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 Mt. Whitney Packers of the 1940s - 1950s |
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| Taking some time off from shoeing | |
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The packers life is, without a doubt, one of the best there is. It is too bad that here in the west that that life is confined to the summer. When winter sets in, so does the snow and everyone goes back to some "fall back" job - school for the students and saddlery or something else for the non-students. It seems that no matter what the job at the pack outfit it is always exciting; and, something which you yearn to do. It might be the toughest job that you've ever done in your life - shoeing stock, wrangling, packing up camp, loose herding stock or driving stock trucks - but for some strange romantic reason seldom does a packer not wish to return the following summer. |
| From left to right: Wendel Gill (?), Archie Deans, Ed Thistlewait, Oli Robinson (?) | |
| "Ed Thistlewait died, along with his dog, while packing in the mountains. He loved his whiskey and his pipe. The combination, along with his sleeping bag, was the end for him and his dog, who slept curled up at his feet in the sleeping bag. Wendel eventually opened up Gil's Station at Coso Junction. Oli and Archie both had pack stations operating out of Independence at the same time." [John Haylas Smith - July 9, 2000] | |
From 1947 Sierra Club Bulletin
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| Somewhere in the backcountry Porfilio (Pete) Garner sits atop his trusty steed, Ikey, appearing as if he were "Tonto" waiting for "Kimosabe" to show up around the next bend. Mt. Whitney Pack Trains, besides, at one time, being co-owned by Tommy Jefferson (a full blooded Paiute from Owens Valley) was eager to hire anyone who was willing to give it their all. Whether you were a flatlander from the cities of Los Angeles or San Francisco, high school or college student, cowboy or native-American Indian it didn't matter. What a great outfit to work for! |
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| Charley Gilmore atop one the Mt. Whitney Pack Trains Mules | |
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Hey, when your horse went lame there was always a mule. And just maybe, Charley preferred a mule to a horse. Going over Trail Crest Pass, en route to either Mt. Whitney or Crabtree Meadows was so precariously dangerous that almost anything was preferable to riding a horse. I can't recall how many times I just plain preferred to walk down the Whitney Portal side of the pass rather than ride a horse. I recall the incident with Kathy Jefferson when her horse slipped on the ice near weeping rock and her and the horse went over the side sliding down several hundred feet to the snow bank at the bottom. Thank goodness neither were hurt, but neither's nerves were ever the same again. |
Sierra Club "High Trip" Packers
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| L to R: Dick Troeger, Mert Stewart, Unknown, Unknown, Charley Gilmore, Ivan Hanson, Tommy Jefferson, Unknown, Ike Livermore, Tom Ott, Unknown, Unknown, Ikie (Pete Garner's famous horse), Pete Garner, Bill Smart |
by James R. Wilson and Robin Hansen
 1, 2 L to R: Unknown, Tommy Jefferson, Concepcian Zuniga (?) |
 1, 2 Left to Right: Dick Troeger, Unknown (directly behind Dick),Pete Garner, Unknown, Bruce Morgan, Charlie Gilmore |
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1995 Mt. Whitney Packer's Reunion | |
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Packing & High Sierra Stories | |
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More Mt. Whitney Packers of the 1940s and 1950s | |
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More Mt. Whitney Packers of the 1940s and 1950s |
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Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada |
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One Packers High Sierra Experience |
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 Sign Guest Book |
 The Pigmy Packer |
 View Guest Book |
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This page was last updated on
23 August 2007