Your Central Calif. Artist Went to the Wildflower Cafe

Whatever does that title mean?

Glad you asked! The junction of the Farewell Gap and Franklin Lake trails is the best wildflower area in all of Mineral King, and its peak is always right around July 4. Well, okay, probably July 1, but July 4 is a significant day, and who actually knows the specific peak from year to year? It is 4 miles to the junction, and we often time the hike to eat lunch there; hence, “Wildflower Cafe”.

I finally remembered a dime, AND I had someone hold it for me so that I had both hands free to wrestle with the phone.

unknown
Felwort
Blue-eyed grass
unknown
Baby’s breath

Instead of chitchatting, I will just bombard you with photos.

weird-colored Indian paintbrush
Franklin Creek

Photos never do this hike justice. It certainly was a different sort of visit to the junction than last year’s exciting excursion.

More White Chief in Mineral King

Today we will continue and complete our White Chief hike in photos. I always thought it was a short hike, but maybe someone moved White Chief, just like Franklin Falls got moved. My phone, masquerading as a camera, also told me that I went 7.5 miles and climbed the equivalent of 43 floors. Yes, indeed, it is a steep one.

That dark spot is a mining tunnel. There are natural caves up there too.

The clouds were building up back toward Mineral King, and although it was still sunny in White Chief, the wind was downright chilly. So, I headed back.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you a couple of pieces of cabin life.

Who Moved Franklin Falls? (in Mineral King)

Walking in Mineral King (Not a hike because we didn’t take packs)

Instead of the now normal down-the-road-and-up-the-Nature-Trail walk, or the wussy turning around at Crystal Creek, we went past Crystal to Franklin Creek.

It was a little bit farther this year. Don’t you just hate that?

Looking back
Looking ahead

The flowers were most totally excellent.

This was interesting to your wildflower obsessed Central Calif. artist: a purple bush lupine adjacent* to a seldom-seen pink bush lupine.

This is angelica, not to be confused with cow parsnip. Angelica has lacy leaves, sort of visible at the bottom of this photo.

Here is Franklin Creek/Franklin Falls. This is the stream that rose too high for my hiking pal K and I to cross last year in August. You can read about it here: An Exciting Mineral King Hike

Crossing Crystal Creek is way more my speed than dealing with the deeper, steeper, and faster Franklin Creek.

Oh man! I forgot again to put that dime in my pocket for understanding sizes of little flowers!

The Indian paintbrush were spectacular, particularly interspersed with the grayish green sage.

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This painting is sold, but I can paint it again for you.

*”Adjacent” is “everyone’s” new favorite word. Podcasters and bloggers love to attach it to other words, like this: “This blog about art is Mineral King adjacent”.