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2013 HIKING WITH PACK STOCK
Services provided by Mt. Whitney Pack Train |
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Please note, the following fees are per person: $15.00 monitoring fee, $5 wilderness permit reservation fee, 3% outfitters fee, and 8% regulatory fee. |
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| 5 to 7 persons | $220 |
| 7 to 12 persons | $200 |
If you would like to include some riders in your group, or you would like to hire stock and a packer, but provide your own food and cook for yourself, please review these options:
All-EXPENSE PACK TRIP and
CONTINUOUS HIRE OF STOCK & PACKER.
Scheduled pack trips 2013:
ONION VALLEY TO BISHOP PASS - Hiking with Pack Stock10 days
August 17-26,2013
$2700 (includes all fees)
The John Muir Trail is one of the most beautiful hikes in the world. Starting at Mt Whitney, it runs over two hundred miles to Yosemite Valley. This hike is offered as a "four year plan" by the Sierra Mountain Center. The first section in the series traveled 50 miles, from Cottonwood to Onion Valley in 2012. The trip described below is the second in the series of four. The next two segments are offered over the next two years (2014, 2015 ). Please see the Sierra Mountain Center website for more information and dates of the next segments.
Hike this section of the John Muir Trail with a mule supported packtrip. Sierra Mountain Center and Rock Creek Pack Station operating as Mt. Whitney Pack Trains partner up to offer this open hiking trip in the John Muir Wilderness and Kings Canyon National Park.
See a full description of this trip at
Sierra Mountain Center's website .
Ten Days, Fifty Miles
- Day 1 Onion Valley to Charlotte Lake
- Day 2 Charlotte Lake to Rae Lakes
- Day 3 Layover day
- Day 4 Rae Lakes to Woods Creek
- Day 5 Wood Creek to South Fork of Kings River
- Day 6 South Fork of Kings River to Upper Basin
- Day 7 Upper Basin to Deer Meadow
- Day 8 Layover Day
- Day 9 Palisade Creek to Lower Dusy Basin
- Day 10 Lower Dusy Basin to South Lake
SIERRA CLUB -- Onion Valley to Shepherd Pass Trailhead
Hiking with Pack Stock
Headwaters of the Kern
John Muir Wilderness/Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park
Onion Valley to Shepherd Pass Trailhead
13 Days
August 18-30, 2013
Price and details will be posted on Sierra Club website in early December 2012
The Trip: On our journey to the headwaters of the Kern River we explore some of the most magnificent and highest elevation country the Sierra has to offer. We enter on the East side of the Sierra by way of Kearsarge Pass (11,823 feet) into the Bubbs Creek drainage, a tributary of the South Fork of the Kings River. The view from the pass is impressive, and as we descend to our camp at Vidette Meadows we walk along the shores of the very beautiful Bullfrog Lake. At the Meadows we have a layover day to rest or explore the nearby Vidette Lakes.
Our entry into the Upper Kern Basin is by way of Foresters Pass (13,200 feet). In this magnificent region of peaks, streams, lakes and meadows we will have three layover days in addition to our moving days. This should give us plenty of time to sample what the country has to offer, including Milestone Basin and Wright Lakes. We exit the Upper Kern by way of Shepherd Pass (12,050 feet). A little over 20 miles of our route is on the John Muir Trail, and about 5 miles on the High Sierra Trail which crosses the Range from West to East.
A total of eleven days will be spent on the trail. Four of these are layover days. On the seven moving days we will hike about 60 miles with an elevation gain of about 11,000 feet. Including the two days for acclimation before starting on the trail, the trip has a total of thirteen days.
The packer will furnish delicious meals with a cook to handle all the kitchen chores including cleanup. Chairs are furnished to relax in camp. In case of rain the wranglers will put up a large tarp to sit under. A sit down toilet will be provided at each camp with a privacy tent. Mules will carry all equipment and food except what we require during the day and carry in our day packs.
Sierra Club -- Mammoth to McGee Creek
Hiking with Pack Stock
John Muir Wilderness
July 29-August 9, 2013
12 Days
Details on price and signup will be posted on the Sierra Club website in December 2012
On this trip we will experience a cross-section of typical grand High Sierra country. We enter the wilderness from Mammoth Lakes, crossing Duck Pass and looking down on the very beautiful Duck Lake, one of the larger natural lakes in the Sierra. A short section of the John Muir Trail brings us to our first camp just below Purple Lake where we will spend a layover day to explore the lakes above.
We next descend to cross Fish Creek flowing in Cascade Valley and climb to camp in lower Long Canyon. Here we will spend a layover day to visit Beetle Bug Lake.
A short move and layover day will give a chance to visit other Silver Divide Lakes such as Olive and Peter Pande.
A long day’s hike, about half the distance on the John Muir Trail, brings us near Silver Pass before descending into upper Fish Creek. Climbing up the creek into the upper basin, we spend another layover day to explore the basin.
The next two days are spent hiking out over McGee Pass to the road head with a night camping at Big McGee Lake.
The total distance hiked on six moving days is about forty miles with an elevation gain of about 7,500 feet.
Pack animals will carry our gear while we enjoy the scenery with only day packs. There are four layover days on the
trail plus another two days car camping at Rock Creek for acclimation, which gives a total of twelve days for the entire trip.
Mt Whitney Summit Hike
R.E.I. sponsored with Sierra Mountain Center
Six day guided hikes from Horseshoe Meadow to the top of Mt. Whitney. These trips are guided and food and outfitting service
is provided by Sierra Mountain Center and Rock Creek Pack Station operating as Mt. Whitney Pack Trains. For details, please view
REI's website .
Trip Dates: 2013
- Jun 30 – Jul 5 *
- Jul 7–12
- Aug 25–30
- Sep 1–5
- Sep 15–20
- Sep 22–27
- Oct 6–11
Here's what one of our repeat-guests has to say about her travels with Rock Creek Pack Station: "As a former backpacker, it embarrassed me at first to have to rely on pack animals to carry my gear, but my joints wouldn't allow me the pride of independence. What I found, though, is the crews have a love for the mountain that equals my own and they take much better care of the environment than any backpacker I've hiked with. All trash packed out, deep pits are dug for the latrines, the ashes from fire are buried, and the pine needles are scattered so there is no evidence we were there. They truly left only footprints behind." --G. H., CALIFORNIA, 2005
Here is a description of hiking with pack stock from a frequent guest:
The smell of fresh coffee on a wood fired stove; the muffled sound of mules munching their morning grain;
quiet words of reassurance as the packers groom and tack the stock in preparation for the day's move.
That is the alarm clock that awakens you to a new morning of hiking with pack stock.
You pack up your duffle and take down your tent between sips of fresh hot coffee (or tea/cocoa)...more
You can email us, also.
Rock Creek Pack Station provides all of its trips as a permitee of the Inyo National Forest.
All Trail Rides and Packing Schools are subject to an 8% regulatory reservation fee, plus 2% USFS fee.
NOTICE: In accordance with federal law and U.S. Dept of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from
discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs)
To file a complaint of discrimination: write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington D.C. 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964.
USDA is an equal opportunity employer.