Sheepherder Porn

Grab your bear can or camp chair, kick your feet up and chew the fat about anything Sierra Nevada related that doesn't quite fit in any of the other forums. Within reason, (and the HST rules and guidelines) this is also an anything goes forum. Tell stories, discuss wilderness issues, music, or whatever else the High Sierra stirs up in your mind.
Post Reply
User avatar
oldranger
Topix Addict
Posts: 2861
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:18 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Bend, Oregon

Sheepherder Porn

Post by oldranger »

About 2/3 of the way up to Avalanche Pass from Roaring River, just off the trail were a bunch of lodgepole pines that had sheepherder carvings. One was a carving of a boxer posing with the words carved Liteweigth Champion of the World, Another was a family of duckbilled creatures with the words,
sent from home without food or Clothes. The one below needed no words...
Scan 10.jpeg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Mike

Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
User avatar
gary c.
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1479
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 4:56 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Lancaster, CA

Re: Sheepherder Porn

Post by gary c. »

I never see carvings like this.
"On this proud and beautiful mountain we have lived hours of fraternal, warm and exalting nobility. Here for a few days we have ceased to be slaves and have really been men. It is hard to return to servitude."
-- Lionel Terray
User avatar
Matthew
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:56 pm
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker

Re: Sheepherder Porn

Post by Matthew »

There is a long history of sheepherder tree carvings in the Sierra and across the West. The lonely men would mark the time and provide commentary on their lives by carving arborglyphs, mostly in the living bark of aspen trees. While aspens can last for >150 years they generally don't and so these carvings are being lost due to eventual tree death. There is even a reputable Kit Carson 1859 signature in an aspen in Colorado.
A great book on the subject is "Speaking Through the Aspens: Basque Tree Carvings in Nevada and California". There are many examples from around Tahoe.
I have a professional interest in this subject (bark carvings, not tree porn) and would be very interested if anyone has repeated photographs of carvings. I'm interested in how the trees grow.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 52 guests