Working in Mineral King

With all those posts about Mineral King, did you wonder if I am still working?

Thank you for your concern. It may look as if I am just loafing in Mineral King, taking bad photos, and wishing it wasn’t smoky.

HOWEVER, I spent some valuable time with a very savvy artist friend (Krista Fulbright, who has her work at CACHE right now—don’t walk, RUN to see the show). I showed her all my paintings for my upcoming show at CACHE (opening date Saturday, October 19) and she gave me excellent honest input as to how to improve the body of work.

Every piece I have is a landscape with a single exception.

I asked Krista if I should just leave this one out, and she said yes, or choose 2 more subjects to go with this. WHAT? PAINT MORE? Maybe.

I took a box of photos to the cabin, and sorted through to find possible companion pieces. A former drawing student/good friend/cabin neighbor and Trail Guy shared their opinions as I tried several combinations. (Didn’t have the painting with me —just one of the reference photos).

All the photos (and a little saucer of pistachio shells)
This collection is based on color.
This collection is based on round blue containers of round objects.
This collection is based on citrus.

I haven’t decided yet. First, I need to polish, refurbish, and refine about 4 or 5 other paintings.

So, you can see that I sometimes even work in Mineral King.

ABOUT THE FIRE: The Park has closed Mineral King to recreational activity, including trailheads, trails, and campgrounds. There is also a possibility that the road may close before the end of the weekend due to “fire front slowing backing down closest to the road in the general Lookout Point area.

Working Weekend in Mineral King

Gathering ambition on the deck in the morning.

A week or so ago, I told you about areas of neglect in Mineral King. Our cabin is not one of them, because it is our responsibility, not the Park’s*. It takes continual maintenance to keep a 100+ year old rustic structure together, and although we enjoy plenty of leisure time up the hill, there is persistent work to be done.

Our cabin is not painted, except for the window trim, which could use refreshing. (Next year. I’m busy with other things this year.) Instead of paint, the wood gets oiled every few years. Every ten years? I’m not keeping track; that’s men’s work at our address. I’m just there to stand on the bottom rung of the ladder to keep it from teeter-tottering or sliding away, along with fetching and carrying requested tools.

“We” did prep work, loosening the dirt, blowing it off, and then picking dirt out of the cracks on the decks using a tool that a friend made for us. (Sorry Dr. Baltimore, no photo, but much gratitude).

Then we discovered that some critter was able to access a cupboard in the kitchen that we had previously thought to be critter-proof. I’ll spare you the details, but show you how “we” stuff steel wool in the access points. (Or maybe I’ll just show you a scratched-up water bottle and a DeWalt flashlight.)

My favorite type of work is ongoing, rather than maintenance. I love to swing an axe and am responsible for splitting all the firewood needed for the cook stove. Trail Guy makes it easy for me by cutting it to the right lengths and selecting wood that is fairly knot-free.

Our stack was maxed out, so I took my best axe to a neighbor’s cabin to try my hand (my arms?) at white fir. The pieces were longer than I am used to, there were lots of knots, and the bark needed to be peeled. I worked my way through about 1/2 dozen chunks, and went away satisfied that I can split wood even if Trail Guy hasn’t paved the way for me.

Another neighbor has a brand new door, one that will stay closed without being propped by a rock. I won’t be painting this door but wanted you to admire it with me. I always think it is a shame to cover bare wood with paint, although the results are usually impressive.

We concluded our work day with a brief evening walk in the smoke.

*I recently heard that Sequoia National Park is operating with about 60% of the number of employees needed to keep things running well. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??

Noticing, Neglected, and New: New

New

Although Sequoia National Park in Mineral King appears to be understaffed, with many things in a neglected state, things that are under the purview of private individuals are getting spiffed up. Cabin life is often about maintenance, and it is excellent to see this taking place.

This was rebuilt and is waiting for more siding.
A new roof!
New paint on the trim!
New steps!
New paint on the cabin!
Newly painted!

Finally, the Honeymoon Cabin has been painted!

Yes, many exclamation marks are in this post, because it is very heartening to see maintenance and care given to a cabin community’s tangible assets.

Noticing, Neglected, and New: Neglected

Neglected

Sequoia National Park appears to be seriously understaffed, particularly when it comes to Mineral King.

These are a few things in Mineral King that I noticed.

Falling apart sign
Abandoned pack station
Falling apart sign
Trail Guy picked it off the ground and used a rock to get it back in place
Someone did a makeshift repair at the ranger station
Propping up a sign rather than actually setting it in place is sort of a repair.
Campground closed??
Cold Springs bridge
If the campground ever reopens, I bet it won’t be $12 per site.

But wait—there’s more! A trail crew has done a bit of work on the Nature Trail.

