We took a day trip to Mineral King. Because the road is closed and the gates were locked, it was the perfect time to pull over next to Bird Poop Rock and inspect it. Since last year’s fire, it is very visible, and it is apparent that it is not bird poop, but a large erratic boulder of white rock (quartz? I don’t know) with lots of dirt and soot and who-knows-what staining the white. It is also broken up and has many pieces scattered along the bank. I slammed a small piece to the ground to see if it is white throughout, and sure enough, it is.

We were fairly busy, retrieving paintings from the Silver City Store, photographing a cabin that I will be drawing soon, and didn’t do any hiking*. The colors were faded, we still saw the small plume of smoke across the canyon on the way up (above Lookout Point), and it was in the mid 50s.

Cabin closed. Shutters up. End of season.

BUT THE JUNIPER IN THE PARKING LOT HAS BEEN SPARED!! Only the dead red fir behind it was removed. (It was marked to be removed, and if you scroll down a bit in this post, you can read about it.)

Hiking buddy and I walked down the road a ways from Atwell Mill.

This is a mystery to me. These 2 peaks appear almost touching from Silver City. Someone has called them Hengst Peak; someone else told me they are Mosquito Peak. “They” is actually two separate peaks, and perhaps one is Hengst and the other is Mosquito. Anyone know??

Then the Husbands caught up to us in the big pick-’em-up truck, and we headed back down the hill.

*The 2023 calendar Mineral King HIKES” is now sold out. 

The privilege of having a cabin comes with missing home often in order to truly enjoy the cabin. After spending 4-1/2 months living in 2 places, it is a bit of a relief to close the cabin. This year we are so thankful to have had autumn in Mineral King, and it is sad to leave, but also good to be leaving on our terms rather than the terms of a wildfire.

Driving up the hill, we spotted a plume of smoke across the canyon. This is how last year’s wildfire began, so we didn’t like seeing this.

Atwell Mill Campground was closed, but there was a government rig there, so we stopped to make sure someone was aware of the fire.

While Trail Guy was talking to Campground Guy, I amused myself by taking a photo of some strange markings on the road. It has to do with Federal Highways and their plan to upgrade the Mineral King Road. The markings look as if they were made by a seventh grade girl, and I have my doubts as to whether road improvements will be made in the next decade, based on clues such as seeing only about 6 potholes get patched this summer (actually not until early October) while the number and size of potholes increased steadily.

Enough road blather. Time to get up the hill and see the fall colors.

The weather is still good, the colors weren’t finished on the cottonwoods, aspens, willows, and other unknown foliage, but the daylight hours are getting quite short, and we are ready to stop living a bungee lifestyle for awhile. (Up and down the hill)

The Honeymoon Cabin (a mini museum), the ranger station, and the two campgrounds are closed now. The road officially closes on Wednesday, October 26. The plume of smoke across the canyon was dealt with swiftly.

Mineral King is one of my main sources of inspiration; in non-Artspeak, this means I draw and paint Mineral King possibly more than any other subject. Thus, I will continue reporting to you on this important topic whenever there are items that might interest you.

This will be a long post.

The end of the season in Mineral King is approaching quickly. We had a weekend of preliminary closing tasks, interspersed with walks to appreciate the clear air and fall colors.

Hanging around

First, we closed a neighboring cabin and had our usual debate about which water bottles might freeze, split, and leak during spring thaw. We ended up putting several in a washbasin inside so we can finally learn and stop wondering.

Then I split some kindling, after which I split the piece of wood I was using as a chopping block booster. However, the real chopping block split in the process.

Trail Guy came to the rescue with another chopping block, which I had to try.

Heading out

I know, you came here for fall colors, and instead, you read the mundane details of cabin life. We headed out the next morning to see the sights, and ran into people we know over and over, so got a very late start.

We were finally on the trail toward Aspen Flat when we encountered 3 women, 2 that we know. One of them was wearing a pack on her back and one on her front. Oh-oh, someone needed help. Trail Guy stepped up to the task, and we all turned back. The idea was to be out and about, not that we had an important destination.

Changing directions

Next, we headed down the road and up the Nature Trail, just like the previous weekend.

Steak, anyone? This rock is along the road, one I noticed a few years ago and then couldn’t find until recently. What a thrilling discovery. (Yes, I know, easily thrilled here.)

We had a friend with plans to climb Sawtooth that morning, so Trail Guy and The Farmer kept pulling out their binoculars.

We trudged onward, with Hiking Buddy and I commenting that we were fine with just a walk rather than a hike. The colors are decent, but there have been much brighter falls. It’s the contrast to two autumns with smoke and fire that make this year seem spectacular.

Where is that Sawtooth Soldier?

(Sharon, this shot of Iron Falls is for you.)

And another direction

This is the view next to the Honeymoon Cabin.

The Spring Creek bridge has been removed for the season.

This is the view up toward Aspen Flat. The brightest trees on the left are the section I call The Yellow Tunnel. The more distant trees on the right are not quite yet yellow: that’s what we call Aspen Flat. We didn’t make it there. Maybe next week.

Even heading down the road was nice because it wasn’t in the 100s or even the 90s for much of the drive. This is the final view of Sawtooth (very distant – just squint at this photo) on a day with clear air.

P.S. About 6 potholes got patched on the road. That leaves about 600 more.

It was clear by the colors that fall has arrived in Mineral King. We missed fall the past two years because of fires, so this year we are soaking it in. 

This is more of our walk down the road and back up the Nature Trail last Saturday.

The next day we took a walk up the valley to Crystal Creek, where we took in more of the bright colors of fall, a real gift after the smoke of the past two falls.

The Sierra Gentian at Crystal Creek from last week were now fully opened.

But that looks a bit too summery for a post about fall, so let’s conclude with this bright little leaf, whose name I do not know. (Want to name him? How about Rufus?)

Since I am currently working on a project that is not ready to be publicized, this week will have two days of Mineral King. 

Last weekend it was clear that fall has arrived. It didn’t feel like fall, but the colors were evidence enough.

A friend had left his sweatshirt along the trail to Timber Gap, so we headed up to see if it was still there. I only made it a little past the junction before giving up. Trail Guy went to the place where the sweatshirt had been, looked carefully all around, and finally concluded that someone new is now wearing a gray sweatshirt with the words “Grove City College”. (If you know who, please let me know!)

The next day we walked down the road and up the Nature Trail to enjoy the colors. These photos are what we saw while heading down the road.

And I’ll show you the rest tomorrow!