How to get Pack Dog title

OF COURSE there is tons of paperwork, flaming hoops to jump through, forms in triplicate to be notarized ... ;-)

Here's the official scoop:

Pack Dog

1. Dog must carry a daily initial weight equal to a minimum of 30% of the dog's weight. This weight shall not decrease except by normal consumption of items such as food or water.
-- in other words, 80 lb dog starts with 24 lbs of food & water distributed among packs

2. Pack trips must be on natural terrain such as hiking trails or cross country.
--not on streets

3. OPTION 1: Dog must pack a minimum of 30 miles. Each trip must be a minimum of 10 miles per day or an overnight camp out with a 5 miles in and 5 miles out. A minimum of one trip include an overnight camp out.
OPTION 2: Dog must pack a minimum of 40 miles. Each trip must be a minimum of 10 miles per day.
4. Elevation gain may be substituted for mileage in the following manner: 1,000 feet of elevation is equivalent to 1 mile of flat terrain. Elevation gain will be figured as the difference between the highest and lowest points of the trip.
-- not an issue in TX?

5. Packing requirements shall be spread out over a minimum of 2 trips.

6. An impartial witness must sign the form to be sent to the Committee verifying proof of distances and dog competing.
-- e.g., Park personnel at entrance to park ...

As for ILP, the important thing is apparently to get the photos just right -- show the snowshoe paws, the tail waving like a plume over the back, the dark brown eyes, etc. --- in other words, demonstrate that your Mal conforms pretty closely to the AKC standard for Mals -- http://www.akc.org/breeds/alaskan_malamute/

Photo instructions:
Two recent and clear color photographs of the dog;
o one full front view showing the facial characteristics of the dog;
o one view showing the full side profile of the dog standing on a flat surface (not grass).
(ALL PHOTOS SHOULD BE TAKEN AT EYE LEVEL IN A STANDING POSITION,
INCLUDE THE WHOLE DOG IN THE PHOTO. DO NOT SHOOT DOWN ON THE DOG.)

Form (pdf) http://www.akc.org/pdfs/ilpform.pdf
On p. 2, under If this dog was acquired from a National Breed Club Rescue organization, both TAMR and TVA qualify -- you can ask your TAMR or TVA representative if they can vouch for your dog, as they know the breed very well, and can tell a purebred at 60 paces ;-).
On p. 3, Briefly state reason for obtaining an ILP: you can list To compete in Companion and Performance Events

Note that, once you have your ILP, you can compete in Obedience ( ;-)!!) Agility, Lure Coursing and other events, including weight pull and carting.