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.

bar

Revised - May 2020: High Sierra Adventures
Added endorsements and poem, expanded Foreword, needed format enhancements.
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.

Copies are now available through Amazon
The Western Museum of Film History in Lone Pine, CA
The Eastern California Museum in Independence, CA
and at the Whitney Portal Hostel & Hotel in Lone Pine, CA


bar

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

bar
bar

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.

bar
bar

Owens Lake and Vacinity
1939 USGS Topographical Map

bar
bar

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)

bar
bar

Backroad Tours in the Eastern Sierra - Inyo County

bar
bar

WebCams

bar
bar

 



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 30 January 2022 - Avalanche at Jordan
Entries since 03 February 2022 - Pearsonville Turns 20 and is Still Growing
Entries since 06 February 2022 - Added 6 new photos of Bob White's N4792U aircraft and a video link with a cameo appearance by Bob
Entries since 13 February 2022 - Added a blueprint and 7 photos to SPNG Owenyo
Entries since 18 February 2022 - Added 8 new photos to SPNG Laws
Entries since 20 February 2022 - Added 3 new photos to Little Lake
Entries since 20 February 2022 - Added 2 new photos to SPNG Keeler
Entries since 01 March 2022 - Added 2 new photos to SPNG Mt. Whitney
Entries since 01 March 2022 - Added 1 new photos to Swansea
Entries since 01 March 2022 - Added 2 new photos to Lone Pine
Entries since 01 March 2022 - Added 1 new phots to Little Lake
Entries since 04 March 2022 - Added 3 new phots to SPNG rolling stock
Entries since 06 March 2022 - Added the stage lines between the Owens Valley railroad lines and their time tables
Entries since 12 March 2022 - Added a hand-drawn map of Owens Valley that is in Kings Pharmacy in Independence, CA
Entries since 12 March 2022 - Added photo of the 8-Mile Ranch in Independence, CA - circa 1930
Entries since 12 March 2022 - Added an advertisement for the 8-Mile Pack Train of Independence, CA
Entries since 12 March 2022 - Added 2 new photos to Cerro Gordo
Entries since 14 March 2022 - Added 2 new photos of Frontier Pack Station to June Lake
Entries since 14 March 2022 - Added 2 new photos of Drover's Cottage to Laws
Entries since 19 March 2022 - Added 8 new photos to Benton
Entries since 19 March 2022 - Added a photo of Carrington's Garage to June Lake
Entries since 20 March 2022 - Added an article on the sale of the Lone Pine jail in 1928
Entries since 23 March 2022 - Added an article on the 1961 Mt. Whitney Marathon race
Entries since 23 March 2022 - Added an article on Packing into Top Spots
Entries since 04 April 2022 - Added 2 photos to Lone Pine
Entries since 06 April 2022 - Added a matchbook cover from Janie's Ranch
Entries since 12 April 2022 - Added an article about Nellie O'Bryan - Packer & Movie Star
Entries since 27 April 2022 - Added 2 new photos to Little Lake
Entries since 29 April 2022 - Added 20 new photos to Mary Hunter Austin
Entries since 01 May 2022 - Added 2 new photos of Bob White's Cesna 170 at Tunnel Meadow
Entries since 01 May 2022 - Added a map of the stage lines servicing the railroads in Owens Valley
Entries since 20 July 2022 - Added the story of Jim Thorpe's medal reinstatement after 110 years of IOC nonsense
Entries since 09 August 2022 - Added 13 photos in the SP Jawbone Branch
Entries since 09 August 2022 - Added photo and map of the CalTrans Cartago/Olancha U.S. 95 bypass construction project
Entries since 10 August 2022 - Added ancestry search of Irene Cuffe and Leslie Cuffe
Entries since 10 August 2022 - Added a poem by David S. Bromley to the tungsten mine Camp Cook Art Pomeroy and 3 new photos
Entries since 10 August 2022 - Added a photo of Hancock's Service Station in Bishop
Entries since 10 August 2022 - Added article on the 1926 proposal of an aerial tram to the summit of Mt. Whtiney
Entries since 11 August 2022 - Added a brochure for the Owens Valley Salt Company and the Mt. Whitney Pack Trains Skiing School
Entries since 11 August 2022 - Added the Sierra Club 1913 Outing to the Kings River Canon
Entries since 12 August 2022 - Added 5 photos of Hans Georg of Mammoth
Entries since 12 August 2022 - Added Rocky Basin Lakes place name
Entries since 13 August 2022 - Added the story of Emmett Hayden of Mammoth, CA to the OVH Stories
Entries since 13 August 2022 - Added the story of Emmett Hayden to Mammoth Lakes, CA
