ray on beulah
Ray DeLea
(aka: the Pigmy Packer circa 1969)

new ovh logo



owens valley history
NOTICE:
All items on this website have been catagorized as fair use and are being displayed strictly for non-commercial and nonprofit educational purposes. No items on this website are in anyway sold or used in publications of any sort by the website owner. Wherever possible, permission to use each item has been obtained from the author (if still alive) or from the collector of such material, and an agreed upon credit has been given.

What is this site all about?

1. The telling in words and pictures of one of the Eastern Sierra's most incredible mule packing outfits - Mt. Whitney Pack Trains which operated out of Lone Pine, CA from the 1940s through the early 1970s.

2. The history of Owens Valley towns, pioneering families, and individual people who made Owens Valley what it is today.

3. Stories of mining camps and surrounding areas affecting mining in the mountains surrounding Owens Valley.

4. Stories and photos about the Sierra Nevada Mountains (The Range of Light that is like none other), the personalities who enjoyed them in the past and who are part of the lore we relish to hear about today.

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dave stamey
McGee Creek (The Packer's Song)
Written for the McGee Creek Pack Station while it was under the ownership of the Roeser's by Dave Stampey.
From his album Buckaroo Man

This song is a testament to all of the Sierra Nevada Pack Stations on both the east and west sides of the Sierra Nevada.

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ucr
Many thanks to the UCR California Digital Newspaper Collection where many of my newspaper articles have come from.

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Books by the website author - Ray DeLea
(All books are available at Amazon.com)
High Sierra Adventures:
My Summers With Mt. Whitney Pack Trains

high sierra adventures
This book follows the adventures of a teenager who worked for Mt. Whitney Pack Trains, out of Lone Pine, CA, for six summers between the years of 1965 - 1970. It details his journey from being a "city slicker" knowing nothing about livestock and packing to becoming a seasoned packer / guide for one of the most prestigious pack stations operating on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Using a combination of photographs and life events he takes the reader progressively through six summers of "learning the ropes" of being a packer as he packed in such groups as the Sierra Club, the Trail Riders of the Wilderness and private parties. This book is full of events that will make you laugh and cry as he describes the pack trips, wrecks, wrangles, livestock and personnel that made each summer a greater adventure than the preceding one.

California Adventures:
On the Trail With Ray & Josh

california adventures
California Adventures are the real hiking adventures of Ray DeLea and his nephew Josh Green. Over a period of seven years from 2012 to 2019 this hiking duo ventured into the Southern California deserts of Anza Borrego & Joshua Tree in search of desert adventures. When they had had their fill of the blistering heat of the desert, they turned their attention to the mountains of Los Angeles and Riverside Counties pursuing their hiking dreams. Finally, when they had hiked to the summit of most of the mountain peaks in the Los Angeles area, they ventured northward to the Sierra Nevada Mountains flanking Owens Valley and the Panamint Mountains overlooking Death Valley. It was there, from the cattle-worn trails of the Southern Sierra Nevada near Olancha to the mid-Sierra Nevada country west of Tom’s Place that they found true “hiking delight.”

Arrested by The Master

arrested by the master

Arrested by The Master is one persons journey to salvation from when he was a young child until God reached down and touched him in October of 1976. It is written to let the reader know that no one's journey to salvation is a boring one. It is filled with the ups and downs of life, seemingly meaningless actions, relationships, work experiences, family relationships, school experiences etc. All which God finds valuable in winning others who are lost, without hope, and on roads leading away from Him. This book will let you know that God places high value in your personal journey to Him saving you, no matter how simple, plain, or without excitement you might think it to be. It is so precious and individualized by the Holy Spirit.. You too should tell people about your journey.


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mt whitney from thunder mtn
Mt. Whitney and the Eastern Sierra crest as seen from Thunder Mountain.
(Photograph by Mike Porter - 1977)

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This site is graciously being hosted by the owner's of Shocking.Com - Stop by and pay them a visit and express you thanks for their generosity. Without their generosity, this site would not be possible.

