High Sierra Pack Station - Lakeshore, California

elizabeth F.

I consider myself to be an dude rider (although I started lessons this year) and just finished my fourth pack trip with HSPS last week, and just like the three trips before this one, it was beautiful and amazing. We've been to Cold Creek, Mott Lake, Wilbur May Lake, and most recently, Rose Lake. We pack and ride in, create a base camp for 5-6 days, explore the area, and either walk or ride out. The Cunninghams are very flexible about however you want to do the trip and have lots of good suggestions. They know trail conditions ahead of time and can deal with any level of rider. The packers we've had on our trips (Alan and Kent) have been knowledgeable about their animals and watchful of their riders. I highly recommend HSPS for an amazing wilderness adventure and don't forget to give your packer a big fat tip!

Jim R.

We have done two great trips with HSPS. Each time, they packed our gear in for the first two days of the trip, while we hiked with day packs. We took it from there, with 6-8 more days of hiking on our own. They provided a great "jumpstart" to some incredible backpacking on and around the JMT. One trip headed south from Florence Lake, the other headed south from Lake Edison. HSPS and the packers were very flexible and accommodated changes in our daily plans. Packers Gene and Will were friendly, helpful, and fun to hang out with. (We chose to hike on our own with day packs, but camped together the first night.) John was straightforward in our dealings -- even booked a trip for me on short notice without time to take a deposit.

P.S. I consider myself a "serious" backpacker and historically I have questioned whether pack animals are appropriate in the backcountry. These experiences have showed me that pack animals are really about "accessibility". They enable people to get into the backcountry who might not otherwise be able to enjoy these natural locations. And a reputable operation such as HSPS is closely regulated by various agencies to minimize impacts such as grazing. (Our mules carried their own feed.)

Danielle S.

We had an amazing time! Dale was a great trail guide and very informative! It was my boyfriend’s first time riding and they made him feel so comfortable. The horses are well taken care of and know exactly where they’re going so you felt safe and secure. Highly recommend this to anyone trying to get some great views and into the mountains on horseback

Zosha W.

High Sierra Pack Station provides guests with the ultimate backcountry experience!! I've been taking trips with my family for years and each one is better than the next. We love all the destinations you can reach from Edison lake and exploring them with the knowledgable guides from HS is always a treat. Thank you High Sierra Pack Station!

Richard R.

Our group of five made arrangements with the owners of the High Sierra Pack Station (John Cunningham and his wife) to take us and our gear from Florence Lake to Evolution Valley. John originally quoted us a rate that worked out to $225 per person and we confirmed our reservation with a deposit in advance. Then as the trip grew near we reconfirmed our reservation and John’s wife said the cost was $250 per person. Unfortunately there was nothing in writing so we just decided to not rock the boat and pay the $250 without arguing making assumption that maybe there was some confusion between the two of them.

The plan was to ride to McClure Meadows (about 4 miles from the entrance to Evolution Valley). We were told to get our packs to their station by 7:30 - 8:00 am in order to get an early start. We delivered our gear at 7:30 am sharp and took the 8:00 am ferry across the lake then made the short hike to the trail to meet the horses. Since the packer and the horses had to come a little over 4 miles to meet us we figured they’d pick us up around 10:00 am. Unfortunately we didn’t get picked up till nearly 11:00 am which in the end meant we only made it to the first camping area in Evolution Valley some 2 miles short of our destination. We decided to make camp there since it was past 5:00 pm. So all in all the pack trip was a little disappointing in that we didn’t make it quite as far as we had discussed with John but none the less we did make it to Evolution Valley. Allen and Paul were our packers and generally did a good job.

So why the very poor rating when the job the did was worthy of a star or two more? We’ll it all has to do with what happened with John after we hiked back out three days later. After we finished our backpack we drove to Mono Hot Springs for lunch and a shower. Once fed and then clean we headed for home. Driving just a short distance from Mono Hot Springs we were driving down hill on a steep narrow one lane road when we met John headed up hill on the same road. We both stopped and since I was on the far right that left plenty of roon on John’s right to pull over since there was a pull out right there. But John just stayed put, throwing his hands in the air and refusing to budge as if he owned the entire road. So there I am being forced to back up while right next to a steep cliff when this could have easily been avoided with just simple common courtesy by John. So as we passed I’m sure I yelled something appropriately to him such as your a jeck or an axxhole which he certainly was in my opinion. He then stops his truck after we passed each other and the backs up toward me attempting to hit my vehicle which he ened up just slightly grazing leaving a make which I was able to wipe off pretty easliy.

My recommendation is to avoid this company at all costs. John’s pompous and condesending attitude along with his self centered approach are not the type of qualities in people I chose to do business with. And truth be told, the horse ride was miserable and the hike back to Florence Lake was much more enjoyable than the ride.

Sincerely,

Richard R.

Rile B.

This was well worth the money the people were awesome and my kids had a great time thank you so much

Arli B.

angelica P.