Another Mineral King Report

It was a smoky several days in Mineral King.

I stopped by a friend’s cabin for a quick visit and was struck by this timeless cabin scene.

The smoke did not prevent or hamper the 39th annual Mineral King Preservation Society’s Picnic in the Park, featuring our own Trail Guy.

He told of his three winters spent in Mineral King in the early 1980s, a story that held people’s attention for an entire hour.

Even little ones didn’t get restless, which is mighty amazing in this age of devices.

This one had a companion with her, besides me, her current MK BFF.

These are some of the very few artifacts remaining from the end of Trail Guy’s third winter (although the photos weren’t in the cabin when it went the way of all flesh.)

When the ordeal of public speaking was behind Trail Guy, we gathered with our neighbors in the evening.

The next day we went for a walk with some of our neighbors, in spite of the smoke.

Trail Guy loves to show people his favorite flower, the tiger lily (more accurately known as a leopard lily because it has spots, not stripes, but we have discussed this previously. . .) How thoughtful of those ranger buttons to disguise the face of his hiking friend.

The flowers were excellent, something I was almost resigned to missing in this hikeless summer. But some of the wildflowers are accessible even if one is only in walking mode.

Glacial daisy

This is Soda Springs, where water bubbles out of the ground with a hint of carbonation. Some people like to mix it with powdered lemonade, but I’ve never thought that was better than plain water. The water bubbling up tastes metallic. Some of these places are called “iron springs”, some “soda springs”, although I’ve never learned the difference, if there is such a difference.

The air cleared out in the evening when the winds shifted direction.

Thus we conclude another report on a series of days spent in Mineral King. Thanks for tuning in!

Painting in the Summer Heat

Last year when sales were almost non-existent, I forgot what it is like to arrange a painting schedule around the heat and the limitations of a swamp cooler. Now I remember. Everything has a downside and an upside. Last year up—no painting in the heat. This year up—good sales.

All set up, ready to begin, early in the morning.

I finished the 6×18 bridge and took it out to the woodpile for drying.

Then I got sidetracked polishing the door handle. Good thing I’m not on anyone’s time clock.

Next: Franklin Falls. This is 2 miles up the left/east side of the Mineral King valley, a pleasant walk with only a little bit of uphill, followed by a cold wade across the creek, unless you are inclined to rock hop, which I am not. I have 2 photos, neither of which is ideal, and neither of which is square.

That’s okay. . . I know the place pretty well, and I know what people expect to see.

When something is full of fiddly detail that can’t be exactly duplicated, because of ridiculousness and cramming 2 rectangles into a square, I just find the things that matter most. The rest can be fudged.

If you’ve been to Franklin Falls, I think you’d see that this is becoming recognizable and believable.

In discussing this painting with Hiking Buddy, I told her that it is sort of colorless, all greens and browns and grays. She wisely said (reading my mind), “That’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a few wildflowers”.

Off to the woodpile for drying; the flowers will go on nicely once it is dry. Or not nicely, but if it is dry, I can wipe them off and try again.

MKPS Picnic in the Park

The Mineral King Preservation Society sponsors an annual picnic each year in Mineral King in July. It is a bring-your-own-picnic, bring-your-own-chair event. There is lots of chit-chat among friends, and each year a speaker brings stories of Mineral King for learning, entertainment, and for the preservation of history.

This year the speaker will be Trail Guy, telling of his three winters in Mineral King (before I met him).

He does NOT do public speaking, so I will be interviewing him, there to “prime the pump” and to carry him over verbal speed-bumps and snags.

He knows his story well, and I have been learning it over the past 39 years. It is . . .

. . . it is. . .

You gotta come hear it for yourself.

A Pair of Long Hot Days, Part Three

On day two of my Mineral King oil painting biathalon, I started early, actually feeling kind of excited to try a new scene.

I was so into the details that I forgot to take very many photos of the progress.

Call me “Butter” cuz I’m on a roll!

Next?

These two would most likely be too wet to scan, so I had to photograph them more carefully. The wildflowers at Timber Gap painting will need some skewing on photoshop to straighten it out.

Feeling accomplished, and because I began so early on Day Two, I decided to see if I could get one more painting finished.

Nope, guess not. But 4-3/4 paintings in two very hot very long days was a good dent, and I got them to the store at Silver City in time for the hoped-for Independence Day rush.

