Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Langley by Horse

I just returned from camping at Whitney Portal with my 11 year old daughter and five of her friends and their dads for our annual Father's Day camping trip. By now, Doug's store is not known as the Whitney Portal Store but as the Pancake House.

I've been visiting the Portal area since the mid-50's (an older father for sure) when I was 10 and often with my brother, Paul who posts here also and has travelled with Bob R. and Richard. This year, camping I spent some time with the host at the campgroud whose name is Richard and whose wife is Barbara. Very nice people. but the most interesting thing for me was that their family owned the old corral and horse pack business at Whitney from the mid-40's until mid-60's. I remembered this and also the fact the the current trail as far as just past the North Fork is the old pack train trail. I couldn't remember, though whether the horses actually made it to the top of Whitney. Well, of course, they did explained Richard. In fact, he told me, they also took the horses up to Horseshoe Meadows and took clients up to the top of Langley!!! Now, most of this board has been up Langely with many (most) of you far more experienced than I. I've been far left which is the easiest approach and I do not see how a horse could ever make this. Richard explained that there was a rock area near a spring or something that they were able to carefully get a horse (and client) up over and through that rock band in order to get to the top. The way down was far, far more difficult. Only experienced horses could really make this and on occasion, the horse would get stuck up there unable to get down. Now his story borders on the unusual. With five small 11 year old girls listening to this, he explained that they would have to dynamite the horse so as not to leave it up there. A story for the kids?? I don't know. He seemed serious and then a little worried about having told the kids. Maybe, Doug can fill in the blanks on this or get Richard up to the Store to really tell the tale to all of you. It's tall enough for me just to think of horses on top of Langley.

Thank you for sharing the father's day story.

Timely horse topic as my neice is competing in the High School State Rodeo Finals in Bishop this week. I'll pass the dynamite story to them and see their reaction...

OK, I'll stick my neck out.

Horses easily get over Cottonwood Pass to Chicken Springs Lake. There, there is a ramp that slants up and left to higher country (see picture), that a horse might manage. If not, there is gentler terrain just out of sight to the left. It seems possible to go one of these ways and gain the Sierra crest between Trailmaster Peak and Peak 12525. Then travel just below or on the crest to Cirque Peak, then around to the top of New Army Pass and on to Langley.



As far as using dynamite in that instance, I understand that is how they used to dispose of horses that became crippled or died in the back country. Perhaps still do. I've always wondered why they didn't just have a really big BBQ instead. Other ideas include flying the carcass out by helicopter or flying in machinery to dig a sufficiently large grave, but I'm sure these are rejected on the basis of cost and effort, for just a horse.

Several years ago, I heard about people (I believe it was Forest Service) using dynamite to dispose of a horse that had died near a campground high in the Stanislaus NF. It sounds like the easiest way to disperse the carcass into smaller pieces so they will decay more quickly.

ED, Clarence King from his book "Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada" mistakingly climbed"sheep rock" as My Langley was originally called, in 1871, thinking he was the first to climb Mt Whitney.In 1872 Sheriff Mulkey of Inyo County,his wife and daughter wanting to reach the mountain King described."made the entire trip without once having to dismount from their horses" In July 1873 W A Goddyear and W W Belshaw "rode our mules to the peak southwest of Lone Pine" Which was Mt Langley. There are many old Sierra History books that mention horses and mules on Langley,as for the dynomite my horse packer friends say it has been done,also some packers have been known to carry "lye" sprinkled on the carcass it help speed up decay.Sometimes the best storeies are the true ones, Enjoy!

Magg, good information. Who would have guessed? I can certainly see how a horse can make it to the base of the last climb but up through the rocks is what amazes me. It will make my wife feel better knowing that horses can do it when I drag her up in July. I'll leave the lye at home.

I don't know all the exact details, but as I recall both of my wife's uncles had worked for these horse packing outfits at one time in the 60's. One of them told me that he had some clients who wanted to ride to the top of Whitney but since he was near Cottonwood pass he took them to the top of Langley and lied to them by telling them it was the top of Whitney.

Rafael...