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One Packer's
High Sierra Experience |
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All
pictures are from the archives of Ray DeLea unless otherwise
noted.
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Revised- May 2020: High Sierra Adventures
Added endorsements and poem, expanded Foreword, needed format enhancements. |
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| 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 |
| Funston Lake overlooking the Great Western Divide |
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Funston
Lake, located on the Boreal Plateau, has some of the largest Golden
Trout I've ever seen or caught. Early in the summer of 1968
the outfit was packing a Sierra Club Highlight Trip over Cottonwood
Pass to Rock Basin Lakes, Lower Rock Creek, Golden Trout Creek,
Mulkey Meadows and Horseshoe Meadows. The rain was abundant this
particular summer, and the lakes were quite snowed in; because
of this, we were forced to camped at Barigan Stringer some distance
from the lakes. I remember this trip quite well because one of
the packers got his butt reamed out but good by Tommy for leaving
his mules saddled and standing in the rain while he cavorted
around with the commissary girls. This was not a wise thing to
do! One's mules, horse and tack ALWAYS came first for the packer,
once they were taken care of you could pretty much do whatever
you wanted. Unfortunately this was not the first incidence for
this packer; and, needless to say, his time with the outfit was
short. It was too bad because he would have made a fine packer
otherwise. Well, thank goodness the rain cleared out the next
day, at least for a while, and Norman Jefferson, Ed Brown and
myself went on a layover day fishing trip to Funston Lake. The
lake was socked in with ice and snow on the southern shore. This
was often the case since the lake sets at nearly 11,000' atop
the Boreal Plateau. Once we reached Funston Lake, Ed and Norman
proceeded to fish around the eastern edge of the lake while I
went along the western. About 40 minutes later I saw them jumping
up and down and screaming from the other side of the lake. I
just thought they were having better fishing than I was, because
mine was quite bad! When I finally reached them, at the northern
end of the lake near one of the inlets, I couldn't believe my
eyes. They had caught a Golden Trout measuring approximately 24"
in length. Of course they told me they had caught it with Salmon
eggs and forced me to fish another 30 minutes before the truth
actually came out. They had actually herded the fish upstream
at the lake's inlet and caught it with their hands! All of their
garbled screaming was an effort to get me to come over there
as quickly as possible and help them "catch" more.
But by the time I arrived they had scared all of the trout back
into the lake. That one fish was enough to feed six hungry packers
that evening; and, we had a memorable fish story, including several
of the big ones that got away! |
| Big Whitney Meadows |
| Big Whitney
Meadows as viewed from the Pacific Crest Trail between Cottonwood
Pass and Siberian Pass. This was a favorite stop over for many
private parties on their way to Golden Trout Creek, Tunnel Meadow,
Little Whitney Meadows, Johnson Peak and Johnson Lake, Volcano
Creek, and Rocky Basin Lakes. It was also a favorite place for
mosquitoes and cattle. This was my first backcountry stop as
a "pot boy" (along with Ed Brown) on my first all expense
paid trip, The Hunt Trip, with Charles Morgan as head packer
and Stephanie Morgan as cook. The Hunts, the Bettencourts and
the Merlos all became life long friends after this trip. I even
spent one winter vacation during my college years helping out
on the Bettencourt's dairy ranch (now a vineyard) in Santa Ynez.
Cindy Merlo, a teenager at the time, and I developed a friendship
that lasts 'til today. Her many letters and baked goods put a
very welcomed and much needed bright spot in my college years,
so much so that I fell in love with her during my college years;
and, though we never married, she has always been dear to my
heart no matter the distance or separate families we have come
to have and love. That was another great part of being a packer
for Mt. Whitney Pack Trains, a great deal of the people you met
and worked with or for on those trips became friends for life.
It might be years between seeing each other; but, when you do,
it is as if a long lost brother or sister has come home bringing
great joy and news from afar! |
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"Sierra
Packing and Wilderness Policy"
by Norman B. ("Ike") Livermore Jr.
| Rocky Basin Lakes |
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Rocky
Basin Lakes has got to be one of the most beautiful lake settings
in the southern Sierra. Just south of the Boreal Plateau and
north of Barigan Stringer, Golden Trout fishing can be some of the most
exciting at times. Deep snow in early summer often times makes
the lakes inaccessible but they are definitely worth the wait.