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Owens Lake and Vacinity
1939 USGS Topographical Map


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noah becker
A 7-shot vertical pano stack of the Sierra Nevada west of Lone Pine as seen under a full moon from the Alabama Hills.
(Photograph by Noah Becker - Thanksgiving 2018)

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Backroad Tours in the Eastern Sierra - Inyo County

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WebCams

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What's new and what's been updated

 



Entries since 25 April 2020 - Added a new page on Swansea
Entries since 02 September 2020 - Added a new page on the Piper Family of Oasis, CA
Entries since 03 September 2020 - Added a new page for Little Lake
Entries since 11 September 2020 - Added a new webpage on Keeler and Cerro Gordo
Entries since 12 September 2020 - Added a new webpage to the Carson & Colorado RR
Entries since 15 September 2020 - Added a new webpage on Ed Thistlethwaite
Entries since 17 September 2020 - Added a new webpage on the Big Pine Citizen newspaper
Entries since 21 September 2020 - Added 3 photos of Chrysopolis
Entries since 31 December 2020 - A Thousand Acres of Nothing
Entries since 27 January 2021 - Added a new page with many of the Native American Paiute photos from the Bishop area consolidated
Entries since 03 February 2021 - Completely reorganized all of the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Railroad webpages
Entries since 23 April 2021 - Completely revamped and reorganized all of the Manzanar webpages
Entries since 02 May 2021 - Completely revamped and reorganized all of the Sierra Nevada / Owens Valley Place Names webpages
Entries since 11 May 2021 - A Survey of the Inyo County Schools (1935)
Entries since 11 May 2021 - Water Delivered for 5 cents a Ton
Entries since 26 June 2021 - Irene Cuffe
Entries since 11 September 2021 - Added a new page on the construction of the OV Radio Observatory at Big Pine
Entries since 20 October 2021 - Added several photos and stories of desert prospector Joe Ward from the Isle of Man
Entries since 23 November 2021 - Old Timers of Inyo by Lester Reed
Entries since 15 January 2022 - Hydroelectric Power Production in Owens Valley
Entries since 24 January 2022 - A Trip Through the California Sierras by George Bucknam Dorr
Entries since 26 January 2022 - Bob Powers Cowboy Country and the 1920 Monache Rodeo
Entries since 28 April 2022 - Historical "Inyo-Mono Fishing Guide" advertisements
Entries since 28 April 2022 - The Mount Whitney Marathon
Entries since 28 April 2022 - Bill Burrud"s Pack Trip to the Summit of Mt. Whitney - Inyo-Mono Fishing Guide of 1957
Entries since 28 April 2022 - Elisha Cook - Inyo's Favorite "Cookie" - Inyo-Mono Fishing Guide of 1957
Entries since 28 April 2022 - High Sierra Nellie: Nellie O'Bryan - Inyo Mono Fishing Guide of 1956
Entries since 11 August 2022 - Added a link to the Sierra Club Bulletin Archives on the Index Page
Entries since 27 October 2022 - Added a new page on the rural community of Sunland south-southwest of Bishop
Entries since 24 November 2022 - Added a new page on Sierra Nevada Packers (Not MWPT)
Entries since 30 July 2023 - Added a new page on Independence, CA
Entries since 17 August 2023 - Ed Turner's new book: Poems to Live and Die For
Entries since 17 August 2023 - Added a new page: George LaBraque - Man from Mono
Entries since 26 November 2023 - Added a new page of the 1946 Interstate Telephone Directory of the Owens Valley area
Entries since 10 December 2023 - Added a new page on Sierra Nevada trail signs
Entries since 02 January 2024 - Added a new page — The J. D. Black Scrapbook (More on the Owens Valley Water Issue)
Entries since 06 January 2024 - Added a new page — Excerpts from the Manzanar Free Press of 1942
Entries since 11 January 2024 - Added a new page — Excerpts from the Manzanar Free Press of 1943
Entries since 15 January 2024 - Added a new page — Excerpts from the Manzanar Free Press of 1944

Entries since 20 January 2024 - Added a new page — Excerpts from the Manzanar Free Press of 1945
Entries since 22 January 2024 - Added a new page — Illustrations from the Manzanar Free Press 1942 - 1945
Entries since 12 March 2024 - Added a new page on Owens Valley Desert News
Entries since 13 April 2024 - Added a new page featuring the painted rock in the Alabama Hills on the Whitney Portal Road
Entries since 08 May 2024 - Added a new page of Celebrity Cowgirls
Entries since 15 May 2024 - Added a new page of Celebrity Cowgirls
Entries since 15 November 2024 - Added a new page on Owens Valley Desert News
Entries since 25 November 2024 - Added a new page on the Roosevelt Midland Trail in Owens Valley
Entries since 05 December 2024 - Added a new Celebrity Cowgirl page featuring Dale Evans
Entries since 13 December 2024 - Added a new page Celebrity Cowgirls featuring Barbara Stanwyck

