Little Get-Away

What is going on? At the end of June, I hadn’t been to Mineral King, but I did visit Hume Lake. This has become a tradition with a friend of mine from childhood. (“Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other PLATINUM!)

This is the now historic dam that forms Hume Lake, built for harvesting timber, for the lumber industry, a vital piece of our world, and thankfully, a renewable resource.
There is a fantastic view of the high country of Kings Canyon National Park across the lake.
The wild azalea were in bloom while I was there. We don’t have those in Mineral King.
Hume Lake is perfectly smooth in the morning.

More tomorrow.

A New-To-Me Cabin Community

Ever heard of or been to Hume Lake, California? I lived and worked there the summer of 1978, and again for a few weeks in maybe 1981 or 1982. 

Back then I was unaware of the extensive cabin community, not yet having met Trail Guy or married into a cabin or begun an art business called “Cabin Art”. I knew there were cabins, but they didn’t concern me.

Recently, I had the great privilege and pleasure of spending time with an old friend and a new friend at a Hume Lake cabin. I had drawn the cabin for my friend’s mom, working from photos, but had not seen it in person. I asked my friend if I could have the drawing back to fix, because I draw better than I did in 1995. That will be a subject for another post or two.

Hume Lake is an entirely different type of community than Mineral King or Wilsonia, with some shared cabin community characteristics. It feels like a miniature city, with a National Forest Service campground, the Christian conference grounds with multiple camps, lots of commerce, THE LAKE! OH MY!, and a group of many fancy cabins that go up and up and up the side of the hill.

Have a look at some of the things we enjoyed while there. I have more thoughts and photos than will fit into one day’s post, so instead of Mineral King on Friday, there will be a funny walk at Hume Lake.

This dining hall is much fancier on the outside since I worked in the kitchen here.

Look at these happy women, about to spend 3 happy days walking, talking, eating, and just enjoying time together in the mountains.

This is Ten Mile Creek. It is one of 2 streams that feeds Hume Lake.

This dam was built in about 1909. When I was working here, to walk around the lake meant some scrambling and bush-whacking.

Now there is a nice trail all the way around with this fancy bridge at the dam end where we used to have to go rogue.

This is one of the new camps (since 2000) – a yearlong school of learning and serving. I’d like a do-over so I can go here.

A really nice looking “cabin”

I love me some blue. . .teal too.

This is a friend’s cabin – we went exploring to find it, and it fits my mental idea of a real cabin.

We spent a fair amount of time just talking – these are some wise women with great humor and authenticity.

There were downed trees EVERYWHERE, including in the lake. I don’t know why they were in the lake. It began its life as a timber pond, but that was over 100 years ago.

This is the view from Inspiration Point. My friend said she only drives to this point, but we walked there together, sort of by accident since we were out exploring the cabins.

I think the sunshine is on the Middle Fork of the Kings River in the distance, beyond the dam at the end of the lake.