Our muddy trail was crisscrossed with tracks: neat fox pads, hoofed roe deer slots and, at last, the shoe-sized, five-toed signature prints of a bear.

The cycling, in particular, can be hamstring-burning hard for a lazy commuter rider like me, with mountain climbs of more than 1,500ft spread over four miles, often on muddy trails.

This mule-drawn transportation was expensive and fraught with difficulties: leaking barrels, muddy trails, wagon breakdowns and mule/driver problems.