Here is a postscript to the post about Chihuahua Bowl, consisting of photos from Trail Guy’s camera.
Someone Else Hiked to Groundhog Meadow. . .
. . . and shared her photos. Thank you, Sharon Devol! Since unlike some of us, she wasn’t racing around trying to get to Chihuahua Bowl, Sharon took the time to enjoy Groundhog Meadow.
(And I still want to know why Chihuahua Bowl wasn’t full of M&Ms, preferably dark chocolate. Do they make dark chocolate M&Ms with almonds?? Why even have a bowl if it isn’t full of something like M&Ms?)
THANK YOU, SHARON!!
Walking to Chihuahua
Where’s Chihuahua? This is the name of a bowl and a drainage with a seasonal creek that ends up near the pack station in Mineral King. It is up the Timber Gap/Sawtooth trail, on the way to Cobalt and Crystal Lakes. We were joined by The Farmer, Hiking Buddy, The Heir and his wife (I’ll call her Beauty), and the Nine-Year-Old for what we mistakenly thought would be a simple walk.
It was a hike. A Hike. A HIKE. A HIKE!
(Provision International sends shoes to people in very poor countries who don’t have any.)
Trail Guy Goes to Farewell Gap. Again.
I am currently working on things that don’t belong on this blog. These things are often not in Mineral King, and since Mineral King is the most popular topic on the blog, I am showing you photos of recent hikes by my husband of almost 33 years, Trail Guy. Eventually I will be working on my art again and letting you have a peek into the life of this Central California artist.
Thank you, Trail Guy, for photographing wildflowers and hopefully whetting the appetite of the readers for a book that tells the common names of Mineral King wildflowers!
Hiking to the Flowers, Part 3
The junction of the Franklin Lakes and Farewell Gap trail is notorious for abundant wildflowers. I left the area reluctantly, as Trail Guy became Off-Trail Guy while I headed back to the cabin.
Hiking to the Flowers, Part 2
Trail Guy and I parted ways at the junction. He wanted to go off-trail, and Prudence told me to stick to the trail. (I do best when I listen to her.) These are his photos from across the East Fork of the Kaweah, on the north-facing slopes of Farewell Canyon.
Tomorrow I’ll show you photos of my hike the 4 miles back to Mineral King, on the trail.
Hiking to the Flowers, Part 1
Trail Guy and I wanted to continue enjoying wildflowers at their peak, so we headed to the Franklin/Farewell Gap junction, 4 miles from the Mineral King Valley floor.
A Walk to Eagle Meadow
I split a lot of firewood, and have learned how to read the wood to work with the knots. Knots are just branches, but I have never seen inside a hollow tree before to see the entire branch, or what the end of a knot looks like.
There weren’t as many flowers as we expected along the trail, because it is still early-ish, due to the heavy winter and late spring.
Neither one of us is a fan of the upper part of the Eagle Lake trail, and it was a hot day, so we turned around and got home in time for lunch. Thus, I have called this a “walk” instead of a “hike” (although Trail Guy carried lunch, just in case.)
Hiking Mineral King – The Nature Trail
This hardly qualifies as hiking – a one mile walk up a trail from Cold Springs Campground in Mineral King. There is always a great variety of wildflowers, and there are aspen trees, a little area of conifers, views of Sawtooth Peak, and a desert-ish area of sage, along with plenty of places to get your feet wet.