2019 other side - part 16, Bishop: pack mules in the Sierras - Travel With Us

After learning about the mule teams that pulled the borax loads through the Death Valley, we thought we were done with mules. But Bishop gave us so much more information about using pack mules so miners and backpackers could enjoy the Sierras. In fact, Barney got to hike (walk) with pack mules carrying their gear when he was in high school and really enjoyed it! Bishop’s big celebration as a town is Mule Days around Memorial Day; in fact, one brochure that highlights each town along US-395 with one or two pages, has 4 full pages on this celebration! Maybe another year we can plan on being in Bishop for the festivities and see the competitions they have for the mules.

a 1950 string of mules and tourists on horses

I’m sorry that the pictures we have for this post aren’t all that clear, but they are from a display on the back of the visitors center, and we tried to work around the glare. The town is trying to raise money for a museum about the pack mules, but for now, these pictures are what we have. First we’ll see some history notes and then we’ll see pack mules working.

As shown on the following description, horses and mules were plentiful in early California, and the mountains were traveled by people on horseback and supplies on pack mules using pack trails. Wagons weren’t used, probably because the trails weren’t wide enough for them.

Gold in the mountains in the mid-1800s opened up the new businesses for valley store owners who hired independent commercial packing companies to transport all that was needed by the miners.

At Mammoth Lakes, the Red Mountain gold strike created Mammoth City as the base for pack trains for a distance of 54 miles on what was called the French Trail or Fresno Flats Trail. Passengers (tourists) could go with the pack trains on horseback for $15 for up to 22 pounds of luggage. Later on the tourists kept coming to escape the summer heat and enjoy the beauty, fishing, and hunting in the mountains.

Pack train companies are found all over the area. The Sierra Club had their first outing here in 1901 and traveled through Yosemite. Their second trip near Kings Canyon in 1902 had them bringing supplies and equipment for 200 guests for several weeks. The stove itself weighed over 200 pounds and it and the huge pots and pans were packed on special saddles on large mules. Their trips through 1972 introduced many to the beauty of the Sierra.