wildflowers | Cabin Art

Hiking Mineral King – A Loop

Trail Guy prefers to loop hikes to up-and-backs on the same trail. While I was reuniting with Redwood High School Class of ’77, he was making a loop from White Chief over to the Farewell Canyon and up into Farewell Gap. Here are his photos.

I think these pure yellow columbine are called “Sierra Columbine”.

These 2-colored Columbine might be called “Alpine Columbine”. It all depends on which wildflower book one refers to.

The elusive and rare “Sky Pilot” can almost always be found on Farewell Gap in July.

Hiking Mineral King – Eagle Meadow

Eagle Lake is about 4 miles from the Mineral King valley floor, but the trail is steep and rough. In spite of that, it is probably the most popular destination. Trail Guy doesn’t like going there and I haven’t been in several years. The last time I was there, the lake was almost empty, because some stupid hon-yock opened the gate on the dam.

This is no excuse to miss out on Eagle Meadow below the lake or the sloping meadow below Eagle Meadow.

Another unknown white flower, low to the ground and with a distinctive leaf pattern – I WILL find the name!

Labrador Tea, but not the true kind of the northeast.

Lousewort – this strikes me as a true Why Bother, but it is in my favorite flower book by Steven Stocking.

One also encounters a mysterious sinkhole, where water continually flows into and yet it doesn’t fill up. The trail looks positively bucolic, but there are armies, platoons and relentless swarms of ravenous bugs. There is a meadow before you begin climbing to Eagle Lake, and it was full of Jeffrey Shooting Star and Knotweed. (and bugs that bite.)

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Hiking Mineral King – Farewell/Franklin Junction

Where the Farewell Gap trail splits off toward Franklin Lakes and Franklin Pass, one can always count on fabulous flowers. Why my photos don’t adequately reflect this is a bit of mystery, but I hope you enjoy today’s sweatless hike all the same. (I’m happy to do the work for you.)

The water is still flowing strongly, but the creeks are mostly crossable now.

Boring unnamed yellow flower not quite in bloom

Indian Paintbrush and Yarrow – pinkish Yarrow!

Looking back over Timber Gap from the junction of Farewell and Franklin trails

Aster – these are lavender with a yellow center

Glacial Daisy – these are white and larger than the asters.

At the Junction. . . I must have had a reason for this photo, but it eludes me now. It had to do with lots of white flowers – “knotweed”? – that barely show here. Guess you had to be there.

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Week of Wildflowers – Everything!

Today concludes the Week of Wildflowers in Mineral King. Sure, there are many I haven’t photographed, different ones along the road, ones that appeared earlier in the summer, ones that will appear later. This week has been about flowers that I saw and photographed in the last two weeks. And for the final post of Mineral King wildflowers, today’s photos are about everything, all together, everywhere, Yea God! (boo devil)

Amen.

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Week of Wildflowers – Blue

Blue includes purplish blue, and perhaps bluish purple. Some of these you may have seen previously on the blog, because blue flowers are my favorite.

My favorite penstemon – this only appears as “Foothill Penstemon” in my four books, but that can’t be true at 7000-9000′.

Fivespot, still in bloom if you climb toward Timber Gap (last week, anyway!)

Nightshade – don’t know the particular variety

Okay, all the Ls line up here:

May I remind you again how much I adore this penstemon?

A variety of Bro-dee-uh (spelled brodiaea or some such reckless combo of vowels)

These are butterflies, not flowers. Why aren’t they called “flutterbys”?

These aren’t in Mineral King but are along the road at about 5000 feet (near the Wolverton gate/helipad). I include them here in case someone knows what these are. They do not exist in any of my books (or my neighbors’ books either.)

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Week of Wildflowers – Red

Reddish is a more accurate term for today’s Mineral King wildflowers. I am including orange and pinkish flowers too. Someone pointed out to me once that red is very uncommon in nature. It is used for accents rather than in large amounts.

Here are some oranges:

Much brighter orange in person than this anemic photo – I never noticed it before this year and have no idea what its name is.

Western Wallflower is a tricky one – sometimes it is orange, sometimes it is yellow.

This is a lichen, not a flower. The color was irresistible! (It might be a little smaller than a quarter, in case you were thinking of pouring some Cap’n Crunch into it.)

Now, reds.

Penstemon, Goldenbeard penstemon, or California fuchsia? Beats me, it is striking. (You know you want to laugh at that. . .)

Pinks are sort of red, red plus white. They certainly don’t belong with white, blue, or yellow.

Another penstemon, called “Pride of the Mountains”

Heather or Laurel? I’m going with Red Heather (ignore the phlox in the background – they already had their turn.)

I don’t know this delicate little pinkish thing that resembles manzanita but is very low to the ground.

