For those staying in Lake City check out the Alfred Packer memorial just south of Lake City. Who was Alfred Packer? Oh, just someone who have a few friends for dinner.
In the winter of 1874, Alferd Packer was hired to lead a group of prospectors through the San Juan Mountains from the winter campsite of Chief Ouray located near the present-day Delta, Colorado. This turned out to be a particularly harsh winter in the Lake Fork drainage area. Deep snow drifts and sub-zero temperatures slowed the party and supplies soon ran out. Wild game was non-existent, according to Alferd Packer, and these were no fish to be found in the frozen-over streams and lakes. By the time the men had reached the foot of Slumgullion Pass, the men had even chewed the leather from their boots. Starvation was upon them. What was a man to do to survive the winter of 1874?
Six weeks later, Packer appeared alone at the Los Pinos Indian Agency near Saguache. There he told the sad tale of losing his fellow miners in a snowstorm, but he seemed well fed and was spending money freely from several wallets. The story began to unfold when strips of human flesh were found. A search party found the bodies of the missing men at the foot of Slumgullion Pass. They had apparently been murdered and showed evidence of being cannibalized.