Johnson Peak just to the west of the lakes makes for an exhilarating
climb; and, Johnson Lake at the foot of the mountain, with its
own isolated beach, can be a surprise fishing paradise for the
fisherman looking for a challenge. The lakes are easily, relatively
speaking, reached via Cottonwood Pass and the Pacific Crest Trail;
or, if you are interested in a more exciting route, via New Army
Pass, Siberian Outpost and a little known and seldom used nameless
pass which drops you into the largest of the lakes from the Outpost.
I say seldom used because I recall one trip when we were actually
forced to construct a stock trail, by hand of course, from this
lake to the Siberian Outpost. We would have normally trekked
east via Barigan Stringer to the Siberian Pass trail and the
Siberian Outpost except the trail was blocked by some huge trees
which had fallen during the winter. With shovels and pickaxes
in hand, five of us packers managed to construct a trail in one
day which lasted for several years. As far as I know, it might
still be there. |
 09/21
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General Chuck Yeager |
Chuck and Glennis Yeager - WWII photo |
Chuck Yeager |
Glamorous Glen's WWII ground crew |
Chuck Yeager's WWII P-51 Mustang - Glamorous Glen |
Max Rosan writes:
Chuck Yeager's autobiography book had just come out in mid 1985. I read it from cover to cover in a few nights. Fascinating material. The first man to break the sound barrier was only a small part of the greater story. From reading it, I learned about his "fishing relationship" with Ray Powell (who I knew, my wife worked there from time to time), who owned the Best Western hotel in Lone Pine, where we lived at that time. They both loved discovering new places to fish. Yeager flew off path over the Sierra to look for new places (on the military dime, that's how he was), and then he and Ray would meet, and away they would go in either Chuck or Ray's Jeep to have fun fishing in new places which usually involved hiking and camping where the Jeep trail ended.
It was around this time that Ray talked Chuck into giving a fund raising appearance and talk at Statham Hall (essentially, the Lone Pine town hall). I was, once again, coaxed into working in the hall's commercial kitchen to make a meal for the masses (I would do this also for the annual Wild Wild West Marathons). I kept poking my head out the kitchen to see if Chuck had arrived yet. I really didn't know just who to look for, other than the photo of the guy on the book's cover and inside flap. I brought my copy of his book to snag his autograph, just in case we might meet. I kept my ears out, and, hearing a little commotion, I left the kitchen and there he was. I had to elbow my way towards him, with my kitchen apron on, and met him -- with my book. He looked slightly like that photo. Old khaki slacks, and a perma-pressed plaid shirt with ball point pen stains on the shirt pocket, thinning hair, and facial wrinkles. But the face and smile were unmistakable.
We spoke for barely a minute, and I got him to autograph my book. The meal was cooked, and I was done while the servers served it, and then, I took a seat and listened to his stories. An afternoon I will not soon forget. Chuck was a great storyteller.
November 2021
Francis Drake shares:
I found this Chuck Yeager arborglyph a number of years ago north of June Lake .
November 2021
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| Sky Blue Lake - Trail Riders of the WIlderness |
Check
this picture out! Here I am with a group of girls which I took
to Sky Blue Lake in the summer of 1968. Sky Blue Lake is another
one of the "jewels of the Sierra." It sets in the middle
of the Miter Basin at about 11,500' surrounded by Mt. Langley,
Mt. Corcoran, Mt. Pickering, Mt. Chamberlin, Joe Devel Peak,
Mt. LeConte, Mt. Mallory and M. McAdie just northwest of New
Army Pass. Norman Jefferson and I once climbed three-fourths
of the way up Joe Devel Peak when we were camped at Middle Rock
Creek. If we hadn't decided to do it on the spur of the moment,
late in the day, we might have made it to the top. You can walk
up the sandy, talice slope from the western side; but, from the
Miter Basin side you had better be and excellent rock climber
of shear 1500' rock faces!
In the same basin also reside Erin Lake, Primrose Lake and Iridescent
Lake. But the nearly 1/2 mile wide Sky Blue Lake truly is the
jewel. With a natural dam at the outlet of the lake, the water
must be immediately 25' to 30' deep. Setting in the basin that
it does, it is perpetually fed by snow melt so the temperature
constantly boarders on 40°F - 45°F. Why do you think I
am the clothed one in this picture! This packer was no masochist,
at least not this time! I had dared these waters once before
and discovered how painfully cold they were. This group of ladies
didn't last more than about 15 minutes in the water before the
numbing cold set in. The lady taking the picture worked for the
U.S. government monetary printing department in Chicago. I corresponded
with her frequently during my college years until a long writing
absence followed by a change of addresses left her whereabouts
unknown. |
L to R: Ginny, Mary, me, Jean, Pat - 1968
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Exciting
Western Links
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