The rock section of the Eagle Lake Trail is very challenging if you were just expecting a little walk in the woods. Sometimes you have to wiggle your feet between some boulders, sometimes you have to just guess where the trail might be, sometimes you walk on a slab of granite, and none of it […]
Trail Guy’s Favorite Mineral King Hike
Sometimes I have to be down the hill, feeding Samson, watering the yard, blogging, drawing, taking care of business, fulfilling promises. Meanwhile, Trail Guy the Retiree is in Mineral King, hiking and taking photos for me to put on my blog. His favorite place to go is White Chief. Mine too, unless it is the […]
Drawing in Mineral King
Back in the olden days when I could see without cheater magnifier glasses or a giant magnifying light, I used to draw at the cabin. I even had a drafting table upstairs underneath a north-west facing window for light. It has been quite a few years since that was an adequate arrangement. I sold the […]
Mineral King Wildflowers for Carol
Happy Birthday, Carol! These flowers are for you today.
Hiking Mineral King – Farewell Gap
Two days after Trail Guy went to Farewell Gap via a loop, we returned together with our new best hiking buddy Jessica. The point of the hike was to see Sky Pilot, an elusive high-elevation flower that we’ve never seen anywhere except Farewell Gap (not that we go anywhere outside of Mineral King. . .) […]
Hiking Mineral King – Peculiar Sights
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELISSA!! When I hike, I think. When I think, I ALWAYS have questions. Here are his photos from inside the tunnel: About a week later, the tunnel looked like this. He walked in it a ways, and then climbed out onto the pinkish algae-clad snow. The more he rubbed and tried to […]
Hiking Mineral King – A Loop
Trail Guy prefers to loop hikes to up-and-backs on the same trail. While I was reuniting with Redwood High School Class of ’77, he was making a loop from White Chief over to the Farewell Canyon and up into Farewell Gap. Here are his photos.
Hiking Mineral King – Eagle Meadow
Eagle Lake is about 4 miles from the Mineral King valley floor, but the trail is steep and rough. In spite of that, it is probably the most popular destination. Trail Guy doesn’t like going there and I haven’t been in several years. The last time I was there, the lake was almost empty, because […]
Hiking Mineral King – Farewell/Franklin Junction
Where the Farewell Gap trail splits off toward Franklin Lakes and Franklin Pass, one can always count on fabulous flowers. Why my photos don’t adequately reflect this is a bit of mystery, but I hope you enjoy today’s sweatless hike all the same. (I’m happy to do the work for you.)
Hiking Mineral King – Franklin Creek
Because of the high water this year, we haven’t gone to all of our normal places. Franklin Creek has been a little scary, although by the time you read this post, it probably won’t be. Two weeks ago we took a reconnaissance walk to see if the creek was crossable. We were joined by special […]