Signs of Late Summer in Mineral KIng

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Mineral King cabins have the most visitors in August, as evidenced by more cars (No need to keep your hood up – it doesn’t deter the marmots, and they aren’t busy in cars in August.)
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The colors are getting more yellow because. . .
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. . . the grasses are drying out and there is goldenrod in bloom.
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See? Goldenrod, and the flowers and grasses are tall.
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This is not a sign of fall, although it could be a place to fall. It is a style of trail building called “rip-rap”. This is looking down at a section of such trail. It is hard to walk up and even harder to walk down. You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t fall – thank you for your concern.
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Squint and look across the stream. Fireweed is in bloom, and it usually appears in August. The stream is low, although not sluggish.
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The aspens are still green, and the grasses beneath them are still green. Not fall, just August, late summer.
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Goldenrod!
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This is how August looks along the Nature Trail, from Cold Springs Campground up to the actual Mineral King valley.

Mineral King has a quick summer. Gotta go, gotta experience, gotta enjoy, don’t blink, because boom, it is over. (The temperature in the early morning of the day I took these photos was 38 degrees.)

My Commute

I commute a few yards to work. It’s an easy route, so sometimes I take the long route. This is what I saw on the way to work one morning in early August.IMG_1726 IMG_1727 IMG_1730

Gathering Visual Information

Visual information is necessary to an artist. In the olden days, artist did sketches. Cameras came along and made things easier. Digital cameras showed up, and now the visual information is quick, easy and abundant.

I am working on a coloring book for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, to be titled Heart of the Park. Those of us with ready access to these places call them “The Park”. It is 2 parks that overlap in several areas and are administered by the largest employer in Three Rivers. (That would be SEKI, AKA The Park, AKA National Park Service.)

My friend and I took a field trip so I could get the final photos needed. These were all in Kings Canyon, so we went through Sequoia to get there. I’ve spent quite a bit of time there, but most of it was in Wilsonia, working on The Cabins of Wilsonia. My photos were inadequate for the task at hand.

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Version A of Panoramic Point?
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Or Version B? (that is Hume Lake, not in the Park, but in the line of sight to the canyons and peaks beyond).
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The Gamlin Cabin is behind the General Grant Tree.
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I may have learned about these types of corners in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books.
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The view from the back wins because of the Giant Sequoia behind it (not the General) and because of the stone chimney.
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I didn’t know there was a Big Stump Trail. It was recommended as a possible source of coloring book pictures.
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The trail was fun for this group of visitors from France.
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I need to see the stump without all the people, and since it is no longer wasting film to take many photos, I take as many as I want.24,000 may be a bit of a load on my laptop, but I keep reminding myself that I don’t download movies or games, so it will be fine.
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This vertical version of the view would work in the coloring book, but I don’t like it. It could be a nice meadow with deer and wildflowers, but I don’t like it. It’s sort of like a graveyard, and I don’t like it.

 

kingsCynPanoramicJana2004s
Documentation of documentation. (Thanks, GEP!)

Wherein I Join Trail Guy on a Mineral King Hike

White Chief as it appears in the coloring book "Hear t of Mineral King"
White Chief as it appears in the coloring book “Heart of Mineral King”

Coloring books will be available again on July 1, 2016. You may order, but it will involve a wait. Thank you for your patience.

