Recently I spent a longer stretch than normal in Mineral King and now there are lots of stories to tell, hikes to follow, hanging out to see. Let’s call this one Chapter One, Clough.
“Clough”? William O. Clough spent a great deal of time in Mineral King in the early 1900s. He disappeared one winter, and now we like to go to a site where he had a cabin.
First, this is an example of how a bear marks a tree.
We took the Clough Cut-off trail (off the Franklin/Farewell trail) and started up. The trail isn’t maintained, and we were relying on memory. I was looking for the gnarliest red fir tree around, and when I saw this one, it looked right but the terrain was wrong and the surrounding trees were missing. I was confused.
Trail Guy was in front (as usual), and he found the correct tree. This time the light was wrong so you cannot appreciate the true gnarliness of this giant red fir. It shows up in this old post about Bill Clough.
There’s Vandever, the peak on the right side of Farewell Gap.
Those people think they are going to find gold up there in some mine tailings. I’m happy to just bumble around below, looking for the missing memorial sign on the giant red fir. 
The bear scratch marks showed up better on the way back down the Franklin/Farewell Trail.
Look at these guys. This view is common to me on our hikes. Makes me smile.
Monday, chapter two.
6 Comments
Really enjoyed. Heard an oldtimer say that Clough was a member of House of David and when he died he believed he would be assumed directly into Heaven. All his clothes and boots would be left behind! Bill
Bill, that is a brand new piece of Clough trivia for me. Thank you!
Never heard that, but I found this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_David_(commune)
Seems it went the way of most utopian societies (like the Kaweah Colony), failing because of infighting and differences in philosophy. When producers are forced to support non-producers, it never ends well.
Sharon, your last sentence is profound and timeless wisdom.
Ol’ Billy had quite a stunning view from his cabin, if it was located in the flat spot with Vandever in the distance!
Sharon, he was the very definition of “eccentric”, but he had a few things figured out.
Comments are closed for this article!