 

 

 



Entries since 20 January 2023 - Added story, "Call of the Cattle Drive"
Entries since 20 January 2023 - Added story, "At 8,000 Feet, California "Mine in the Sky" is About to Enter Valhalla
Entries since 20 January 2023 - Added story - "Photographer of the Desert" (Burton Frasher)
Entries since 20 January 2023 - Added two photos of J. G. Oliver and W. H. Frick's 1917 trip to Owens Valley
Entries since 27 July 2023 - Added four photos to Darwin
Entries since 27 July 2023 - Added two photos to the 20 Mule Team History
Entries since 18 August 2023 - Added two stories to Sam Lewis
Entries since 21 August 2023 - Added several photos on Lone Pine winter snows
Entries since 12 September 2023 - Added "Big Index of Global Newspapers"
Entries since 17 November 2023 - Added 11 photos to Owens Valley Shoshone - Paiutes
Entries since 17 November 2023 - Added 21 new photos to Bishop
Entries since 17 November 2023 - Added 27 new photos to Lone Pine
Entries since 17 November 2023 - Added 37 new photos to Lee Vining / Mono Lake
Entries since 17 November 2023 - Added 10 new photos to Independence
Entries since 17 November 2023 - Added 15 new photos to Big Pine
Entries since 18 November 2023 - Added 52 new photos to Sierra Nevada Packers
Entries since 19 November 2023 - Added 41 new photos to Owens Valley Shoshone - Paiutes
Entries since 24 November 2023 - Added a story - High Desert History - to Little Lake.
Entries since 12 December2023 - Added the Stories of a Country Doctor - to Little Lake
Entries since 04 January 2024 - Updated All Souls Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Entries since 20 January 2024 - Added story: Uprooted Americans in Your Community
Entries since 24 February 2024 - Fixed broken links on all of the Sierra Club High Trips Information
Entries since 01 March 2024 - Added 14 new photos to Tunnel Meadow / Air Camp
Entries since 14 March 2024 - Added Two Paiute Myths story
Entries since 14 March 2024 - Added story on the Early History of the Town of Manzanar
Entries since 14 March 2024 - Added document on the Evacuation and Relocation of Persons of Japanese Ancestry During WWII
Entries since 31 March 2024 - I've added many new Sierra Nevada place names: A - F
Entries since 31 March 2024 - I've added many new Sierra Nevada place names: G - M
Entries since 31 March 2024 - I've added many new Sierra Nevada place names: N - P
Entries since 31 March 2024 - I've added many new Sierra Nevada place names: Q - Z

Entries since 02 April 2024 - Added 2 new photos to Casa Vieja
Entries since 01 June 2024 - Added a USGS map of Central Owens Valley from 1950
Entries since 14 June 2024 - Added a 1989 photo of Inyo Pioneers
Entries since 14 June 2024 - Added a brochure on the Beacon Tavern
Entries since 15 June 2024 - Added the story of Bishop Airport by Kirt Nance
Entries since 09 August 2024 - Added News Article on the Great Cloudburst of October 1922
Entries since 03 September 2024 - Updated all of the episodes of Death Valley Days filmed in Owens Valley
Entries since 04 September 2024 - Added two photos on planting trout in the Sierra Nevada and a link to
Huell Howser's California's Gold episode on aerial fish planting in the Sierra Nevada

