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A vivid journey into the untamed wilderness, where boys and mules
forge paths through the mountains with sheer determination, on a 
discovery of self and society.
 
To be young in the wild Sierra Nevada Mountains, as a preteen entrusted with horses, mules and paying dudes, may sound like a dreamland to some, or a nightmare to others. For Alltucker, it was a part of growing up. In 1972, as a twelve-year-old, he was shipped out by his parents from his hometown in Eugene, Oregon, to become a mule packer in the high mountains of California. During his summers learning the lost art of packing, Kevin searched for belonging while learning how to securely pack mules, navigate harsh mountain trails, fend off bears, and entertain clients. School season was then spent back in Eugene, realizing he lived a way of life the other students would never understand, and questioning the acceptance of normalcy found in the halls of high school. He longed to be back in the mountains where he found comfort on horseback, guiding mules and dudes into the wilderness.
 
Along the way, Kevin assembled a set of rules, the Packer Rule Book, that encapsulated the verbal traditions which described essential packer culture. When Kevin finally achieved full packer status, he realized some of the rules didn’t translate well to contemporary life. The Mules of Mineral King is a charming and funny guidebook to an overlooked region and way of life, and a story about coming of age in a culture that was disappearing.