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. But wait—there’s more! A trail crew has done a bit of work on the Nature Trail. Along the road, oh my goodness. I shot these photos through the […]
Trail Guy’s Mineral King Story
Before I met him, Trail Guy spent three winters in Mineral King. At this year’s annual Mineral King Preservation Society “Picnic in the Park”, he told his story. You can listen and watch it on YouTube here: MKPS 2024 Picnic in the Park
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
Community Life in Mineral King
Mineral King Without Hiking
There is always work to be done on cabins; I’m the self-appointed Chairman of the Neighborhood Beautification Committee. As such, I said “I can” when a neighbor asked if I knew of anyone who could paint the trim on his cabin. The very faded and peeling trim. A new pair of socks is on the […]
Mellow Mineral King Time
On my most recent excursion to Mineral King, Fernando and I took our time getting there. (I drove myself so as to not cough on other people.) I didn’t take any road photos, lost track of how many potholes, dirt sections, and flower varieties, and thoroughly enjoyed the drive. (The radiator was replaced last summer, […]
First Mineral King Stay of 2024
On the drive up the hill, I was just astonished by the abundance of yellow flowers, particularly bush poppies, covering the areas that burned in 2021. There were also blazing stars, common madia, flannel bush, and monkey flowers, all yellow. There were some other colors too, but yellow dominated. I have been working on a […]