Entries since 13 September 2024 - Added two new photos to Cartago
Entries since 21 September 2024 - Added a link to the Oral Histories of Owens Valley from the Eastern California Museum
Entries since 28 September 2024 - Added four new Saline Valley photos.
Entries since 22 October 2024 - Added article on the Slim Princess line being abandoned
Entries since 22 October 2024 - Added two newspaper articles on Lucy Pearson
Entries since 22 October 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on various movies being filmed in Lone Pine
Entries since 24 October 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hoot Gibson and Ken Maynard at the National Air Races in Los Angeles in 1933
Entries since 24 October 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 25 October 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 25 October 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 26 October 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 31 October 2024 - Added two photos to SPNG Owenyo
Entries since 01 November 2024 - Added photos of the Pacific Coast Borax Company 20-Mule Team Trademark registration in 1896
Entries since 05 November 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 06 November 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 06 November 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 09 November 2024 - Added a photo of the 20 Mule Team at the Halldorado Parade of May 12, 1950.
Entries since 11 November 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 12 November 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 13 November 2024 - Added several newspaper articles on Hollywood filming in Lone Pine
Entries since 17 November 2024 - Added two new photos of Hoot Gibson
Entries since 17 November 2024 - Added a new photo of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Entries since 22 November 2024 - Added three new photos to Phantasm 4: Oblivion
Entries since 26 November 2024 - Added a photo of the Laws School class of 1901
Entries since 26 November 2024 - Added a photo of the Indian School in BIshop
Entries since 27 November 2024 - Added a link to "Water and Power" from the Science History Institute
Entries since 28 November 2024 - Added a Lone Pine Elementary School photo
Entries since 28 November 2024 - Added three new photos of Glacier Lodge, Big Pine, CA
Entries since 30 November 2024 - Added one new photo to Tunnel Air Camp
Entries since 30 November 2024 - Added a California Alkali Company stock certificate
Entries since 30 November 2024 - Added 12 new pictures to Manzanar after closing
Entries since 05 December 2024 - Added 30 combined photos and news clippings of the two Caltec 90-ft deep space Astronomical Radio Observatories located just outside of Big Pine, CA in Owens Valley


 

Site navigation: You may navigate through this web site by returning to home and clicking on one of the buttons below or by using the arrows at the bottom of each page. The arrows will point you to the next three or prevous three pages of site information. New additions to the site are always featured above.



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SEARCH THIS WEBSITE USING THE BOX BELOW

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Owens Valley History Website Index
Mt. Whitney Pack Trains (MWPT)
History
Owens Valley History
Places
People
Things
button 1950s MWPT Brochure

button Bill Smart / Paul Lamos Archives

button Bob Swandt

button Bruce Morgan Memories

button Bruce Morgan's 20-Mule Team

button Chrysler and Cook Brochure

button Chrysler & Cook Days

button Duane Rossi: Cowboy Poet

button Ed Brown - Packer & Cowboy Poet

button Ed Turner - Packer & Cowboy Poet

button Irene Kritz - Cook, Packer, Author

button Jayne and Bob Douglas Archives

button Kathy Jefferson-Bancroft Archives

button Reif Kipp Archives

button Mary Jefferson Archives

button Monache Meadows Cowboys

button Morgans, The

button MWPT - 1930s & 1940s

button MWPT Packers - 1940s - 1972

button MWPT Reunions

button MWPT Roster of Packers

button MWPT Skiing School Brochure

button Nancy Droubay Archives

button One Packer's Sierra Experience

button Packer's Books / Publications

button Packing, 50 Years Ago

button Rena Beth Moore-Smith Archives

button Rena Beth Moore - Sierra Crossing

button Robert House - GTC Packer

button Sierra Club "High Trips" - 1946 - 1972

button Stephanie Morgan Archives 01
button Stephanie Morgan Archives 02
button Stephanie Morgan Archives 03

button To Top of Mt. Whitney" by Rena Moore


button Tommy Jefferson

 

 
button Aberdeen

button Bartlett

button Benton, Benton Crossing

button Big Pine

button Big Pine Caltech OV Radio Observatory

button Bishop

button Bishop Mines & Tokens

button Cartago

button Casa Diablo & Hot Creek

button Casa Vieja & Surrounding Areas

button Cerro Gordo

button Champion Sparkplug Mine

button Coso Hot Springs

button Crater, CA

button Darwin

button Dirty Socks

button Dunmovin

button El Camino Sierra

button Glacier Lodge & Palisades

button Golden Trout Camp

button Grant

button Independence

button Jordan Hot Springs

button June Lake Area

button Keeler

button Keough's Hot Springs

button Laws & Laws RR Museum

button Lee Vining

button Little Lake

button Lone Pine

button Lone Pine to Porterville Road

button Mammoth Lakes Area

button Manzanar - Events Leading Up To
button Manzanar - WWII Propaganda
button Manzanar - Beginnings
button Manzanar - Life At: 1
button Manzanar - Life At: 2
button Manzanar - Art At: 3
button Manzanar - Portraits
button Manzanar - Life After: 1
button Manzanar - High School
button Manzanar - American Memory Project
button Manzanar -Berry Tamura
button Manzanar - Hiroshi Hondo
button Manzanar - Aubrey Hemming
button Manzanar - Ben Baker
button Manzanar Free Press — 1942
button Manzanar Free Press — 1943
button Manzanar Free Press — 1944
button Manzanar Free Press — 1945
button Manzanar Free Press — Illustrations

