Mineral King Bridge, Part 8

Our marshmallow-headed, shovel-leaning road guys are hard at work, spreading the gravel as they build up the abutment on the closer side of the bridge. But wait, there’s more!

After they spread the gravel, it has to be tamped. “Tamped?” I can hear you asking. Yeppers. There is a machine for that.  It is yellow, of course.

It is a heavy machine with a flat surface and it sort of vibrates and smashes the gravel into a smooth-ish surface. It weighs a lot, and it is called a Wacker. I am not making this up!

Neener, neener, I told you it was called a Wacker! Just wait until tomorrow – you won’t believe your eyes when I show you how the road guys get the Wacker out of the abutment area. Ooh, will you be able to sleep tonight with the anticipation of this new information??

Mineral King Bridge, Part 7

Yesterday I left you exhausted and overwhelmed from too much information. Today I will simply show you the neat-o little peek-a-boo hole to see the river through the crumbling abutment.

And, as a special treat, I will answer your burning question of how the loader got to the opposite side of the bridge – trenchplates!! Yeppers, that is Road-speak for giant flat metal thingies that are strong enough to span gaping holes for giant yellow machines to drive across crumbling bridges. We shall not speak of the weight limit again – pay no attention to the sign that prohibited anything over 4 tons from crossing the bridge.

Mineral King Bridge, Part 6

I walked to the bridge with my camera to document the progress and was completely baffled by something. How did  the loader get on the opposite side of the bridge from last week?? There is a mess where the abutment belongs – it isn’t drivable! I scoured the creek for tracks – How did it cross the river??  Some 3-dimensional things are just a bit beyond my 2-dimensional artist mind, too vast and complex for non-big-yellow-machine-drivers such as myself.

See? a big non-drivable gap is between the bridge and the road!

I know the view is distracting, but try to pay attention here. Do you see the ends of the stringers? That is Road-speak for the long pieces that span the river beneath the deck boards, which is Road-speak for the parts that your tires touch when you cross the bridge.

I’ve heard murmurings that the bridge rebuild project was unnecessary. There were times when I too wondered if it was governmental overkill. Let’s have a closer look at the stringers:

Hmmm, sort of crumbly!

See the stringers on the other side? Stop ogling the view – I’m trying to show you something important here!

Not only are the stringers crumbly, look at this sill! That is Road-speak for the concrete wall thingie that isn’t actually an abutment. It was cracked and the bridge was sagging on either side! It is now patched, which will prevent water leakage into the new abutment.

You are probably exhausted from this overwhelming amount of information, mysteries, Road-speak, and shocking realizations that the bridge was indeed in need of replacement. Rest up for tomorrow when our bridge lessons will continue.

Mineral King Bridge, Part 5

Here is a peculiar sight. The fan carries away toxins created by the welding of galvanized metal. Who knew?

Isn’t this a nice photo? These 2 men have worked together for years. Kind of just warms your heart, no?

This one is even better! It is my personal favorite. This man would rather be climbing Vandever than contemplating matters of consequence while wearing a uniform beneath it. Gotta commend him on his work ethic – knows the cabin folks are counting on him to be there for them on this project.

And here is one more peculiar sight for you to puzzle over. Hey Sawtooth Six, you paying attention??

Mineral King Bridge, Part 4

The next day I counted 10 folks at one time working on this project! (Pay no attention to the truck and trailer on the bridge.)

Most of the guys wear hard hats that resemble marshmallows. These aren’t all that helpful, since there isn’t anything crashing on anyone’s heads except harsh sunlight. Michael is wishing for his signature straw hat at this job site.

It was a fantastic day of clear sunlight and great views.

Supervisor Kirk told me it was just a bunch of overgrown boys playing with oversized tinker toys and legos. Maybe, but the project is very extensive and detailed and planned. This bridge will stand for a very long time.

Looks as if they are all working for Caltrans, but they are waiting for the next load of fill. This abutment has many layers of material.

See?

To be continued tomorrow, same time, same place.

