Jacobson makes an array of colorful and tactile soaps from the does’ milk, which they sell online and in their shop next door to Island Nosh in Clinton.

Ross likes to take his goats on a guided forest walk known as the Dorothy Cleveland Trail, which begins at the boat launch at Possession Beach Waterfront Park in Clinton. He recommends this particular hike for ages 6 and up because of the elevation and the narrow trail. The pack boys know this trail like the back of their hooves, and they tend to push ahead if they fall behind.

Each goat weighs about 180 pounds, and they have a pecking order they follow that Ross has never disturbed. River is the toughest and smartest, but he doesn’t care to be the leader. Yukon prefers to be at the front and will only let River be the leader; everyone else gets a warning head bump if they pull ahead. Thor and Suhkoi are usually in the middle of the pack. And even though Tongass is the same age as some of the others, he has to stay in the back of the pack.

“He fell behind in life, and I had pull him out and give him supplemental grains and stuff, therefore he’s at the bottom of the pecking order and he knows he has to stay in the back or they’ll give him a little head thump when he gets up front,” Ross explained. “Even though they love him, it’s his place with them.”

Ross also likes to take his herd to the Trillium Community Forest in Freeland, which has flatter, wider trails suitable for all ages. Everyone from babies strapped to fronts and backs to people in their 80s have joined the pack.

“As we go along, I’m surprised how much they’re actually teaching me,” Ross said. “I didn’t know I was going to learn so much.”

For example, the goats recognize when someone is part of the pack and match their pace. When the group comes across other people on the trail, the goats treat them differently.

Ross likes to educate those, especially from the city, about goats while they are hiking.

“You’ll always hear a goat has four stomachs. Well, not really true,” he said. “It has one big stomach with four parts. Right here, on this left side, is the rumen and it has to keep it full.”

The goats are happy to browse often, knowing they can slow up the group to eat. Elderberry is their favorite plant.

At the end of the walk, Ross brings out some baby goats from the trailer for everyone to cuddle.

One time, a Girl Scout asked Ross about how long he planned to offer his goat hikes.

“I would like to think I would be doing this until I’m a very old man, but the truth of the matter is one of my goats is probably going to push me off a mountain ledge,” he said with a laugh.

In fact, he plans to continue into the fall and winter with year-round hikes. There are pre-scheduled public hikes for Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, but people can also reach out to blackberrymoonmarket@gmail.com or stop by the soap shop to arrange a different time. The hike is free for toddlers and babies, but for kids ages 3-16 it costs $35 and for adults it’s $65.

And this time of year, don’t forget to bring bug spray – an unlucky South Whidbey Record reporter counted 45 mosquito bites the next morning.

For more information, visit blackberrymoonfarm.com/goat-walks.

Photo by David Welton Goats lead the way down the Dorothy Cleveland Trail, which they know like the back of their hooves.

(Photo by David Welton) David Ross with Chamomile and an unnamed buck who may join his pack boys when he grows up.

(Photo by David Welton) David Ross answers a reporter’s questions in the background while his herd of pack boys hoof it to the start of Dorothy Cleveland Trail.