The signs on the nature trail have never been replaced.
Looks brushy but it has actually been cleared a bit.
A trail crew placed a warning on this bridge. Are we suppsed to wade
alongside rather than walk across?

Along the road, oh my goodness. I shot these photos through the windshield one morning while heading down.

This poor little cabin belongs to the Park.

HOWEVER, someone has worked on the water troughs and Redwood is now flowing.

Understaffed. Definitely understaffed.

Noticing, Neglected and New: Noticing

This begins a series of posts: Noticing, Neglected, and New. Today’s post is NOTICING.

Noticing

“Noticing”? Yes. Since my hiking is severely curtailed, I am walking with my eyes peeled for things I may not have noticed before. When hiking, one tends to focus on the next step. When simply walking, there is more of a meandering attitude.

Instead of heading up with neighbors, I drove up. This meant I could stop for photos, and it had been awhile since I photographed the bridge.

My favorite bridge (I wasn’t walking)
The gas pump at Silver City has been painted. (No, I wasn’t walking, but this is too brilliant to ignore.)
Evening light on the cottonwoods by the bridge at the end of the road is always worth noticing.
Another dam
Why is the grass squished here?
Arnica grows by water.
Nude buckwheat – the name makes my 6 year old neighbor giggle
Foxtail pine cones look like smaller Jeffrey pine cones.
The grasses are very tall.
Two foxtail pines with a red fir squishing its way between.
Trail Guy kindly and patiently meanders along with me instead of always burning up the trail.
Goldenrod is early this year. Those are corn lilies behind.

I found a new flower, then discovered it is in my now sold-out Wildflowers of Mineral King as an unknown flower at the end of the purples/blues chapter. (The book was published 5 years ago so I am allowed to forget some things.) It took 4 different attempts to get a single photo in focus, because my PHD* camera focuses on whatever it wants to focus on.

Columbine
Ranger buttons

Gooseberries

*Press Here Dummy

Another Mineral King Report

It was a smoky several days in Mineral King.

I stopped by a friend’s cabin for a quick visit and was struck by this timeless cabin scene.

The smoke did not prevent or hamper the 39th annual Mineral King Preservation Society’s Picnic in the Park, featuring our own Trail Guy.

He told of his three winters spent in Mineral King in the early 1980s, a story that held people’s attention for an entire hour.

Even little ones didn’t get restless, which is mighty amazing in this age of devices.

This one had a companion with her, besides me, her current MK BFF.

These are some of the very few artifacts remaining from the end of Trail Guy’s third winter (although the photos weren’t in the cabin when it went the way of all flesh.)

When the ordeal of public speaking was behind Trail Guy, we gathered with our neighbors in the evening.

The next day we went for a walk with some of our neighbors, in spite of the smoke.

Trail Guy loves to show people his favorite flower, the tiger lily (more accurately known as a leopard lily because it has spots, not stripes, but we have discussed this previously. . .) How thoughtful of those ranger buttons to disguise the face of his hiking friend.

The flowers were excellent, something I was almost resigned to missing in this hikeless summer. But some of the wildflowers are accessible even if one is only in walking mode.

Glacial daisy

This is Soda Springs, where water bubbles out of the ground with a hint of carbonation. Some people like to mix it with powdered lemonade, but I’ve never thought that was better than plain water. The water bubbling up tastes metallic. Some of these places are called “iron springs”, some “soda springs”, although I’ve never learned the difference, if there is such a difference.

The air cleared out in the evening when the winds shifted direction.

Thus we conclude another report on a series of days spent in Mineral King. Thanks for tuning in!

More Hot Times in Mineral King

Here is the continuation from Friday’s long post about hot times in Mineral King.

Evening light

In spite of the ferocious heat down the hill and the uncommon heat in Mineral King, the evenings were very pleasant.

One evening, Trail Guy went in search of his favorite flower, the leopard lily, more commonly known as the tiger lily. This doesn’t make sense to me, since the lily has spots rather than stripes, but the flower namers didn’t ask my opinion.

I followed along with my camera, because the light is so enticing at the end of the day.

There they are! Alas, too hard to get to; keep looking.

Down in the willows, almost indiscernible in this photo.

Here are some that Trail Guy could stick his nose into.

Popular Sight

When Hiking Buddy and I were trudging up the Nature Trail, I stopped for this classic photo, which never comes out right. My camera sees Sawtooth and the sky as almost the same color and value. (I messed with the sky color on the computer so you can see Sawtooth.)

That’s why I have to paint this scene; my paints can correct many photographic shortcomings.

Popular Hangout

The bridge at the end of the road is a popular place to hang out. Without fail, someone builds a dam every year.