Have I ever seen this before? It seems to be everywhere this year. I think it will turn into a berry.

Shooting Star – often more purplish than pinkish, sometimes named “Jeffrey”

Pussy-paws. They have never been so tall!

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Week of Wildflowers – Yellow

As I was thinking about a week of wildflowers (Mineral King wildflowers, specifically), it occurred to me that all the flowers can be categorized with the same colors I use for painting – white, yellow, blues and reds. (orange, pink, and purple pose a bit of a challenge – just work with me here. . .)

Here are eight yellow wildflowers I found recently in Mineral King:

Cinquefoil? Not shiny, so I don’t think it is cinquefoil. Yellow flowers and I don’t really understand one another very well.

Sulphur flower – this is new to me this year. Probably just blew past it in all the previous years.

Meadow Hosakia is also new to me this year. It’s been right there in my favorite book all along, but I disregarded it.

Monkey flower, actually “seepspring monkey flower”.

Western Wallflower (who comes up with these names??)

Dandelions qualify as wildflowers in Mineral King; what you do with them in your own yard is your own business.

I don’t know – another ubiquitous tiny yellow flower

Why is a yellow flower named “Violet”? (I just work here, but inquiring minds need to know.)

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Week of Wildflowers – White

I’m able to spend lots of time in Mineral King this month. While hiking, I think. Sometimes I think about the blog, and the idea of a week of wildflowers came to me. Today, white! I’m doing my best to look at white flowers and learn some new names. Several blog readers have told me that they love white flowers, so out of respect for you, I will try to stop ignoring them. Here are 17 for you to enjoy: (there are more than 17 out there along the trails but I probably ignored them.)

Not sure – sort of looks like Pennyroyal, but I forgot to scratch and sniff

I don’t know and can’t find in any of my 4 books!

Morning glory (not the kind that plagues the farmers down the hill)

Knotweed? Sort of looks like it, but not exactly and wasn’t growing in a wet area.

Mariposa Lily (pay no attention to the tiny yellows here)

Don’t know and can’t find – it is exactly the sort of white flower that I usually just pass by as if it is just another grass or leaf.

These might be Baby’s Breath. Who knew they existed outside of florists’ shops?

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Wildflower Quest and Thoughts on Naming Flowers

Every summer in Mineral King, Trail Guy goes on a quest for Leopard Lilies. They have a fabulous fragrance, and often we smell them before we see them.

Mineral King wildflowers are usually at their peak during the first couple of weeks in July. This year they are particularly profuse.

Groundsel is common. It is a little boring, except when there are great masses of it together. It always looks slightly worn out.

Penstemmon comes in many colors and styles. This might be called “golden beard”. I wasn’t asked, but if I had been, I would call this one “lipstick”.

No flowers here, but I can’t pass over this bridge without photographing the classic scene.

“Wild geranium” makes no sense as a name, unless you know that what we call “geranium” at home is actually pelargonium, and true geraniums look more like this. Someone is jerking us around in this naming busines.

Wild asters usually don’t appear until late August. They are more lavender than they appear in this photo.

The larkspur were thick and bright, but my little PHD (press here, Dummy) camera wouldn’t focus on them. Where else will you see purple and yellow together and not think it is a little obnoxious?

We (ahem – Trail Guy) always find artifacts in Mineral King, a place very rich in cultural history. This is part of an old stove. Apparently, people in the olden days thought nothing of walking away from their stuff. Don’t know about you, but I’ve never removed a stove part, much less left it lying around. Maybe these folks would have been Lawn Parkers if they were in a more modern era.

Rein orchis is a weird weird name. “Orchis” not “orchid”. “Rein” not “rain”. You just can’t make this stuff up, unless you are an Official Flower Namer. They get to do whatever they want. I used to think grown-ups got to do whatever they wanted, but maybe not, unless they are Flower Namers.

Somewhere in there is a Leopard Lily. We spotted it!

This is a boring photo. In real life it was sparkly white flowers and a few bright purplish-pink wild onions.

More sparkly white “knot weed”, which looks like a Nothing Burger in this photo. Guess you had to be there.

This unnamed and unknown (to me) flower is thick along the Mineral King Road, maybe around 5000′. This was one of the first times I found it near a turnout, when no one else was around so I could really appreciate it. Besides, it wasn’t 100 degrees out, so I didn’t mind stopping.

Look how thick this is here! Anyone know the name of this? How about “roadside blue”? I want to be a Flower Namer!

Mineral King wildflowers

Better Living Through Mineral King

Run run run run run-away. Book problem not resolved, Mineral King as a prescription to anxiety – works for me! (temporarily, because then I have to come home again, but I’ll just think about that tomorrow!)