Another Mineral King Hike (Mosquito Lake)

My adventurous and fearless friend K consented to hike with me and Hiking Buddy, even though we are no where near her level of competence on the trails. It had been years since I’d seen Mosquito Lake, and although I doubted my ability to tolerate foot discomfort that distance, we chose to go in that […]

After the Storm (in Mineral King)

By the time you read this post, this will all seem like distant past. These photos are from the evening of K and my exciting Mineral King hike. I was pretty beat, but stumbled down to the bridge to see the muddy raging stream and to look up at Farewell Gap, with its sprinklings of […]

Trail Guy Hiked up the Farewell Canyon

I was in Gilroy. Trail Guy hiked anyway. I’m glad that my feet aren’t sidelining him. It has been a couple of years since I made it to the Franklin/Farewell junction, a place we refer to as the Wildflower Cafe, since it is a nice destination for lunch, particularly in early July when the wildflowers […]

Down the Road, Up the Nature Trail in Mineral King

You may have noticed I haven’t done much hiking this year. Guess you’ll have to be getting most of your trail information from other sources. I’m sorry; I would like to hike more. (Take up the subject with my feet.) So, we walk. Down the road to Cold Springs Campground, through the campground to the […]

Mineral King Road Thoughts (and photos, of course)

When I first worked at the Silver City Store (4 miles below Mineral King) in 1985, at the end of the summer my car stereo fell out whenever I drove uphill because the rough road vibrated the screws loose. (1977 Honda Accord, my first car, because I know you care about such things.) The road […]

Learning, Working, Hanging Out in Mineral King

Learning Trail Guy and I accompanied Laile, who is an archaeologist/historian (I think those are her titles) to show her something we found. She cleared up a mystery about a rock platform that we always thought was a cabin foundation. Nope, it was a ride-by bar! George Thurman and his wife Hattie had a bar […]

Socializing in Mineral King

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAROL!) Some weekends in Mineral King are just action packed, all about the people. Who has time to hike? Or just sit quietly while contemplating matters of consequence? Go home if you want solitude, you delusional creature! It was the annual cabin owners meeting, which is traditionally the weekend when we see the […]

Mineral King Road (and Men at Work)

The road is under construction, and the schedule keeps changing. The two men on Sequoia’s hazard tree crew came to do some work on the most recent red fir dropped by our place. We always stop by the dumpster on the way down. Trail Guy rearranges the bags of trash so we can get the […]

Odd Sights in Mineral King

This first one isn’t odd. I’m just warming up here. It is a plant called Coulter’s Fleabane, which I misidentified in Mineral King Wildflowers as snowberry. Maybe. Still trying to figure it out. The cottonwood was prolific, abundant, and fascinating. Very soft to the touch, but elusive when one tried to gather it. Once again, […]