The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada [Paperback]

Louise A. Jackson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878424997
• ISBN-13: 978-0878424993
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #908,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling telling of an interesting part of Sierra history, October 9, 2004

By 

L. Di Silvestro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada (Paperback)

This book is well-written and entertaining. I recommend it to anyone interested in the history of Sierra or the use of livestock, as well as to anyone who has spent time in the Sierra back country. The author does a wonderful job of presenting the facts in a manner that brings the era and the people alive. The history of packing is provided against the backdrop of the broader Sierra history, putting it in context that makes the role of packing clear.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Horses, Mules & Sierra Nevada, May 26, 2005

By 

Scott M. Kruse "Biophysical Geographer" (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada (Paperback)

There can be no perfect and complete treatment of mules, horses and packing in the Sierra Nevada. This is a major effort and does very well starting with Spanish exploration in the mid-1700s to the early 1950s. Mules are generally significantly smarter than horses. Mules take care of themselves and their feet better than horses. As a cross between a male donkey and a female horse, mules get the best of both parents ("hybrid vigor") and are able to carry heavy loads over long distances in difficult conditions. Theodore Solomons explored much of what is now the John Muir - Pacific Crest Trail in the Sierra Nevada with his mule "Whitney."

There are strong contributions from Norman "Ike" Livermore, Secretary of Resources for California under Governor Ronald Reagan. Livermore's 1936 business master's thesis at Stanford University was on the High Sierra Packing Business. Now in his 90s we are fortunate to have some of his and many others' collective wisdom and knowledge as a part of this book. Jim Synder, Yosemite Natl Park Historian has worked diligently to collect grazing and packing history.

Backpackers today have limited understanding the role pack stock has played in the Sierra Nevada since the 1850s. Trails and bridges are largely built to stock standards. Large wood-burning stoves, structural steel, large diameter cable, bridge decking, trail signs, tools and support for trail crews and recreational visitors have all been carried into and out of the backcountry by mules and horses.

Use of pack stock peaked from 1950 to about 1970. Backpacking took off in the early 1970s. In many cases urban back packers with no knowledge or experience of stock viewed stock as foreign, intrusive and not compatible or sustainable with Sierra Nevada ecosystems. The Sierra Club Foundation, National Park Service, universities and National Forest Service began investigating outings impacts in the 1970s. Much abuse was inflicted by concessionaire, government and packer stock on meadows in the past. Where formerly parties were large with huge impacts on the ecosystems, parties became smaller and could carry propane and not burn wood. For many years backcountry rangers with a horse and mule(s) patrolled large areas, did extensive trail maintenance and hauled refuse that had accumulated since the 1930s out of the backcountry. A backpacker walks the trails today, sees little or no refuse and thinks things are pristine and have "always been this way." In fact, stock carried huge amounts of supplies and tools in and large amounts of refuse out.

Costs and logistics caught up with many pack outfits in the 1970s. The effort to care for and maintain stock year-round for packing between June and October became cost prohibitive. Urban dwellers often balk at paying $150 to $250 per day for a packer and a mule.

The collective and historic wisdom of working with stock in the Sierra Nevada has been lost to a large extent in the National Forests and to a lesser extent in Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. Budget cuts have eliminated many with intimate knowledge of stock who worked 30, 40, 50 or more seasons in the Sierra Nevada. It has always been difficult to be a "mountain mule man" and is more difficult now. Sierra Nevada management has largely moved to sustainability and away from resource extraction as evidenced by establishment of Giant Sequoia National Monument, contiguous formal wilderness from the northern to southern Sierra Nevada, requirement for wilderness permits. The Sierra Nevada Alliance is making comprehensive efforts toward "whole watershed" sustainble management. Recent court actions have made stock use follow the same restrictions as backpackers - limiting the size and number of groups, with or without stock.

A packer must be good with people, horses, mules and government personnel. A packer must fix water bars, saw through downed trees, chase down reluctant mules, efficiently pack loads that stay on over difficult terrain in strings of mules, take care of horse and mule feet, take care of themselves - all independently without help.

The "University of the Wilderness" is a magnificient education where the receptive "learn the questions to answers we have not yet learned how to ask." Mules are an integral part of a Sierra Nevada university education - now increasingly hard to come by. Mules are excellent teachers if you are patient and willing to listen, watch and learn. Louise Jackson has done a major service touching on a portion of the history of mules, people and stock operations in the Sierra Nevada. This is a good read!