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Languid Ladies in the foreground; Chihuahua Creek in the distance. I don’t think this has flowed for the past 4 summers, and Trail Guy thinks it will last through the whole month of June this year.
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Steps on a trail look friendly and helpful to me. Trail crew builders accuse step-builders of “making monuments to themselves”. Thank you, Monument Makers.
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Looking back toward Timber Gap, with patches of snow still on Empire to the right of Timber.
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This is sort of a boring photo of Indian Paintbrush, (red), Western Wallflower (yellow), and a bit of Larkspur (sort of bluish). I just got a little excited to see the 3 primary colors all together.
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We saw 2 of these mylar helium balloons. Partiers down in the valley (not Mineral King, but the San Joaquin Valley) don’t realize that when they let go of the strings of their balloons, they are littering.
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Oops. Tree failure.
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This tree is not a failure. It is a juniper, and it is Trail Guy’s favorite tree. It is a sign that the steepest part of the trail to White Chief is over. It is still steep, just not the steepest part.
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Here is an example of Phlox in all the variations of its whitish-purplish-pinkish glory.
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Hello White Chief! The peak is square topped and this is where you first see a glimpse of the canyon, which our 2 new trail friends called “enchanting”. (Hi Dean and Dave!)
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Enchanting canyon, to be sure, but where is the sunshine now?
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I tried to find the exact scene that I used in the coloring book drawing, but someone moved the logs or something. Some years they tilt the trail steeper than others, but this year they just messed with the logs. Who is this “they” and where is the sunshine??
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White Chief has many natural caves and several sinkholes.
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Love the dramatic lighting, but I think we might get wet.
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Not Trail Guy. He’s not getting wet with his high-tech poncho. He sort of looked like Moses, if he had pulled his arms out of the garbage bag and held his walking stick like a staff.
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Look at all this water! I’m outta here.
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See you later, White Chief.

 

 

Mineral King, Because it is Friday

After a harrowing week, most of which doesn’t not belong on a public blog on the World Wide Web, I ran away to Mineral King for a much needed respite.

It was overcast and a bit rainy. That’s fine. We have a wood stove for cooking and heat, and I always have my knitting.

In between, there were some walks around the valley floor. Strolls, really.

In gardening, it is tricky to find blue flowers. In Mineral King, that is one of the main colors of the early season flowers.

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The aptly named “Blue Lips”.
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“Sierra Bluebells” are also called “Languid Ladies”.
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Sierra Forget Me Nots look just like the Alaskan state flower, same name minus the Sierra part. Duh. Sometimes these come in pink. So do the “Languid Ladies”. Weird, but maybe they are like hydrangeas and depend upon the make up of the soil. These are also called “Sierra Stickseed” because when they go to seed, they stick to your bootlaces (or the velcro on the straps of your Tevas, if you are like me in your hiking footwear).
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Wonderful flow of water, here in the east fork of the Kaweah River next to the Honeymoon Cabin. If you are in Mineral King, you can learn about some of the history in this little building. You might need to bring glasses and a flashlight if you are over 45.
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The evening is looking hopeful for a good hiking day tomorrow. This is the alpen glow on Farewell Gap.
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Oh yes, a bright clear day for hiking to White Chief!

To be continued next Friday. . .

Coloring books will be available again on July 1, 2016. You may order, but it will involve a wait. Thank you for your patience.

Mineral King in Early Summer

What do I mean “early summer”? It isn’t summer until June 21!

Oh yeah? It’s been in the high 90s and low 100s for a couple of weeks around here. That qualifies as summer, despite the calendar’s report.

Trail Guy is back out on the trails in Mineral King. I’ll get there, just hang on. Meanwhile, please enjoy his photos with my photo editing and explanations.

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Looking upstream toward Farewell Gap with the early grasses. This is a good flow of water in the east fork of the Kaweah with much more snow to melt.
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Just after crossing the bridge (not my favorite bridge but the Mineral King bridge – don’t get confused here) heading into the parking lot. This is the end of the road, and it’s all up from here, all on foot. 
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This is the view from the trail to Timber Gap. Or maybe it is to the west of Timber Gap. Closies count.
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Decent patch of snow up on the ridge that Timber Gap is part of. Nice photo, Trail Guy!
These are phlox, an early flower that comes in subtle shades of lavender, pink, white, pinkish white, whitish pink, lavenderish white, whitish lavender, pinkish whitish lavender, etc.
These are phlox, an early flower that comes in subtle shades of lavender, pink, white, pinkish white, whitish pink, lavenderish white, whitish lavender, pinkish whitish lavender, etc.
Can you pick out Sawtooth Peak from this angle?
Can you pick out Sawtooth Peak from this angle?
This is the view that the Mather party had 100 years ago. There is a photo, a book and a pencil drawing commemorating that event.
This is the view that the Mather party had 100 years ago. There is a photo, a book and a pencil drawing commemorating that event.
Mather party book cover drawing
Remember this pencil drawing? When the Park wanted to reprint the book on the Mather party (group of people on an excursion, not group of people drinking and dancing–but how would I know? I wasn’t there), they commissioned me for a cover drawing redo. That mule heiny was a challenge, but Cowboy Bert took photos of his mulz (that’s how he spells it on his license plate) to help me get it right.

