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Ray DeLea
(aka: the Pigmy Packer circa 1969)
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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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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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Books by the website author - Ray DeLea
(All books are available at Amazon.com) |
High Sierra Adventures:
My Summers With Mt. Whitney Pack Trains
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.
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California Adventures:
On the Trail With Ray & Josh
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 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
and the Eastern Sierra crest as seen from Thunder Mountain.
(Photograph
by Mike Porter - 1977) |
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
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) |
Backroad Tours in the Eastern Sierra - Inyo County
What's new and what's been updated |
SEARCH THIS WEBSITE USING THE BOX BELOW
Owens Valley
History Website Index
Mt. Whitney
Pack Trains (MWPT)
History |
Owens Valley
History |
Places |
People |
Things |
1950s MWPT Brochure
Bill Smart / Paul Lamos Archives
Bob Swandt
Bruce Morgan Memories
Bruce Morgan's 20-Mule Team
Chrysler and Cook Brochure
Chrysler & Cook Days
Duane Rossi: Cowboy Poet
Ed Brown - Packer & Cowboy Poet
Ed Turner - Packer & Cowboy Poet
Irene Kritz - Cook, Packer, Author
Jayne and Bob Douglas Archives
Kathy Jefferson-Bancroft Archives
Reif Kipp Archives
Mary Jefferson Archives
Monache Meadows Cowboys
Morgans, The
MWPT - 1930s & 1940s
MWPT Packers - 1940s - 1972
MWPT Reunions
MWPT Roster of Packers
MWPT Skiing School Brochure
Nancy Droubay Archives
One Packer's Sierra Experience
Packer's Books / Publications
Packing, 50 Years Ago
Rena Beth Moore-Smith Archives
Rena Beth Moore - Sierra Crossing
Robert House - GTC Packer
Sierra Club "High Trips" - 1946 - 1972
Stephanie Morgan Archives 01
Stephanie Morgan Archives 02
Stephanie Morgan Archives 03
To Top of Mt. Whitney" by Rena Moore
Tommy Jefferson
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Aberdeen
Bartlett
Benton, Benton Crossing
Big Pine
Bishop
Bishop Mines & Tokens
Cartago
Casa Diablo & Hot Creek
Casa Vieja & Surrounding Areas
Cerro Gordo
Champion Sparkplug Mine
Coso Hot Springs
Darwin
Dirty Socks
Dunmovin
El Camino Sierra
Glacier Lodge & Palisades
Golden Trout Camp
Grant
Independence
Jordan Hot Springs
June Lake Area
Keeler
Keough's Hot Springs
Laws & Laws RR Museum
Lee Vining
Little Lake
Lone Pine
Lone Pine to Porterville Road
Mammoth Lakes Area
Manzanar - Events Leading Up To
Manzanar - WWII Propaganda
Manzanar - Beginnings
Manzanar - Life At: 1
Manzanar - Life At: 2
Manzanar - Art At: 3
Manzanar - Portraits
Manzanar - Life After: 1
Manzanar - High School
Manzanar - American Memory Project
Manzanar -Berry Tamura
Manzanar - Hiroshi Hondo
Manzanar - Aubrey Hemming
Manzanar - Ben Baker
Manzanar Free Press — 1942
Manzanar Free Press — 1943
Manzanar Free Press — 1944
Manzanar Free Press — 1945
Manzanar Free Press — Illustrations
Manzanar - Owens River Valley
Mono Lake Area
Mt. Whitney Trail & Portal Road
Near Owens Valley
North of Bishop: McGee Creek, Round Valley, Sherwin Grade
North of Bishop: Tom's Place
North of Bishop: Bishop Creek, Hilton Lakes, Parchers Camp, Andrews Camp
North of Bishop: Mammoth Lakes
North of Bishop: June Lake, Grant Lake, Rush Creek, Culver's Camp
North of Bishop: Mono Lake, Benton, Benton Crossing, Lee Vining
Oasis / Deep Springs Valley
Olancha
Owens River Valley - Manzanar
Owens Valley & Owens Lake
Pearsonville & Freeman
Pine Creek Tungsten Mines
Rex Montis Mine
Saline Valley Salt Tram Photo Album
Sherman Stevens' Sawmill
Sunland
Swansea
Tunnel Airfield, Tunnel Guard Camp
U.S. Vanadium (Tungsten) Mine
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Aim Morhardt
Alfred R. Giraud
Allie Robinson (Pack Trains)
Andrew Alexander Forbes
Bill DeCarteret - Mountains, Mules and Memories
Bob Powers - Cowboy Country
Bob Swandt
Bob White & Tunnel Airfield
Brenda in the Alabama Hills
Burton Frasher
Colonel Sherman Stevens' Sawmill
Crosby & Dobbins: Two Gals in Search of a Great Catch
Dave & Gayle Woodruff
Desert Padre
Duane Rossi - Squawbuck Joe
Ed Brown - Rhyme Doesn't Pay
Ed Thistlethwaite
Ed Turner - Poems to Live and Die For
Father John J. Crowley
Franklin Merrill-Wolff
George Brown, Native American
George Bucknam Dorr
George LaBraque - Man From Mono
Hiroshi Honda
Irene Cuffe
Irene Kritz - Campfire and Smoke
Jane Wehrey: Voices from this Long Brown Land
Jim Thorpe, Native American
Joe Ward
John & J.D. Black of Bishop & Big Pine
J. D. Black L.A. Aqueduct Files
John H. Lubken
Joseph Emil "Aim" Morhardt
Kathleen Haun - Dear Carrie
Lona Burkhart
George LaBraque - Man From Mono
Mary Austin
Marye Roeser: Switchback Trails Across the Sierra
Matlicks
Norman Clyde
Old Timers of Inyo
Olds Family of Keeler
Owens Valley Shoshone / Paiutes
Piper Family of Oasis
Ray DeLea: High Sierra Adventures
Rena More-Smith: Life in Owens Valley
Robert A. Trennert: Riding the High Wire
Robert Likes: Looking Back at Cerro Gordo
Robert Pearce: The Owens Valley Controversy & A.A. Brierly
Roni McFadden
Sam Lewis
Sierra Lady Pack Station
Sierra Nevada Packers & Cattlemen (Not MWPT)
Slim Randles - Sun Dog Days
Squawbuck Joe
Steve Sorensen: A Branch of the Sky
Willie Chalfant
Wonacotts
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1903 Sierra Club High Trip
1916 Sierra Club High Trip Photo Album
1946 Interstate Telephone Directory
20-Mule-Team History
Aparejo Packing in the Sierras
A Thoiusand Acres of Nothing
A Trip Through the California Sierras - 1904
Alabama Hills Painted Rock on Whitney Portal Rd.
