Pack station

A pack station is the base of operations for transporting freight via pack animals in areas that do not allow for other forms transportation, either due to difficult access or use restrictions as defined in Wilderness Act. The station facilitates the transition from mechanized transportation to pack animals, and necessarily includes a corral for the animals and sometimes a stock loading ramp. In some places there may also be a barn or other structure to house feed and tack, and a loading dock or shelter for the items to be transported. In locations on private land, there may be a business office on site.
The term "pack station" is most often used in California in the Sierra Nevada mountains. In other parts of the USA, outfitters may simply refer to a permanent or semi-permanent trailhead or wilderness camp as a "station" or "outfitter camp."
How packing works
One wrangler on horseback can usually handle up to five pack mules, who are tethered together...