Some friends were visiting and had never been to Empire. We planned to go, woke up to horrible smoky conditions, waffled a bit, and then went anyway.
Hiking Mineral King – White Chief Part 2
White Chief might be the most beautiful place accessible by foot from Mineral King. Short hike, steep, lots of variety. Any time Trail Guy encounters someone along the trail below the Eagle Lake/White Chief junction, he tells them they will be happier if they choose White Chief. Here are more photos from our Eclipse Day […]
Hiking Mineral King – White Chief
The eclipse. Big deal. Lots of chatter. Lots of ideas. Lots of rah-rah. What to do about it in Mineral King? Easy! Poke a hole in a piece of cardboard with an ice pick, get a piece of white paper, and walk to White Chief. I say “walk” because I elected to not carry a […]
Funny Walk at Hume Lake
When I got to Hume Lake, I asked my friend if she had heard of the Little Brown Church. This was something I learned about and visited one time in 1978, and since so much had changed, I thought it might be gone. Nope. It is still there. It is a steep steep steep climb; […]
A New-To-Me Cabin Community
Ever heard of or been to Hume Lake, California? I lived and worked there the summer of 1978, and again for a few weeks in maybe 1981 or 1982. Back then I was unaware of the extensive cabin community, not yet having met Trail Guy or married into a cabin or begun an art business […]
Hiking Mineral King – Eagle Lake, part 2
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 […]
California Artist’s 1st Mineral King Hike This Season
The Central California Artist, ahem, that would be me, finally had a bit of time in Mineral King and hiked to White Chief with Trail Guy and a new friend named Jessica. The artist is sore, and she isn’t happy about it. The artist is happy to have gone to White Chief, and happy to […]
When Mineral King Trails Aren’t Accessible
Happy Birthday, Rachelle! May this be the year of new lungs. . . What do you do when the trails in Mineral King aren’t accessible? You walk the trails as far as you can. This was heading to Spring Creek, where the water is still too high for maintenance guys to put the bridge in yet. […]
Wildflowers on Mineral King Road
A few days ago I was in Mineral King and took photos along the road of the abundant wildflowers. But first, let’s start with my favorite subject to draw and paint, the Oak Grove Bridge. Look at that water!!! Wildflowers along the road continue to be prolific. The first photo isn’t technically of wildflowers: these are […]