A Pair of Long Hot Days, Part Two

After I carried the first painting outside, I just grabbed the next canvas in the lineup. It is an unusual view of the Honeymoon Cabin, which is a tiny museum for the Mineral King Preservation Society. It is either the 2nd or the 3rd best selling subject of Mineral King oil paintings.

I carried this one out to the woodpile, nay, wood stack because it is so very neat, and put it alongside the first painting. Two down, four to go, and only one more day to paint. What’s a Central California Artist to do?

Put the palette and brushes in the freezer, and go home for the evening, that’s what.

Both paintings were dry enough to take to Silver City 2 days after painting them.

The saga of a Mineral King oil painting biathalon will continue tomorrow.

A Pair of Long Hot Days, Part One

When paintings are selling quickly and the season is short, your Central California artist must work quickly. Therefore, on a pair of hot days, she soldiered through multiple paintings to restock the store at the Silver City Resort.

First, this piece needed the water to be repaired, the edges painted, and a signature. This one isn’t going to Silver City unless the current large attention-getter sells.

Before I faced the urgency of restocking Silver City, understanding that the season is short and that the show at CACHE will happen even if I interrupt the painting schedule for more immediate sales, I worked a bit on this 16×20″ painting titled “Keep Right”.

I was procrastinating the start of what felt like a biathalon (a two day marathon). Finally, I went to the shelves, pulled 6 small canvases of varying sizes, and then went to my piles of Mineral King photos. Each canvas got an inventory number, a title, hanging hardware, and a sky.

To start, I picked one that felt easy. It was going to be a long hot day, and I wanted to have a sense of success.

I carried it outside to the stack of firewood where the sun hits until early evening in the hopes that it would dry enough to scan before taking it up the hill. In case that didn’t happen, I took a photo. It’s blurry. I don’t know why. . . I just work here.

This was such a long work day, and I had another one coming. It makes me feel hot and tired just telling you, so I’ll continue this tomorrow.

More Hot Times in Mineral King

Here is the continuation from Friday’s long post about hot times in Mineral King.

Evening light

In spite of the ferocious heat down the hill and the uncommon heat in Mineral King, the evenings were very pleasant.

One evening, Trail Guy went in search of his favorite flower, the leopard lily, more commonly known as the tiger lily. This doesn’t make sense to me, since the lily has spots rather than stripes, but the flower namers didn’t ask my opinion.

I followed along with my camera, because the light is so enticing at the end of the day.

There they are! Alas, too hard to get to; keep looking.

Down in the willows, almost indiscernible in this photo.

Here are some that Trail Guy could stick his nose into.

Popular Sight

When Hiking Buddy and I were trudging up the Nature Trail, I stopped for this classic photo, which never comes out right. My camera sees Sawtooth and the sky as almost the same color and value. (I messed with the sky color on the computer so you can see Sawtooth.)

That’s why I have to paint this scene; my paints can correct many photographic shortcomings.

Popular Hangout

The bridge at the end of the road is a popular place to hang out. Without fail, someone builds a dam every year.

Well-loved Juniper

A few years ago, this juniper was in jeopardy of being chopped down. A few of us protested, (my cousin, a tree guy/certified arborist also told me it still had plenty of life) and whoever was in charge changed his mind. I don’t mean that we marched around with signs and obnoxious behavior; we wrote letters in a very civilized manner.

It occurred to me that I have never painted this juniper. I wonder. . . if I left off the cars with blue tarps, took some license with the parking lot, would anyone else know or care what tree it is?

Hot Times in Mineral King

When it is Really Hot down the hill, it is just hot in Mineral King in the sun and on the trail. Sitting in the shade isn’t too bad, if you are covered in bug spray, the kind with a lot of DEET. When the heat is on, the biting bugs are very very active.

Independence Day

We raised the flag on Independence Day at the neighboring cabin with the tallest flagpole.

Work

Several mornings, I worked on another neighbor’s cabin trim, just until the hot sun hit.

before
after

Trail Guy was Road Guy before he retired, and he regularly uses many of his skills from that era for the benefit of Mineral King. Together, we pruned a very brushy section of road.

Before
during
during

I was too hot to take a decent “after” photo. Just wanted to go back to the shade and swat some biting flies and mosquitoes.

