50 years ago today I got medevacked* off Sawtooth. A group of high school kids were on a backpacking trip in Mineral King, a week long loop. We were fully chaperoned by experienced adults, age 32. (Why does that no longer seem like an adult age??) We camped at Columbine Lake below Sawtooth with a […]
Mellow Time in Mineral King
The idea was to hike somewhere during my most recent stay in Mineral King, but instead, I just hung out at the cabin with a few forays out to attempt to photograph a few wildflowers. I also ventured out to photograph a cabin to draw, but in case the cabin owner is one of my […]
Two in the Wild
A faraway friend got a thrill and texted me about it. She was in the downtown area of her town, went into a gift shop, and was floored to see two pencil drawings of Mineral King. Upon recognizing them, she took some photos and texted me. These were reproduction prints which used to be my […]
Mineral King Cabin Life
This could be cabin life anywhere, especially if your cabin is part of a community of cabins. We often take walks to the bridge in the evening to enjoy the views, the light and one another’s company. My guess is that many cabin communities have gathering places and times in their own areas. Sometimes we […]
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 […]
Honesty, Diplomacy, and Wisdom
I have a wise friend who is both diplomatic and honest. She told me that a few of my paintings didn’t reflect my usual care, or perhaps she said they weren’t up to my usual standards— “lacking in detail and clarity”. (There were a couple of paragraphs so I’m summarizing here.) I blamed the old […]
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, […]
A Hike to White Chief (in Mineral King)
Trail Guy and our friend K went to White Chief, and came back raving about the flowers. Two days later I went to White Chief and came back raving about the flowers. Our photos are intermingled on my laptop, so I’ll just post some many in today’s post and many more in tomorrow’s, keeping the […]
Cleaning up the Jackpots
Cabin Life Behind and around our cabin is what firefighters call a “jackpot”. This is a conglomerate, a tangle, a giant mess of downed trees and limbs. Let’s not think too hard about their nomenclature. I’ve been raking, dragging, cutting and organizing this in incremental sessions throughout the past 2 years. It is gradually decreasing, […]
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? The flowers were most totally excellent. This was […]