On a Thursday morning early in November 2015 a man and three mules emerged onto Mil Potrero Highway from the wilds of San Emigdio Canyon after a stay on Wind Wolves Preserve.

By 1 p.m. they had walked to Frazier Park. John Sears includes himself as a member of the herd when he speaks of “the mules.” He also refers to himself as “Mule” and “The Monk.”

Sears is on a quiet and persistent mission, walking the length and breadth of this state and other parts of the country….

Back in December we ran a story in The New Mountain Pioneer by Gary Meyer about a mysterious man and his mules on a lifelong journey to spread the word about the need to keep the ‘wild’ in wilderness in our country.

Filmmaker John McDonald heard about our story and contacted us to offer to screen excerpts from his film “Mule: Life on the Outside” for our community.

Now Lebec horseman Steve Cozzetto and his Backcountry Horsemen of California (BCHC) group are joining with the filmmaker to bring their eye-opening stories to our community.

Mark your calendar right now for a free event at the Frazier Park Library on Saturday, April 2, 1 p.m.

Cozzetto says Backcountry Horsemen work to preserve, protect and maintain back-country trails, campsites, streams and meadows on public lands.

Filmmaker McDonald adds that John Sears and his mules “travel a great deal on backcountry trails and have found that many of these pathways have disappeared.”

Sears says he began his trek 31 years ago in Arizona and New Mexico, then went outdoors full-time 13 years ago after retiring at age 54.

The mules stop to deliver their Declaration of Emergency to every city hall, congressman’s office or state capitol along their way.

The problem, Sears says, is that the public thoroughfare is disappearing. He informs public officials and people he meets along his journey of “the absolute necessity for a multiuse trail system in this state and country where we can practice, cultivate and use our human connection
to the Natural World.”

Come meet the filmmaker and the cowboy Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m. at the library.

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This is part of the April 1, 2016 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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