 

And More Mineral King

During a mostly overcast weekend in Mineral King, we had a few moments of sun. A standard simple walk is to go down the road and back up the Nature Trail (Yes, I know it is a stupid name – “Wildflower Walk” seems more appropriate once summer arrives.)

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Manzanita in bloom near a seasonal creek coming off Timber Gap
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The appropriately named “Five Spot” wildflower, about the size of a nickel.
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An unknown little white flower. I think white flowers are boring, but any flower will do this early in the season.
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Not too many wildflowers along the nature trail this early. The aspens aren’t leafed out yet, so you can see Empire with its snow.
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Sierra Bluebells, or Languid Ladies. . . it is one of the early flowers in Mineral King.
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Great flow on the East Fork of the Kaweah!
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This is the only time I had a view of Sawtooth. It is still holding snow.
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A drawing similar to this appears in my latest coloring book, “Heart of Mineral King”
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These are a version of Chinese Houses along the Mineral King Road on the lower section. The wildflowers are still very good along the road, mostly the yellows with a few purples. Worth a drive if you are into wildflowers.

More Mineral King

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Back yard early in the season.
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Favorite cabin on Memorial Day. Nope, not my cabin!
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Farewell Gap in the sunshine.
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Learning about catch-and-release fishing from the bridge.
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Mineral King – 7807′ in elevation
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Rock outcropping of Empire, good water flow on Monarch Creek.
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Hello, Farewell (Gap)!

Beautiful Place in Tulare County

Do you live near a beautiful place but don’t go there? I live in Three Rivers, just minutes from Sequoia National Park, and don’t go very often for a variety of reasons. It costs money, the lines are long, I am working. . . not all these things are true all the time, so I have to pay attention to when they are not true.

A few days ago, a friend invited me to join her for almost-full moon viewing, photography and sandwiches from Sierra Subs (the best food in Three Rivers).

She picked me up at 6, and we headed up to Hospital Rock, and then down the road to Buckeye Flat Campground. The yucca are in full fluffy bloom, and she was hoping to be able to photograph them by the light of the moon. (She is very knowledgeable about photography and has great gear.)

I gave my tripod to my nephew because he needed one and it no longer fits my life or cameras. So I decided to just try and hold still for the low light. My camera has lots of controls that don’t make sense to me, so I just experimented. The experiments, combined with some computer adapting, gave me these results.

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Looking up the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River toward Castle Rocks, early evening
Castle Rocks
Castle Rocks are the 2nd mountain name I learned. The first was Moro Rock, and my dad showed me Castle Rocks while we were on top of Moro Rock. See the rusty trees? They are dead, most likely pines of some variety.
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This is a little side falls that my friend had photographed earlier and sent to me. Made me want to see and photograph it myself, so I did.
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Fluffy Yucca in bloom above little side falls on Middle Fork of the Kaweah River.
Moonrise above Castle Rocks
The moon suddenly appeared from behind Castle Rocks.
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We didn’t get to see yucca lit by the moon, but by holding very very still, I was able to photograph it in very low light.

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I relearned some simple good things.

  1. It is good to visit beautiful places that are close. Makes me feel as if I’ve had a mini-vacation.
  2. It is good to do simple things with friends.
  3. It is good to just spend time in a place, sitting, looking, listening, feeling, (slapping mosquitoes, not so good), eating simple food, visiting. No rush. The more time you spend, the more you notice and appreciate. Just be there. (Danged mosquitoes!)