Five Reasons to Hike in Mineral King

1. To avoid crowds, people, meetings, too many visitors.
2. To see if the medicine for peripheral neuropathy is working.
3. To revisit a place that I am currently turning into a painting.
4. To prevent rigor mortis from setting in.
5. To meet some friends for lunch.

It was an exceptionally busy weekend in Mineral King. Instead of attending a couple of meetings, Trail Guy and I took a hike to Eagle Meadow. The hike gave us a temporary respite from the effects of living in a fishbowl. I was expecting a friend to stop by so I hung the scarf that I knitted for her on the door in case I missed her visit – I WANTED to see her but didn’t know when to expect her. (I don’t really expect you to care about the scarf but I was enamored with the colors.)

In spite of the wildfires in California, it was a fairly clear day.

Spring Creek is low but Trail Guy reassures me that it has never run dry.

This is the Eagle sinkhole. There is water, but it disappears into the ground before it reaches the normal disappearance spot.

Eagle Lake is the most popular hike, and although it wasn’t our destination, we were on the same trail as those headed to the lake. We encountered a doe with a pair of fawns, and when I heard this noisy group catching up to us, I went back to tell them that if they were quiet, Trail Guy would show them the deer. They were quite excited (and probably wondered who these 2 old know-it-alls thought they were).

We also encountered a man with a dog; I told him there are no dogs allowed on the trail (I AM SO TIRED OF DOGS ON THE TRAILS!) and he explained that it is a service dog who can tell him when his blood sugar is low. Really?? That is an extraordinary canine. I told him to hang on to that leash very tightly, because we were just feet from a doe and two fawns. I don’t know if service dogs are really allowed on trails.

There were several trees down – nothing impassable.

This is where we finished with the trail. Going to Eagle Lake is popular, but Trail Guy and I are not interested in dealing with all the ankle-breaking boulders. Besides, the lake is low this year. 

Eagle Meadow was our destination. It is usually excessively buggy – biting flies and mosquitoes love this area. Some years it is full of Shooting Stars and Knotweed. Not this year.

There was an eensy little creek flowing through, so of course I kicked off my Crocs and put my feet in. (Yes, Crocs. My feet hurt otherwise.) I sat there and contemplated the dried up Yampah, Yarrow, and Yunions. (Onions, but it fits better here with a Y).

Here are some Onions still in bloom.

This particular view is one I started painting last winter, or maybe the one before. I want to make it the absolute best I can, better than “good enough to sell”. So with my new camera (I’ll tell you a bit more about that next week) , I took many more photos. (I haven’t shown you the painting in progress so if this feels like new information, that’s because it is.) The stump isn’t important other than being recognizable as near the junction to Mosquito Lake.

There are a couple of miniature people on the trail ahead. I wanted to show you how steep it is because I am sore from this hike and it is highly disappointing. How sore would I be if I didn’t regularly walk hills? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

The next day I walked down and back up the Nature Trail in order to prevent rigor mortis from setting in. Actually, I walked down to a friend’s cabin to meet another friend for lunch, and then we walked back up together. (See? A busy weekend). 

For flower names, I recommend this book: Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names.

Since this is primarily my business blog, I can offer my own book without sounding too sellsy. Not actually actively forcefully selling the book, just reminding and making it easy for you.