Entries since 13 August 2022 - Added 9 new photos to SPNG decomittioning page
Entries since 14 August 2022 - Added 3 photos from the town of Crater, CA
Entries since 14 August 2022 - Added 7 new photos of Lee Vining
Entries since 14 August 2022 - Added 8 new photos of Mono County/Mono Lake
Entries since 14 August 2022 - Added 3 new photos of Paradise Camp and 5 new photos to Round Valley
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added "Inyo Magazine" to Stories Page
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added "Inyo County California", "20-Mule Team Borax - How to Use It," "Souvenir Booklet of Independence,"
"Union Carbides Tungsten Mine in the Sky," and "Trail 'O The Trout" to Stories Page
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added "Early History of Lone Pine" and "Mt. Whitney From Timberline Lake" to Stories Page
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added a vintage Sportsman's Cafe menu to Lone Pine
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added "Trail 'O The Trout" to Golden Trout Camp
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added Lemoyne Hazard's 1924 Dream-A-Log Magazine
Entries since 15 August 2022 - Added 4 Bishop Rodeo programs photos
Entries since 15 August 2022 -Added a Pacific Coast Borax Company brochure
Entries since 23 August 2022 - Added 9 new photos of the 1933 Bishop snow storm
Entries since 12 September 2022 - Added "Sierra Basques" story
Entries since 15 October 2022 - Added 5 stories from George Palmer Putnam's book "Up in Our Country"
Entries since 15 October 2022 - Added "From Coso to Carricart" and 3 photos
Entries since 15 October 2022 - Added a photo and a story to 20-Mule Team page
Entries since 25 October 2022 - Added the story of Sunland by Enid Larson
Entries since 02 November 2022 - Added a photo of a Curtis "Condor" bombardment airplane over Mt. Whitney
Entries since 02 November 2022 - Added a photo of Rena Elizabeth Roop as a young child
Entries since 19 November 2022 - Added to new Charles H. Lee photos of Owens Lake
Entries since 22 November 2022 - Added the History of the Lone Pine Stampede
Entries since 24 November 2022 - Added six new photos to Bishop
 Entries since 03 December 2022 - Added Hollywood Outtakes of SPNG Carson & Colorado by Speed Graphic Film and Video
Entries since 04 December 2022 - Added a link to California's Gold episode 110 on the "Wedding of the Waters" to Fr. Crowley's page
Entries since 07 December 2022 - Added 9 photos of SPNG rolling stock
Entries since 07 December 2022 - Added 8 SPNG Photos to Keeler
Entries since 07 December 2022 - Added 3 new photos to SPNG Laws
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"

 

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.



bar

SEARCH THIS WEBSITE USING THE BOX BELOW

bar
bar

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 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 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 (UNDCR)

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 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 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 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 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 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 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

button Sierra Club Bulletin Archives

button Sierra Nevada Crossing

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 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


bar
bar

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

bar
bar

ATTENTION!
Mt. Whitney Pack Trains, Vintage Photo Request

CLICK HERE

bar

 
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

bar
bar

LANDMARK HUNTER landmark hunter

bar
bar

northern nevada
Click to see locomotive in action

bar
bar

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

diamonds
diamonds

When Mules Wear Diamonds by Charles Russell


 

bar
bar

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

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

bar

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

bar

Eastern California Museum - Independence, CA
eastern california museum

bar

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.

bar

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!

bar

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 12 September 2023


dreamweaver

smart guestbook

california directory