Mineral King Bridge, Part 3

The drive up the hill provided one of the best views I’ve ever seen of Sawtooth. This California artist misses no opportunities to record paintable scenes!

I arrived at the end of a work day, which means I met about 6 or 8 giant trucks of Park folks. They were all courteous drivers, and we waved as we passed, each one of us correctly on our own side of the very narrow road.

Michael’s commute is the shortest, so he was still at work sorting things out at the site. (Pay no attention to the giant yellow machine on the opposite of the bridge that used to prohibit 4 tons.)

To be continued in a really long entry with lots of photos tomorrow. . .  stay tuned!

Mineral King Bridge, Part 2

Hmmm, I’ve never heard this parking lot referred to as the Franklin Lakes Trail parking lot. Guess those hikers have to park somewhere too.

The project was begun the day after Labor Day, this year. The first order of business was to build a footbridge, which my husband The Road Guy, aptly accomplished with the help of some Trail Crew guys.

See why a footbridge is necessary? The abutments have to be dug out and replaced, one side at a time. Never mind about the giant yellow machine that had to drive across the bridge in order to accomplish this. Of course it doesn’t weigh more than 4 tons. . . right?

The second order of business was to arrange alternative forms of transportation across that bridge, so that folks can get their stuff to their cabins.

There were lots of willing workers, and it was fun to coordinate loads. There is a great camaraderie among cabin folks. There is also great generosity in the loan of several wheeled items to use for the purpose.

Mineral King Bridge

Because Mineral King is one of my main sources of inspiration, and many of my readers love Mineral King, there will be several posts about this bridge project. If you only read the blog for the art, stay tuned, because the project won’t last forever and will only have 1 or 2 entries a week until its completion.

At the end of the road in Mineral King, Sequoia National Park, is a bridge. It spans the currently low and slow flowing East Fork of the Kaweah River. On the other side of the creek (“river”) is a parking lot, trailhead, and a handful of cabins.

A few years ago Federal Highways bridge inspectors came to Mineral King and declared the bridge unsafe. A sign was posted to prohibit any vehicle over 4 tons (8000 lbs) from crossing the bridge. It was shored up with some jacks and I-beams, which were inelegantly covered with tires.  Engineers got involved, plans made and a prefabricated bridge has been purchased to replace the existing bridge.

The bridge is a hang-out place.

The view is incomparable, spectacular, the most photographed view in Mineral King, and possibly within all of Sequoia.

This could be a long story, so stay tuned for the next chapter tomorrow, Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel.

WALKING AGAIN!

Excuse me. Didn’t mean to shout at you with that title. Okay, pants-on-fire, I DID mean to shout! I’m happy!! After receiving a boatload of stuff from a podiatrist, along with the reassurance that walking won’t permanently injure my foot, I’m back on the trail. A little huffy-puffy, but I can work back into it.

The best flowers in Mineral King aren’t usually in Mineral King. They are 4 miles above it, where the trail splits to go to Farewell Gap or Franklin Lake and Pass. This year’s flower season is condensed, due to the late start. These photos are a week old, because I was so into that Daily Painting thing that I delayed showing you.

Michael’s favorite

My favorite

Daily Painting, 6

Mineral King, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50

Waking up in the morning has never been easy for me. Some people wake up energized and ready to go; I am not one of them. My Oh-So-Wise-Dad used to say that when he woke up in the morning, he’d lie there and try to die. Failing that, he’d get up and do whatever had to be done. He was joking, mostly. Now I wonder if he didn’t just struggle with the whole wake-up-get-up thing as I do – hard to tell, because he was a very early riser. And, he expected his daughters to get up at a reasonable time too. (Our definitions of “reasonable time” never seemed to mesh.)

Occasionally, I will wake up and feel refreshed, excited about the day, ready to see what there is to see. This painting is from a photo taken on one of those rare mornings. And, for the record, it isn’t morning I struggle with; it is waking up that is the problem!

This painting is available for sale on my website. Just sayin’.