To get to the area of the Empire Mines, it is best to leave early in the morning. The lower part of the Sawtooth/Timber Gap trail is HOT and STEEP; with its exposure, morning is the only sensible time to walk it. We met our friends at 8:30 on the bridge, which is early in […]
Hiking Mineral King – The Nature Trail
This hardly qualifies as hiking – a one mile walk up a trail from Cold Springs Campground in Mineral King. There is always a great variety of wildflowers, and there are aspen trees, a little area of conifers, views of Sawtooth Peak, and a desert-ish area of sage, along with plenty of places to get […]
Hiking Mineral King – Three Falls Below the Gate
About 1-1/2 miles below the end of the Mineral King Road, you can see a roaring section of falls over the edge, waaay down there. Trail Guy and I went exploring, following a friend’s vague instructions: “I just drop off those rocks below my cabin”. Oh yeah? I followed Trail Guy and trusted him to […]
Hiking Mineral King – Timber Gap
I wussed out. Trail Guy asked if I was okay, and I responded, “a little light-headed”. I hate that. We went as far as the wildflowers. You saw them last Friday, but here they are again, because they were spectacular. (I know I already used that word – it fits.)
Week of Wildflowers – Everything!
Today concludes the Week of Wildflowers in Mineral King. Sure, there are many I haven’t photographed, different ones along the road, ones that appeared earlier in the summer, ones that will appear later. This week has been about flowers that I saw and photographed in the last two weeks. And for the final post of […]
Week of Wildflowers – Blue
Blue includes purplish blue, and perhaps bluish purple. Some of these you may have seen previously on the blog, because blue flowers are my favorite. Okay, all the Ls line up here:
Week of Wildflowers – Red
Reddish is a more accurate term for today’s Mineral King wildflowers. I am including orange and pinkish flowers too. Someone pointed out to me once that red is very uncommon in nature. It is used for accents rather than in large amounts. Here are some oranges: Now, reds. Pinks are sort of red, red plus […]
Week of Wildflowers – Yellow
As I was thinking about a week of wildflowers (Mineral King wildflowers, specifically), it occurred to me that all the flowers can be categorized with the same colors I use for painting – white, yellow, blues and reds. (orange, pink, and purple pose a bit of a challenge – just work with me here. . […]
Week of Wildflowers – White
I’m able to spend lots of time in Mineral King this month. While hiking, I think. Sometimes I think about the blog, and the idea of a week of wildflowers came to me. Today, white! I’m doing my best to look at white flowers and learn some new names. Several blog readers have told me […]
Mineral King Water and Wildflowers
I know, Mineral King is supposed to be the topic on Fridays, but I have so many photos to show you that I’m breaking my policy. Can’t get fired . . .