Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Backcounrty Packer Issue.....horse manure at campsite

Have you heard back from SEKI about this? Were there horse or mule prints on the use trail? Was the manure recently deposited? If so, it would have been attracting flies.

You mentioned a developed fire pit. Was there any sign of a fire having been used recently in the pit? Isn't there a ban on campfires in the Southern Sierra? The fire pit might have been built by packers, before the fire ban.

The log benches you mentioned had probably been placed there by packers...long ago. The logs had to have been cut using equipment not usually carried by backpackers: cross-cut saws or chain saws. Just about any log bench set-ups were created by packers or other stock users.

It may be a site that is used by packers and their customers, which is why it is so isolated. Packers often use such sites so that they, their stock, and customers are not visible to the prying eyes of cranky backpackers, and keeps the stock away from backpacker camping areas. I know of several sites like this along the John Muir Trail, one of which is near Big Pete Meadow. Guess what, the Park and the rangers know of their locations. The Parks and the Forest Service usually require packers to use particular camp-sites, and even designate stock turn-around areas for them. I would venture to guess that this favorite camp site of yours is also used by packers from time to time.

Please don't be offended by pack stock and their poop. Without our four-legged friends the trail system would be very difficult to maintain, and remote ranger stations would be really hard to supply without using helicopters. A packer friend of mine resupplies the Le Conte Canyon ranger station regularly throughout each Summer, and has resupplied the Yellow-Legged Frog research camp near Deer Meadow. Please, get over it.