A Time-Honored Way to See the Sierra

Dunnage: We pack your gear on mule(s), you hike. We will drop your gear off and you either self-exit, or we will come get your gear at a later date.

Spot: Same as Dunnage Trip, but we provide a saddle horse for you.

Resupply: You are already on the trail with your wilderness permit that covers your hiking trip. We meet you with your resupply at a prearranged location. 

Traveling: Our staff and animals stay with you for the duration of the trip and support you with packing and/or riding each day.

Our most popular type of pack trip is a Dunnage or Spot, where we pack you in to a nice destination to base camp, and then come pick you up after a few days. We can go north on the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail into the Sallie Keyes Lakes basin. We can continue north over Selden Pass to the Marie/Lou Beverly Lakes area in the Bear Creek drainage. We can do trips up Paiute Canyon to the east on a limited basis. The most requested destination is Evolution Valley, south of us and located in Kings Canyon National Park. We can go further south along the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail, over Muir Pass and into LeConte Canyon. 

If you are doing a one-way trip and self-exiting with your backpack on the way out, then pack your normal backpacking items and be prepared to carry everything.

Things you should always have on a trip:

• Appropriate clothing, including sturdy boots/hiking shoes, and different layers.

• Warm packable jacket.

• Rain gear even if the forecast is sunny. The mountains can change with no notice.

• High quality sleeping bag.

• Tent if you like tents.

• Headlamp with a change of batteries.

• Toilet paper and the knowledge of how to properly use it in the wilderness.

• Camp trowel.

• Bug spray.

• Water filtration system.

• Basic survival gear: pocket knife, compass, paper map, matches, emergency blanket.

Any of the alpine lakes in our area are great places to catch small Golden and/or Brook trout. There are a variety of trout species, including German Brown and Rainbow, in the south fork of the San Joaquin river and up into Evolution Creek.

You can contact us anytime to plan a trip, and we may be able to fit you in. However, it is a good idea to give us at least a couple of months notice, since it can take time for us to secure the necessary permits and make sure our staff and animals will be available for you.

For spot and dunnage trips, we will get your information and handle the Forest Service permitting process. The nominal permit and user fees will be passed on to you through our billing.

For resupply trips, you will already have your wilderness permit for your hike, and we will handle our own required permits for the mule-assisted portion. 

We will load up to 150 lbs of dunnage per animal. This also depends on bulk.

For your basic personal gear we prefer soft duffels that are small and medium sized. Dry bags (such as those you would take on a river rafting trip) are ideal. Make sure your fishing rods and anything other fragile items, such as camera equipment, are in sturdy hard cases. Please do not bring glass bottles. Food must be in agency certified bear-resistant containers, such as the cylindrical bear canisters. We have a variety of dry and insulated pack panniers that are certified bear-resistant.

If you are coming in from Fresno/Highway 168, we will meet you at Florence Lake. You will purchase your ferry ticket at the Florence Lake Store, and take the boat across to meet our packer on the south shore of the lake. You will also need to pay an extra ferry fee per pound for your dunnage. A ferry ticket covers one human with one backpack. 

When you book your trip with us, we will talk with you about which scheduled morning ferry run you should catch to meet our packer.

By conditions of our special use permit, commercial pack stations are subject to a stock-to-human ratio that limits the number of pack animals allowable on each trip. 

Riding a horse requires you to balance in the saddle and to be able to move easily. It is not possible to safely ride with your backpack. We have small saddle bags on your riding horse that can carry your water bottle, lunch, jacket, etc. 

No.

The conditions of your wilderness permit prohibit caching of gear. We recommend having the faster hikers in your party stay with your dunnage until our packer shows up. It will take us a while to pack up the mules and catch up to you.

Our weight limit is between 200 to 250 lbs depending on the rider’s height and physical ability. 

We no longer offer full-service trips where our staff does camp setup and cooking for you. 

The only 100% reliable way to get a message to us is to come to the ranch and talk to us in person. We find that satellite communicator messages can be delayed for hours, days, or even weeks. There is no phone or satellite phone at the ranch to accept calls. There is also no cell service in our area. 

This is a GREAT idea! You will really want to soak in the hot springs and sleep in a real bed!

Many people choose to stay at the ranch in conjunction with their trip. Dates must be secured ahead of time to ensure availability.