button Manzanar - Owens River Valley

button Mono Lake Area

button Mt. Whitney Trail & Portal Road

button Near Owens Valley

button North of Bishop: McGee Creek, Round Valley, Sherwin Grade
button North of Bishop: Tom's Place
button North of Bishop: Bishop Creek, Hilton Lakes, Parchers Camp, Andrews Camp
button North of Bishop: Mammoth Lakes
button North of Bishop: June Lake, Grant Lake, Rush Creek, Culver's Camp
button North of Bishop: Mono Lake, Benton, Benton Crossing, Lee Vining

button Oasis / Deep Springs Valley

button Olancha

button Owens River Valley - Manzanar

button Owens Valley & Owens Lake

button Pearsonville & Freeman

button Pine Creek Tungsten Mines

button Rex Montis Mine

button Saline Valley Salt Tram Photo Album

button Sherman Stevens' Sawmill

button Sunland

button Swansea

button Tunnel Airfield, Tunnel Guard Camp


button U.S. Vanadium (Tungsten) Mine


button Aim Morhardt

button Alfred R. Giraud

button Allie Robinson (Pack Trains)

button Andrew Alexander Forbes

button Bill DeCarteret - Mountains, Mules and Memories

button Bob Powers - Cowboy Country

button Bob Swandt

button Bob White & Tunnel Airfield

button Brenda in the Alabama Hills

button Burton Frasher

button Colonel Sherman Stevens' Sawmill

button Crosby & Dobbins: Two Gals in Search of a Great Catch

button Dave & Gayle Woodruff

button Desert Padre

button Duane Rossi - Squawbuck Joe

button Ed Brown - Rhyme Doesn't Pay

button Ed Thistlethwaite

button Ed Turner - Poems to Live and Die For

button Father John J. Crowley

button Franklin Merrill-Wolff

button George Brown, Native American

button George Bucknam Dorr

button George LaBraque - Man From Mono

button Hiroshi Honda

button Irene Cuffe

button Irene Kritz - Campfire and Smoke

button Jane Wehrey: Voices from this Long Brown Land

button Jim Thorpe, Native American

button Joe Ward

button John & J.D. Black of Bishop & Big Pine
button J. D. Black L.A. Aqueduct Files

button John H. Lubken

button Joseph Emil "Aim" Morhardt

button Kathleen Haun - Dear Carrie

button Lona Burkhart

button George LaBraque - Man From Mono

button Mary Austin

button Marye Roeser: Switchback Trails Across the Sierra

button Matlicks

button Norman Clyde

button Old Timers of Inyo

button Olds Family of Keeler

button Owens Valley Shoshone / Paiutes

button Piper Family of Oasis

button Ray DeLea: High Sierra Adventures

button Rena More-Smith: Life in Owens Valley

button Robert A. Trennert: Riding the High Wire

button Robert Likes: Looking Back at Cerro Gordo

button Robert Pearce: The Owens Valley Controversy & A.A. Brierly

button Roni McFadden

button Sam Lewis

button Sierra Lady Pack Station

button Sierra Nevada Packers & Cattlemen (Not MWPT)

button Slim Randles - Sun Dog Days

button Squawbuck Joe

button Steve Sorensen: A Branch of the Sky

button Willie Chalfant

button Wonacotts


button 1903 Sierra Club High Trip

button 1916 Sierra Club High Trip Photo Album

button 1946 Interstate Telephone Directory

button 20-Mule-Team History

button Aparejo Packing in the Sierras

button A Thoiusand Acres of Nothing

button A Trip Through the California Sierras - 1904

button Alabama Hills Painted Rock on Whitney Portal Rd.

