Mule Pack to the High Sierra by Dave Wyman
Dave Wyman's Gallery Dave Wyman's Gallery
×
  1. Dave Wyman's Gallery
  2. Mule Pack to the High SierraMule Pack to the High Sierra
East Side Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada Eastside
Album-2021-01-19-2229
Foggy Night in Los Angeles
Coastal Bike Rides
Trek Émonda
Yosemite's Natural Fire Fall
Had Camera, Did Travel - 2015 in Review
Italy by Bike 2015
The Wildflower Century - Chico, California, 2015
Getting High on Haleakala
A Photograph On Occasion
Yosemite, Selected Images, 2014
Route 66 - 2015
Navajo Country - 2014
A Ride Up Stelvio Pass, Italy
The Un-Yellowstone/Teton Photography Tour, 2013
Clover Avenue Elementary School
The Swingin' 60s - An Eyewitness Account
Homage Galleries
It's Hip to Be Square
Indian Country Galleries
Holiday Festivals of Los Angeles
The Mother Road - The Route 66 Galleries
California Galleries
Mountain Home - Photography Amongst the Giant Sequ
The Oregon Galleries
An August Ascent of Mt. Sill
The Tidelands of South Carolina
Yellowstone Country - Autumn, 2007
The Magic of Autumn - Yosemite, 2006
Sierra Nevada East Side - Autumn, 2006
Zion, Bryce and Las Vegas - A Photography Tour
Death Valley Haikus - Winter, 2007
Yosemite in Winter - 2007
Emigrant Highways - San Joaquin Valley, California
The Glory of Yosemite - Spring, 2007
Winter in Yosemite - 2008
Death Valley 2008
Yellowstone Country - Autumn, 2008
Mono Lake, Bodie Ghost Town and Autumn Colors - Si
Autumn in Yosemite, 2008
Route 66, California - Barstow to Amboy - 2008
Route 66 - Barstow to Amboy, California - 2009
San Diego Natural History Museum - Death Valley -
Land of Fire and Ice - The Cascades and Northern C
Return to Steinbeck Country
Point Reyes National Seashore, California - Previe
Rapha Continental -The Navajo Nation Ride
Beyond the Snapshot: The Point Reyes Peninsula
Yellowstone Country 2009
Yosemite in Autumn - October, 2009
Sierra Nevada East Side - 2009
Indian Country and the Southwestern United States
The Southwest - Canyon Lands and Indian Country, 2
The Mother Road - Route 66, 2010
Family Camping Trip Galleries
The Fargo Street Hill Climb, Version 2010
California's Gold Rush Country
Yosemite's Waterworks, Spring, 2010
The Central Coast of California - 2010
Mule Pack to the High Sierra
Point Reyes, Tomales Bay, Petaluma - 2010
Sierra Nevada East Side - 2010
Winter in Yosemite - 2011
IPhonic Imagery
Death Valley - Spring, 2011
En Plein Air: The Central Coast of California
Steinbeck Country 2011
City of Angels - Photojournalism
Oregon Photo Tour/Ken Rockwell Homage - 2012


My wife, Kathy, and I joined a group from the Sierra Club, on a mule pack. We hiked, with just day packs, to Big McGee Lake, in the High Sierra, south of Mammoth Mountain and east of Crowley Lake. After eight miles and more than 2,000 feet of elevation gain, we reached our beautiful campsite.


The mule packers, from the McGee Creek Pack Station, had arrived ahead of us. It didn't take long to break out several containers of ice cream, which had stayed cold sitting on dry ice.


Beautiful day hikes, optional climbs up two mountains and two passes, spending plenty of down-time in camp to read, talk or meditate, and some terrific shared meals were all on the itinerary.


I made ten new friends on my first mule pack - this was Kathy's sixth - and I want to do it again next year, especially if there will be ice cream.

McGee Creek Lodge, where Kathy and I stayed the night before the trip.
Morning light over the canyon we would ascend, with the pack station in the shade..
Wranger at McGee Creek Lodge.
The pack station dog, part Great Pyrenees, was quite friendly.
Our mules wait for our gear.
We begin our trek.
We enter a forest, taking us out of the dry terrain at the bottom of the canyon.
Kathy deals with some water flowing over the trail.
We made our first stream crossing.
There was an early autumn show of color.
Aspen leaves.
Beaver lodge.
Aspen trunk chewed by a beaver.
Second stream crossing.
Narrow bridge.
Mountain Asters along the trail.
Flowers along the creek.
Flowers along McGee Creek.
Kathy
A Columbine and an aphid.
The view from our lunch stop.
Checking the map at lunch.
Packers pass by us as we have lunch.
The lead packer.
There goes the ice cream.
Mules on the dusty trail.
A Yosemite Tree Toad isnt happy with my cameras lens.
We are close to our camp.
Our gear was unloaded before we arrived.
Ron looks for a good campsite.
Kathy relaxes before we set up our tent.
Ranger Mike Rodman paid us a visit.
The mules packed in ice cream on dry ice.
Ice cream with toppings were a fitting reward for our long hike.
Afternoon light from our tent.
Kathy, our kitchen and tent, which we set up on a rock pedestal, the next morning.
My breakfast: a pork chop with dried cranberries and raisins.
The next day, some of us hike for a view above the lake.
Big McGee Lake.
Pano view of Big McGee Lake.
Kathy at the lake, a giant rock fall beyond.
A close look at Mountain Gentian.
Sunlight shines through black glass – obsidian.
Obsidian flake left by Native Americans a long time ago.
Grasshopper in camo mode.
Karen with a Kindle.
A chipmunk surveys its kingdom.
Flowers near camp.
Tarn near camp.
The lake early in the morning.
Scroll To Top

Audio Mute
Prev
Play
Next
Shuffle
Include
Privacy and cookie policy
This site uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized content, and analyze traffic. By continuing to use this site you agree to use of cookies and stewardship of your data.