Noticing in Mineral King (and a little Neglect)

Timber Gap Trail

The bottom part of the Timber Gap/Monarch/Sawtooth trail is usually dusty, hot, and always steep, with steps that seem to be made for giraffes. One morning I walked up it a ways, intending to go to the junction.

The trailhead is another site of the Park’s neglect. There is nothing indicating what trail you are on, which could be a problem if you’d never been there before.

And that’s all the photos that turned out because I was shooting directly into the sun. Well, there is another one of some stupid hon-yock hiking with his dog, but it also shows the face of a friend who probably wouldn’t mind, but I am not putting her on the world wide web without her permission.

So, let’s move on to noticing other things.

Noticing

The Timber Gap trail wasn’t dusty because it rained the evening before. There was a bit of a puddle-flood on the road, but Trail Guy reverted to Road Guy and solved it.

I didn’t photograph it after it drained because that would be ugly.

My neighbor’s cone flowers (a native wildflower, not actually planted by her) began blooming at the beginning of August.

A few weeks ago I did a little pruning around the cabin and discovered the weirdest branch.

On the way down the hill that weekend, we saw a fire from a lightning strike.

I sure hope it doesn’t turn into a conflagration, as a similar strike in a nearby location did a few years ago.

That’s too grim of a thought to leave with you. Here, have a look up the road at Sawtooth and the residual clouds from that dastardly storm. No, the storm was good, the lightning was dastardly.

Noticing More in Mineral King

Short Walk to Crystal Creek

One day a friend and I made the 2 mile round trip walk to Crystal Creek to fulfill my overwhelmingly vigorous commitment to exercise. (No need to be impressed.)

We realized that this is the first year we both sort of like goldenrod and concluded it must be the abundance, because it looks better in a mass than as a singleton.

We also admired the tremendous variety of colors and the extraordinary height of the grasses.

The flowers are good if you pay attention, and since I am all about noticing things this year, I am paying attention.

Crystal Creek looks kind of sorry this year, but it is just because we aren’t used to it flowing in a different channel with the main one dried up.

And, heading back is a familiar scene, looking toward Timber Gap. I decided to walk a mile or so up that trail for my next “excursion”.

Noticing Again

Heading up to the Eagle/White Chief junction.

Instead of hiking, I am taking short walks of about 2 miles round trip.

I thought I was seeing a new flower; after some careful study (about 5 seconds), I realized that it is sulfur flower as it is aging.

Sulfur flower, young-ish

sulfur flower, aging

I love the intense greenery of the thimble berry bushes that grow so faithfully across the Spring Creek bridge.

This might be known as Eagle Creek.

You can count on fireweed in early August at Spring Creek.

By the Honeymoon Cabin

The Honeymoon Cabin sits at the beginning of that trail, the tiny museum of the Mineral King Preservation Society. There is a tree that confounds me each time I paint it, and I decided to study it. It is a large juniper, with a smaller (comparatively speaking) branch coming out of it on the side, not 2 separate trees. In between the 2 parts is a weird growth, with a board on top of the weirdness.

The big old juniper just downstream has a wonky top. My friend said there used to be a footbridge across the creek in the vicinity, and we both thought that when the juniper falls, there will be a footbridge again.

This time when I tried to photograph my mystery flower, I had a dime in my pocket for comparison’s sake. And I decided it made a nice photo of greenery with a blurry Farewell Gap in the distance.

Why can’t my camera see lavender??

This, That, and Another Thing, Again

This:

This painting is inching forward. It wants wildflowers (fiddleneck) next, maybe some distant shrubs.

That:

The book about TB got sent to the publisher/printer and then put on hold because it needed “hyperlinks” in order to be an e-book. Hunh?? I learned how to do this, then after 2 hours, I remembered that the manuscript could not be sent from my laptop because the Mac scrambles the index (Word and Mac are not very good teammates.) This meant a trip to Visalia and 1-1/2 hours of fumbling around on the author’s HP to no avail. Wow, I am clumsy on that machine which is NOT intuitive. We made the good decision to scrap an e-book.

Another Thing:

It is bear season in Three Rivers. This doesn’t mean you can get tags and shoot bears; it means that they are active. (Thank you for use of the photo, JM!)

Still Far Away

I am far away but like to keep these blog posts coming for my tens of faithful readers. Here are a few photos for you with my usual chit-chat.

Farewell Gap in the morning light looks much better in real life than with my PHD* camera.

Ditto in the evening light.

With the short season, I’m guessing in the time that I am away that this stream will have diminished in its flow.

This is the Oak Grove Bridge. It is supposed to eventually be closed to cars with a new driving bridge installed up the canyon a ways. Looks like an impossible engineering feat to me; I’ll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy my favorite bridge on the Mineral King Road, my favorite bridge in all of Tulare County. We may not have a Trader Joe’s, but by golly we have the Oak Grove Bridge.