Well-loved Juniper

A few years ago, this juniper was in jeopardy of being chopped down. A few of us protested, (my cousin, a tree guy/certified arborist also told me it still had plenty of life) and whoever was in charge changed his mind. I don’t mean that we marched around with signs and obnoxious behavior; we wrote letters in a very civilized manner.

It occurred to me that I have never painted this juniper. I wonder. . . if I left off the cars with blue tarps, took some license with the parking lot, would anyone else know or care what tree it is?

Hot Times in Mineral King

When it is Really Hot down the hill, it is just hot in Mineral King in the sun and on the trail. Sitting in the shade isn’t too bad, if you are covered in bug spray, the kind with a lot of DEET. When the heat is on, the biting bugs are very very active.

Independence Day

We raised the flag on Independence Day at the neighboring cabin with the tallest flagpole.

Work

Several mornings, I worked on another neighbor’s cabin trim, just until the hot sun hit.

before
after

Trail Guy was Road Guy before he retired, and he regularly uses many of his skills from that era for the benefit of Mineral King. Together, we pruned a very brushy section of road.

Before
during
during

I was too hot to take a decent “after” photo. Just wanted to go back to the shade and swat some biting flies and mosquitoes.

Crystal Creek Goes Rogue

One day we walked to Crystal Creek. I was shocked to see that it has changed channels.

The first section of stream has always (in my lifetime) been the strongest. (photo from 2021)
Now the first section is dry.

Keep walking—you will find the water.

Since I walk in my Crocs and my feet are numb, I am the one who gets to wade into the stream and toss rocks and logs around. Trail Guy and the Farmer put together a “bridge” so non-Croc-wearing folks who aren’t fond of cold water can cross with dry feet.

The flowers were great, as they always are in the beginning of July, even when the heat is ridiculous.

wild blue flax
blue-eyed grass and a dandelion
This larkspur was blue instead of purple

lots of baby’s breath

The trail was thick with lupine, and Spring Creek was roaring across the valley; good thing the bridge was up, because “EVERYBODY” goes to Eagle Lake.

Nature Trail

One afternoon, Hiking Buddy and I went down the road and then trudged up the Nature Trail in the humidity and bugs. This was a necessity, since there was way too much eating going on over that stretch of days.

I am not complaining, because compared to what the weather was down the hill, this was very pleasant. Besides, look where we were!

We didn’t stop to put our feet in because the biting bugs were ferocious.
When passing through this swampy area, a branch whacked me on the brim of my hat and knocked off my sunglasses. We looked several times, but they apparently have turned invisible.
Lupine never photograph as beautiful as they look in person. (Me either)

This post has gotten too long. How about if we continue on Monday?

Community Life in Mineral King

Mineral King is a place for backpackers, campers, day hikers, day trippers, and cabin folks. Today’s post is about the cabin community. (Last summer I posted regularly about cabin life.)

There are cabin communities all over the mountains in this country, and most likely in other countries too. I’ve written in the past (2018?) about what makes them special: Cabin Thoughts, One; Cabin Thoughts, Two; Cabin Thoughts, Three, A Few More Cabin Thoughts, and Final Final Cabin Thoughts.

Today’s post is what happens on a busy weekend in our cabin community of Mineral King. There are several parts to the community: our immediate neighbors, those across the creek, the settlement one mile down the road (formerly known as “Faculty Flat”, now “West Mineral King” is the preferred name, and no, I didn’t ask for pronouns); Silver City (private property 4 miles down the road); and Cabin Cove (7 cabins about 5 miles down the road from us).

This is what happens on any given weekend—the closer to the end of summer, the more activities. We:

  1. gather at someone’s cabin for “happy hour”, eat fun things, catch up with one another, and then are too full for dinner
  2. eat dinner together
  3. (Trail Guy and The Farmer, not me unless The Farmer isn’t around) help with various repairs. (The cabins are OLD.)
  4. hike together (hike: carrying pack with lunch and water)
  5. walk together (no pack, no lunch)
  6. give one another rides up and down the hill
  7. bring supplies for one another when coming up the hill
  8. share books
  9. lend knitting needles
  10. let people use our telephone (when we had one) and borrow the neighbor’s phone now
  11. clean up the platform for the annual “Music in the Mountains” event
  12. prune in one another’s yards (okay, that’s just me. . .)
  13. use a hav-a-hart trap to catch bushy-tailed woodrats (definitely Trail Guy, NOT me)
  14. explore historic sites
  15. lend tools
  16. repair water line breaks
  17. go through the junk we discover in our respective cabins, sometimes trading items of interest
  18. share missing recipe ingredients

We stay in touch throughout the year, because our friendships are solid, not simply seasonal.