Crystal Creek Goes Rogue

One day we walked to Crystal Creek. I was shocked to see that it has changed channels.

The first section of stream has always (in my lifetime) been the strongest. (photo from 2021)
Now the first section is dry.

Keep walking—you will find the water.

Since I walk in my Crocs and my feet are numb, I am the one who gets to wade into the stream and toss rocks and logs around. Trail Guy and the Farmer put together a “bridge” so non-Croc-wearing folks who aren’t fond of cold water can cross with dry feet.

The flowers were great, as they always are in the beginning of July, even when the heat is ridiculous.

wild blue flax
blue-eyed grass and a dandelion
This larkspur was blue instead of purple

lots of baby’s breath

The trail was thick with lupine, and Spring Creek was roaring across the valley; good thing the bridge was up, because “EVERYBODY” goes to Eagle Lake.

Nature Trail

One afternoon, Hiking Buddy and I went down the road and then trudged up the Nature Trail in the humidity and bugs. This was a necessity, since there was way too much eating going on over that stretch of days.

I am not complaining, because compared to what the weather was down the hill, this was very pleasant. Besides, look where we were!

We didn’t stop to put our feet in because the biting bugs were ferocious.
When passing through this swampy area, a branch whacked me on the brim of my hat and knocked off my sunglasses. We looked several times, but they apparently have turned invisible.
Lupine never photograph as beautiful as they look in person. (Me either)

This post has gotten too long. How about if we continue on Monday?

Three Ready and Two Not Ready to Sign

I made a list of what to fix on Red Barn, Big Oak, fixed it, and decided it is good enough to sign. (There is time to change my mind and add, correct, or subtract.)

I put another layer on the bridge, which is going to be a challenge for many reasons. This is the Marble Fork Bridge, one that most people probably just zoom over and don’t notice.

After taking another series of drive-by-shots, sketching some possible corrections, and making a list of things to improve, these hills seemed ready to sign.

Glowing Homer’s Nose was fun with these colors and simple plain distant hills. It seemed ready to sign.

I added a lot of detail to the big Classic Mineral King painting, but didn’t even get to all that was on the list. It isn’t ready to sign yet.

None of the colors seem accurate, but I photographed all the paintings inside on a day when the light outside was orangey because once again, it is fire season in Three Rivers, Sequoia, and the foothills.

Community Life in Mineral King

Mineral King is a place for backpackers, campers, day hikers, day trippers, and cabin folks. Today’s post is about the cabin community. (Last summer I posted regularly about cabin life.)

There are cabin communities all over the mountains in this country, and most likely in other countries too. I’ve written in the past (2018?) about what makes them special: Cabin Thoughts, One; Cabin Thoughts, Two; Cabin Thoughts, Three, A Few More Cabin Thoughts, and Final Final Cabin Thoughts.

Today’s post is what happens on a busy weekend in our cabin community of Mineral King. There are several parts to the community: our immediate neighbors, those across the creek, the settlement one mile down the road (formerly known as “Faculty Flat”, now “West Mineral King” is the preferred name, and no, I didn’t ask for pronouns); Silver City (private property 4 miles down the road); and Cabin Cove (7 cabins about 5 miles down the road from us).

This is what happens on any given weekend—the closer to the end of summer, the more activities. We:

  1. gather at someone’s cabin for “happy hour”, eat fun things, catch up with one another, and then are too full for dinner
  2. eat dinner together
  3. (Trail Guy and The Farmer, not me unless The Farmer isn’t around) help with various repairs. (The cabins are OLD.)
  4. hike together (hike: carrying pack with lunch and water)
  5. walk together (no pack, no lunch)
  6. give one another rides up and down the hill
  7. bring supplies for one another when coming up the hill
  8. share books
  9. lend knitting needles
  10. let people use our telephone (when we had one) and borrow the neighbor’s phone now
  11. clean up the platform for the annual “Music in the Mountains” event
  12. prune in one another’s yards (okay, that’s just me. . .)
  13. use a hav-a-hart trap to catch bushy-tailed woodrats (definitely Trail Guy, NOT me)
  14. explore historic sites
  15. lend tools
  16. repair water line breaks
  17. go through the junk we discover in our respective cabins, sometimes trading items of interest
  18. share missing recipe ingredients

We stay in touch throughout the year, because our friendships are solid, not simply seasonal.