High Sierra Topix

WD, I really enjoyed reading your insights on this trend. It seems the costs to run a pack station are so high the owners have to charge a higher amount to generate a profit. What I am trying to understand is if this is the reason pack stations are disappearing, or if the reason is a change in people's preferences. In the 1980s, I remember people going on weekend pack trips in the Sierra Nevada. They weren't rich. I also recall they said it was fun and they would do it again.

Then, in the 1990s, I noticed alot of magazine articles about packing being bad for the ecosystem. So I'm wondering if that discouraged people from going. Or, was it the athletic trend that took off in the 2000s where people started running in the backcountry like they were in a marathon. Under that scenario, people might have stopped riding mules because they thought it wasn't physical enough. You said young people aren't as interested in working for packing stations as they used to be. Could the reason be due to the difficulty of turning a profit, or is it something else?

I remember as a child going backpacking with my parents and sisters and a rented burro in Little Yosemite Valley. I don't think that it would have been that expensive.

RSC wrote:I remember as a child going backpacking with my parents and sisters and a rented burro in Little Yosemite Valley. I don't think that it would have been that expensive.

And it likely wasn't when you were a child.

Now? You can bet it's expensive. And they no longer have burros....

I don't know what you call a child, but I was not yet a teenager. My youngest sister was not able to walk very far or carry a pack, so she got to ride much of the way.

Edit: I'm trying to think when this was, and I might have actually been 13.

In the "good old days" of horse packing, people backpacked more in groups, less so as solo hikers. It still is relatively cheap if you split the cost 4-5 ways.
I think hunting drives a lot of profits for packers (and fishing base-camp trips for groups). Less and less people are interested in hunting, and it is not even allowed in National Parks. Wilderness areas that are NOT in National Parks have a lot more hunters. I see a lot of horse use in Emigrant Wilderness, but mostly private. When my kids were little, we would hire a packer. That worked perfectly for children too big to put in a backpack/baby carrier, yet too little to walk much distances. We did big family outings, one parent and older kids would also walk in and one parent ride with the little ones. I do not think family trips like that are done much anymore, especially in the Sierra.

Edit- it was not cheap even back then!

RSC wrote:I don't know what you call a child, but I was not yet a teenager. My youngest sister was not able to walk very far or carry a pack, so she got to ride much of the way.

Edit: I'm trying to think when this was, and I might have actually been 13.

How about.. when anyone who is older than 30 was a child, it was in fact inexpensive.

It is not inexpensive this year, nor has it been cheap for some years now, to rent anything in Yosemite Valley.

WD, that sheds light on this topic. I hadn't thought of it that way. Yes, I have noticed that people go in smaller groups or solo nowadays in the backcountry. Part of that I think is because the FS and NPS have been trying to lessen the impact that large groups have on the ecosystem. However, I also think it is a cultural shift as well. People are less able/willing to do things together than they used to. Getting along with a group even a large family outing requires give and take and I think people are not able to do this as well as they once did. So if the groups are smaller, there would be less interest in hiring packers since backpackers going solo could do without a horse. Also, the price would be formidable. It would take a large group to keep the price reasonable. But backpackers aren't going in large groups as much so there is less business.

I also think there's an insurance/litigation component as well. I have seen a lot of groups at churches and colleges disappear or eliminate their outdoor activities after an expensive lawsuit. I guess some churches and colleges might see a group packing trip as financially risky. If someone got hurt, there could be expensive litigation. So no group packing trips. That's less business for the packers. Less business means less revenue and higher prices. Without an affluent clientele, the pack station won't be able to last.

AlmostThere wrote:
Ditto. Those waters aren't going to sustain a brown population, and they don't plant fish in the park.

It's true that packers are a dying breed. The pack station in Bishop is up for sale, things are changing. The packers have been one of the mainstays for trail crews -- carrying those food drops and tools into the backcountry for the crews, bringing everything out at the end of the season. A lot will change for the trails if the packers are all gone.

AT Thank You for everything you do that helps us all enjoy the wilderness....So after saying that, bye bye packers is all I can hope for. I really doubt most people will miss those guys.

SNOOOOW wrote:So after saying that, bye bye packers is all I can hope for. I really doubt most people will miss those guys.

Respectfully disagree.
As age takes over...(always wins), nothing like having some beginning aid when embarking on those 15-day, extended, Sierra backpacking/fishing trips. Hiking with Mike, the OldRanger, has taught me this wisdom.

Spot packing (being dropped off), one day of riding in and having mules haul our 45 pound packs up, gaining 3,000 feet of elevation and 12 miles in to start out...works for me! Years ago, something I never would have considered ...now seems the wiser decision. Without the packers, we would not have been able to start out or complete the last 6 years of epic adventures.

BTW, on our last No. Yosemite, 2+week adventure, (a spot pack out of Virginia Lake), my share was $300 plus tip. This may seem expensive to some but to others, not so much.
Don't get old.

markskor wrote:

SNOOOOW wrote: So after saying that, bye bye packers is all I can hope for. I really doubt most people will miss those guys.

Respectfully disagree.
As age takes over...(always wins), nothing like having some beginning aid when embarking on those 15-day, extended, Sierra backpacking/fishing trips. Hiking with Mike, the OldRanger, has taught me this wisdom.

If you will miss having all the trails we have, you will miss the packers. Without them, and given that it is nigh unto impossible to recruit volunteers to help us clear trails already? It's a matter of time before you have to go without trails.