button Bessie Brady Steamer

button Big Pine Citizen newspaper

button Bishop MULE DAYS

button Bishop Mines and Tokens

button Bishop Paiute Native Americans

button Black Jed - B24 Bomber

button Carson & Colorado Railroad

button CG Portal

button Death Valley Sketches

button DESERT NEWS

button Eastern High Sierra Pack Stations
button Sierra Nevada Pack Station History - WEST
button Sierra Nevada Pack Station History - EAST

button Ghosts of Past - Sherman Stevens Sawmill

button Heritage and Humble Pie

button High sierra Panoramas

button Historical Owens Valley Advertisements

button Hydroelectric Power - Jordan, Poole, Lundy
button Hydroelectric Power - Rush Creek, Owens Gorge
button Hydroelectric Power - Facilities & Equipment
button Hydroelectric Power - Bishop Creek, Big Pine, Cottonwood,
Haiwee, San Bernardino


button Lone Pine Earthquake - 1872

button Lone Pine Progress-Citizen Newspaper

button Lone Pine Stampede

button Los Angeles Aqueduct: The Plan
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: Owens Valley
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: Olancha
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: Rose Valley
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: Desert & City
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: Valley Rebellion
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: Abandoned Farms
button Los Angeles Aqueduct: The J.D. Black Scrapbook

button Monache Rodeo of 1920

button Movie Production in Owens Valley

button Night Ride

button Owens Valley Brochures: A - B
button Owens Valley Brochures: C
button Owens Valley Brochures: D - H
button Owens Valley Brochures: I - Mon
button Owens Valley Brochures: Mou - Q
button Owens Valley Brochures: R - S
button Owens Valley Brochures: T - W

button Owens Valley Radio Observatory

button Packing Equipment

button Saga of Inyo County

button Saline-to-Owens Valley Tram

button Sawdust Magazine

button Sierra Club "High Trips" - 1946 - 1972

button Sierra Club Bulletin Archives

button Sierra Nevada Crossing

button Sierra Nevada Packers (Non-MWPT)

button Sierra Nevada Place Names: A - F
button Sierra Nevada Place Names: G - M
button Sierra Nevada Place Names: N - P
button Sierra Nevada Place Names: Q - Z
button Sierra Nevada Place Names: Spanish Names

button Sierra Nevada Trail Signs

button Sierra Nevada Wildflowers

button Stories: High Sierra, Owens Valley, Packing: A- G

button Stories: High Sierra, Owens Valley, Packing: H - M
button Stories: High Sierra, Owens Valley, Packing: N - Z

button SP - Beginnings
button SPNG - Laws/Zurich
button SPNG - Kearsarge/Manzanar
button SPNG - Owenyo
button SPNG - Rolling Stock/Paintings/Motion Pictures
button SP - Jawbone Branch
button SPNG - Tramway/Mock/Dolomite
button SPNG - Keeler/Cerro Grodo
button SPNG - Decom

button Tales Along El Camino Sierra

button The Album: Times & Tales of Inyo - Mono

button Trans-Sierra Road - Lone Pine to Porterville

button Tuttle Creek Ashram

button Whitney Portal Road Construction



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owens valley

Owens Valley - looking southwest from the Inyo Mountains near Harkless Flat. Tinemaha Reservor in the foreground.


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ATTENTION!
Mt. Whitney Pack Trains, Vintage Photo Request


CLICK HERE

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Attention ... you must see this!

Flight over Owens Valley and the High Sierra
Flight over Mammoth Lakes Area

Flight over the California Basin and Range Province
Other flights
by Dr. William A. Bowen
steam locomotive

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LANDMARK HUNTER landmark hunter

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northern nevada
Click to see locomotive in action

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new 05/23
mwpt tack shed

Mt. Whitney Pack Trains tack shed just outside of Lone Pine on the Whitney Portal Road - circa 1940s
(Screen capture from the 1949 movie "The Doolins of Oklahoma")
new 05/23
mwpt tack shed

Mt. Whitney Pack Trains tack shed just outside of Lone Pine on the Whitney Portal Road - circa 1960s
(Photo courtesy of Ray DeLea)

mt. whitney pack trains
Mt. Whitney Pack Trains tack shed just outside of Lone Pine on the Whitney Portal Road - circa 1970s
(Photo courtesy of Ray DeLea)

new 05/23
mwpt tack shed

Mt. Whitney Pack Trains tack shed just outside of Lone Pine on the Whitney Portal Road - circa 2020s
new 01/24
mike morgan