Bessie Brady Steamer
Big Pine Citizen newspaper
Bishop MULE DAYS
Bishop Mines and Tokens
Bishop Paiute Native Americans
Black Jed - B24 Bomber
Carson & Colorado Railroad
CG Portal
Death Valley Sketches
DESERT NEWS
Eastern High Sierra Pack Stations
Sierra Nevada Pack Station History - WEST
Sierra Nevada Pack Station History - EAST
Ghosts of Past - Sherman Stevens Sawmill
Heritage and Humble Pie
High sierra Panoramas
Historical Owens Valley Advertisements
Hydroelectric Power - Jordan, Poole, Lundy
Hydroelectric Power - Rush Creek, Owens Gorge
Hydroelectric Power - Facilities & Equipment
Hydroelectric Power - Bishop Creek, Big Pine, Cottonwood,
Haiwee, San Bernardino
Lone Pine Earthquake - 1872
Lone Pine Progress-Citizen Newspaper
Lone Pine Stampede
Los Angeles Aqueduct: The Plan
Los Angeles Aqueduct: Owens Valley
Los Angeles Aqueduct: Olancha
Los Angeles Aqueduct: Rose Valley
Los Angeles Aqueduct: Desert & City
Los Angeles Aqueduct: Valley Rebellion
Los Angeles Aqueduct: Abandoned Farms
Los Angeles Aqueduct: The J.D. Black Scrapbook
Monache Rodeo of 1920
Movie Production in Owens Valley
Night Ride
Owens Valley Brochures: A - B
Owens Valley Brochures: C
Owens Valley Brochures: D - H
Owens Valley Brochures: I - Mon
Owens Valley Brochures: Mou - Q
Owens Valley Brochures: R - S
Owens Valley Brochures: T - W
Owens Valley Radio Observatory
Packing Equipment
Saga of Inyo County
Saline-to-Owens Valley Tram
Sawdust Magazine
Sierra Club "High Trips" - 1946 - 1972
Sierra Club Bulletin Archives
Sierra Nevada Crossing
Sierra Nevada Packers (Non-MWPT)
Sierra Nevada Place Names: A - F
Sierra Nevada Place Names: G - M
Sierra Nevada Place Names: N - P
Sierra Nevada Place Names: Q - Z
Sierra Nevada Place Names: Spanish Names
Sierra Nevada Trail Signs
Sierra Nevada Wildflowers
Stories: High Sierra, Owens Valley, Packing: A- G
Stories: High Sierra, Owens Valley, Packing: H - M
Stories: High Sierra, Owens Valley, Packing: N - Z
SP - Beginnings
SPNG - Laws/Zurich
SPNG - Kearsarge/Manzanar
SPNG - Owenyo
SPNG - Rolling Stock/Paintings/Motion Pictures
SP - Jawbone Branch
SPNG - Tramway/Mock/Dolomite
SPNG - Keeler/Cerro Grodo
SPNG - Decom
Tales Along El Camino Sierra
The Album: Times & Tales of Inyo - Mono
Trans-Sierra Road - Lone Pine to Porterville
Tuttle Creek Ashram
Whitney Portal Road Construction
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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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LANDMARK HUNTER
Click to see locomotive in action
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05/23
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") |
05/23
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 tack shed just outside of Lone Pine on the Whitney Portal Road - circa 1970s
(Photo courtesy of Ray DeLea) |
05/23
Mt. Whitney Pack Trains tack shed just outside of Lone Pine on the Whitney Portal Road - circa 2020s |
01/24
MWPT Plaque Dedication
(Photo courtesy of Mike Morgan) |
01/24
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) |
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. |
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The Internet
Wayback Machine
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Index to USGS Topo Maps |
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Early 1900s USGS Topo Maps from University of Texas Library |
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Eastern California Museum - Independence, CA
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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
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. |
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.
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Owens Lake
in 1911 before it was drained dry by Los Angeles
Owens Lake and Vacinity
1939 USGS Topographical Map
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My Favorite Sierra Nevada Fish - Volcano Creek Golden Trout |
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Website Navigation
Use the navigation bars at the bottom of each page or return to the HomePage Index.
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Golden Trout Camp in the High Sierra |
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Mt.
Whitney Pack Train's Chrysler & Cook Brochure |
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1930s
& 1940s Mt. Whitney Pack Trains |
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Sierra
Crossing |
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Panoramas
of the High Sierra |
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This
page was last updated on 21 September 2024
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