*PHD = Press Here Dummy. Although I truly enjoy the convenience of editing my own photos and not changing film canisters, I will always miss the manual options of an SLR 35mm camera and the ability to actually see through the eye-hole instead of a screen that goes invisible in bright sun or requires cheater-readers to see. Yeah, yeah, I know there are SLR digital cameras. . . I’ve owned 2. Together they lasted less than half the time I owned my film cameras. So, a PHD that fits in my pocket is fine.

Trail Guy Went to White Chief Again

In late July on a non-smoky day, Trail Guy went to White Chief. He hasn’t hiked much this summer; it might be my fault because my feet won’t let me go. On the other hand, he might just be busy, always helping cabin neighbors. Whatever the reason, when he has a chance to hike, he chooses White Chief.

When the steep stuff ends, you break into this canyon. The patch of snow is called “Bearskin”, because when it is fuller, it resembles a bear skin. (Some folks call it “Bear Patch”).

Trail Guy met Mitch from Bellingham. They quickly learned that they are on opposite ends of the political spectrum but unlike most people these days, they had a civil discussion, listening to one another. Thank you, Mitch!

Trail Guy doesn’t stay on the trail; often, he is Off-Trail Guy.

Being off trail leads to this pond, a favorite spot. NO, IT’S NOT WHITE CHIEF LAKE!

Timber Gap is visible in the distance.

The swamp onions were thick.

I wasn’t there but he brought me his camera. (Maybe one day I will grow accustomed to numb/burning/tingling feet and return to White Chief. Shall we have a pity party?)

Because this is my blog, supposed to be about my art, here is my latest painting of White Chief. It is for sale at the Silver City Store, at Silver City Resort.

White Chief I, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×8″, $145 (plus sales tax if you live in California, plus shipping if you don’t.)

Noticing, Neglected, and New: New

New

Although Sequoia National Park in Mineral King appears to be understaffed, with many things in a neglected state, things that are under the purview of private individuals are getting spiffed up. Cabin life is often about maintenance, and it is excellent to see this taking place.

This was rebuilt and is waiting for more siding.
A new roof!
New paint on the trim!
New steps!
New paint on the cabin!
Newly painted!

Finally, the Honeymoon Cabin has been painted!

Yes, many exclamation marks are in this post, because it is very heartening to see maintenance and care given to a cabin community’s tangible assets.

Noticing, Neglected, and New: Neglected

Neglected

Sequoia National Park appears to be seriously understaffed, particularly when it comes to Mineral King.

These are a few things in Mineral King that I noticed.

Falling apart sign
Abandoned pack station
Falling apart sign
Trail Guy picked it off the ground and used a rock to get it back in place
Someone did a makeshift repair at the ranger station
Propping up a sign rather than actually setting it in place is sort of a repair.
Campground closed??
Cold Springs bridge
If the campground ever reopens, I bet it won’t be $12 per site.

But wait—there’s more! A trail crew has done a bit of work on the Nature Trail.

The signs on the nature trail have never been replaced.
Looks brushy but it has actually been cleared a bit.
A trail crew placed a warning on this bridge. Are we suppsed to wade
alongside rather than walk across?

Along the road, oh my goodness. I shot these photos through the windshield one morning while heading down.

This poor little cabin belongs to the Park.

HOWEVER, someone has worked on the water troughs and Redwood is now flowing.

Understaffed. Definitely understaffed.

This, That, and the Other Thing

This. . .

. . . is the current status of the latest oil painting. More branches, twigs, leaves, and some wildflowers remain. I might even draw a few more blades of grass. I like long grass.

That. . .

. . . book with which I have been helping a doctor-turned-author, Dr. William Winn, for almost seven years is now at the publisher! Tales of TB: White Plague of the North, should be in our hands in about 2-3 months.

After such a big project, I feel like lying in the long grass with Tucker.

and the Other Thing. . .

. . . I am now helping another author-friend, Louise Jackson, with a book, this time a novel. We worked together on The Visalia Electric Railroad and Trail of Promises, both now out of print. It is a privilege to use my editing skills to help folks, honed through about 60 years with my nose in a book.

Because I Feel Like It

Normally I think pretty long and carefully about what to paint, particularly when trying to build up a solid body of work for a solo show. I know that citrus, sequoias, Mineral King, foothills, and local landmarks are the most likely to sell. After all, I did come here to earn a living, not to just putz around for fun. It ain’t all that fun when it is 103°, painting in a room barely cooled by a swamp “cooler”.

I’m not complaining, just explaining.

This scene kept calling me back, so I finally decided to just paint it, even though it doesn’t really fall into any of the regular categories.

I love to draw with my paintbrushes. If I am listening to a good podcast and drawing, I hardly notice the heat. There will be an enormous amount of drawing with the bark on the trees, the chain holding the swing, all the branches and twigs, leaves, and of course, wildflowers in the foreground.

This tree with the tire swing is a mile or so above my house. I’m painting it because I feel like it.

So there.

Any questions?

I have one for you: WHAT SHALL I NAME THIS??