MWPT Plaque Dedication
(Photo courtesy of Mike Morgan)
new 01/24
mike morgan

Mike Morgan at the old MWPT Tack Building on Whitney Portal Road
west of Lone Pine
(Photo courtesy of Mike Morgan)

Additional Photos: 1, 2, 3
(Photo #3, L/R: Loren Joseph, Duane Rossi, Tom Noland, Mike Morgan)

diamonds
diamonds

When Mules Wear Diamonds by Charles Russell


 

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Owens Valley History readers, it's time to put on your thinking cap, we all need your help. Many vistors have left me with unsolved questions, mysteries, etc. regarding people, places, and events that have occurred in Owens Valley. Please take the time to look at this new page on the website and see if you might have the answer to some of the readers questions. If you have any information at all please e-mail the individual with your comments.




The Internet Wayback Machine

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East and Drive U.S. 395
east and drive 395

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Index to USGS Topo Maps
usgs
Early 1900s USGS Topo Maps from University of Texas Library
university of texas

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Eastern California Museum - Independence, CA
eastern california museum

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In search of Owens Valley Ancestory? The following Inyo County website might be your answer.
Courtesy of Pam in Bishop, CA

  Inyo County Gen Web



Hey all of you desert lovers!
All of the issues of Desert Magazine, starting with 1937, are now online for you viewing pleasure.
Many thanks to Rocko for making this wonderful magazine available to all of us desert rats once again.


Click here for Desert Magazine on Facebook



back country horsemen
Many thanks to the Backcountry Horsemen of California for their continuing efforts over the decades to help preserve the Sierra Nevada and keep it open to livestock. They strive to promote conservation and the awareness of the benefit of livestock in the backcountry. In addition I, in particular, am thankful that they strive to keep everyone appraised of those, who through misguided legislation or self interests, would try to ban livestock from the mountain range packers not only opened to the public, but who also made us aware of the importance of preserving that same country. It is indeed ironic that it has been those on two feet with easy road-end access to the Sierra, and not four, who have contaminated nearly every stream and lake in the Sierra with giardia.

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Many heartfelt thanks to all of the packers, Owens Valley pioneers, and friends who have so generously contributed to this site in pictures and words so that others might share in the experiences that God has so graciously granted to them!

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Share the experiences you have had:

If you have pictures of people/places which you would like posted on this site please e-mail me for posting instructions. Please try to include the following information with each picture or story (if you can recall):

  • The date the picture was taken (month/year)
  • The place the picture was taken
  • The names of any people in the picture
  • The type of trip you were on (Sierra Club, Trail Riders, private party, hunting, trail crew etc.)
  • The trip leader and cook's name

In addition to pictures, if you have a particular trail story, humorous or serious, which you would like to share with everyone please e-mail it directly to me. If you e-mail the file, please send the file in either Microsoft Word, if possible, or as a pure text file.

Remember - there are a host of folks out there waiting to blessed by your High Sierra or Owens Valley story. Don't disapoint them, or yourself, by failing to share your experience.

Thank you, from everyone, for obeying that still small voice within you and sharing your heart and experiences with everyone.




Owens Lake in 1911 before it was drained dry by Los Angeles
owens lake

Owens Lake and Vacinity
1939 USGS Topographical Map



Free Guestbook
Sign Guestbook

View Old Guest Book Entries
Oct 1999 - Feb 2015 (MS Word)

 Pigmy Packer & Guests
The Pigmy Packer (1970), with his horse - Quarter Boy, and two guest from New York on New Army Pass. Mules were Nigger, Bart, and Dan.


Free Guestbook
View Guestbook

View Old Guest Book Entries
Oct 1999 - Feb 2015 (PDF)

Ray
The Pigmy Packer (1997)

Sunhorn
CONTACT the Pigmy Packer


The Pigmy Packer (2001)


My Favorite Sierra Nevada Fish - Volcano Creek Golden Trout
golden trout


Website Navigation
Use the navigation bars at the bottom of each page or return to the HomePage Index.

 

Golden Trout Camp in the High Sierra

 

 Mt. Whitney Pack Train's Chrysler & Cook Brochure

 

 1930s & 1940s Mt. Whitney Pack Trains

 

Sierra Crossing

 

 Panoramas of the High Sierra


This page was last updated on 05 December 2024


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