Whatever does that title mean? Glad you asked! The junction of the Farewell Gap and Franklin Lake trails is the best wildflower area in all of Mineral King, and its peak is always right around July 4. Well, okay, probably July 1, but July 4 is a significant day, and who actually knows the specific […]
Honesty, Diplomacy, and Wisdom
I have a wise friend who is both diplomatic and honest. She told me that a few of my paintings didn’t reflect my usual care, or perhaps she said they weren’t up to my usual standards— “lacking in detail and clarity”. (There were a couple of paragraphs so I’m summarizing here.) I blamed the old […]
More White Chief in Mineral King
Today we will continue and complete our White Chief hike in photos. I always thought it was a short hike, but maybe someone moved White Chief, just like Franklin Falls got moved. My phone, masquerading as a camera, also told me that I went 7.5 miles and climbed the equivalent of 43 floors. Yes, indeed, […]
A Hike to White Chief (in Mineral King)
Trail Guy and our friend K went to White Chief, and came back raving about the flowers. Two days later I went to White Chief and came back raving about the flowers. Our photos are intermingled on my laptop, so I’ll just post some many in today’s post and many more in tomorrow’s, keeping the […]
Who Moved Franklin Falls? (in Mineral King)
Walking in Mineral King (Not a hike because we didn’t take packs) Instead of the now normal down-the-road-and-up-the-Nature-Trail walk, or the wussy turning around at Crystal Creek, we went past Crystal to Franklin Creek. It was a little bit farther this year. Don’t you just hate that? The flowers were most totally excellent. This was […]
Walking Down the Mineral King Road and Up the Nature Trail
Gird your loins—this is a long post. With my new-to-me iPhone 14 in hand, I walked down the Mineral King Road to Cold Springs Campground (STILL CLOSED—CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN OR SOMETHING!) and back up the Nature Trail. This is about 2-1/2 miles total. Let’s look at the flowers I found along the road. I actually […]
Walking to Crystal Creek in MIneral King
The Crystal Creek crossing is about 1 mile from the parking lot at the end of the road in Mineral King. It is relatively flat and easy. We don’t even pretend that it is a hike and it barely passes for exercise. But recently I’ve been thinking that as one ages, one’s body produces and […]
Cabin Life
I misled you yesterday when saying we’d visit my short wussy walks in Mineral King. Instead today’s topic is Cabin Life: what in the world does one do in a place with no electricity, internet, or phones? These are the photographical items on the agenda: 2. Help people hold down their porches. 3. Go exploring […]
Trail Guy Went to Timber Gap (in Mineral King)
Where is Timber Gap? It’s on the north side of the Mineral King Valley. A “gap” is a low spot on a ridge or between peaks where it is natural to cross over to the other side. I suppose it is synonymous with “pass”, but in Mineral King we call them “gaps”: Tar Gap, Timber […]
Trail Guy Went to White Chief
Trail Guy, being retired, spends more time in The Land of No Electricity, Internet, or Phones (unless one has StarLink, which your Central Calif. Artist does not—surprised by this?) than I do. He actually had time to hike, working around all his obligations/helpfulness to neighbors. You can tell he took these photos by the spots […]