After painting Empire and Vandever with the Crowley Cabin in Mineral King, plein air (on location), my confidence built. But, I didn’t like schlepping the easel around or setting it up, so I tried it sitting down by the Honeymoon Cabin (at the beginning of the Eagle/Mosquito trail). This was most pleasant, right by the stream. But in the afternoon, it was not in the shade, and there was no convenient place to put my palette. If it ain’t one thing, it’s anuthuh.
A number of years ago (feels like 6, must be 10) I tried painting on location from the bridge in Mineral King. I had no instruction and no idea of how to proceed.
Trail Guy and I walked to the bridge and inspected the views and possible areas to set up. The bridge is narrower now, so setting up on it is asking to be hit by someone’s rearview mirror, or moving every time a car comes.
I’ve painted this scene about 50 or 60 times, and drawn it in pencil at least a dozen more. So, I felt confident finishing it up at home.
Remember that I went down to Georgia (no, I’m not the devil) to take a plein air painting workshop from Laurel Daniel? The goal was to be able to do plein air painting in Mineral King.
I was a little nervous, having waited 3 months to attempt the techniques again. Mineral King feels so public, probably because it is, and I was glad there weren’t many people around yet. Still, I set up my easel in an obscure place, and remained invisible in the shade despite my trusty red backpack.
The plan was to paint Empire (the rock outcropping, not the highest part of the ridge) with a few cabins below.
Here is the finished piece, dry and scanned after I got back home. (It was tricky business finding a place to put the painting to dry in our 400 square foot cabin, but we are always innovative with the limited space.
The whole time I wondered what Laurel would say, and tried to remember some of the things she worked on with me. There is probably too much detail in this for her, but I am the boss of my painting now.
On July 4, Trail Guy and I hiked to Timber Gap. The flowers were early, but abundant, and the gap still had snow. We met a couple of hardy backpackers who planned a long trip in a short number of days. Then we took the old wagon road out of Timber Gap, and traversed the slope back down to the trail.
The old wagon road was built by the miners and used to get to the mines on Empire. We use it to create a sort of mini-loop on an otherwise up-and-back trail.
Here are more of the unknown Mineral King wildflowers that have the author of Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names flummoxed. (That would be me, the author of this blog, AKA Central California Artist).
Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names was published in March of 2019. Now in July of 2019, I am finding so many new wildflowers in Mineral King that I am just flummoxed. Flummoxed, I say! (Not sure what this means exactly, but it feels like the right word for my troubled state of mind.)
There are just too many for one post. To be continued tomorrow.
Are you ready to see some Mineral King footage that isn’t a road report or a show/sale report? We had the pleasure of hiking to White Chief with Hiking Buddy and The Farmer on Sunday, July 1.
Someone moved White Chief farther away than last year. They also tilted the trail to a steeper angle. I hate that.
The current plan is for the Sequoia Road Crew to return to maintenance on the Mineral King road as soon as the current road center and fog line striping project is completed through the Giant Forest area this week.
Mineral King road maintenance will consist of spot brushing priority areas, pothole patching, drainage maintenance, shoulder damage repairs and regrading of the washout above Cold Springs and spot grading of the remaining unpaved sections of roadway, not necessarily in that order. Tentatively starting date of 7/15.
Today’s post isn’t very fun, but it is informative if you or someone you know is planning a trip to Mineral King this summer.
I’ve been driving the Mineral King Road regularly for 35 summers, sometimes weekly. This year it is the worst I have ever experienced.
There is no attempt to smooth it, no pothole patching, no erosion control, and no brushing. None.
Several times I wondered if I should stop, get out of my car, and eyeball the route on foot to find the safest way through the obstacle course. Instead, I crawled along in first gear, sometimes riding the brake to go even slower, and I made it without breaking anything.
My non-objective view is that since Trail Guy (AKA Retired Road Guy) retired 7 years ago, there has been a cumulative effect of his not working on the road. The Park roads department is headed up from an office in Grant Grove, which is in Kings Canyon National Park rather than from Ash Mountain in Sequoia. When Road Guy was there, he made certain that the Mineral King Road was not neglected. As a retiree, he still volunteers many hours on a (borrowed) big yellow machine to clear away the winter snow to get the road opened sooner than if folks waited for the Park or for nature.
The Park’s view might be that the road will be redone in a few years. Do they think that it won’t deteriorate further until that time??
I counted 60 potholes in the paved sections on the four-mile stretch between Silver City and Mineral King.
2019 was a real winter, which delayed the opening of the Mineral King road, campgrounds, and our own cabin. Atwell Mill Campground is open, but Cold Springs won’t be opened until July 10. (Most of the passes are snow-covered, but people are backpacking and day hiking anyway.)
Drive carefully. If you find the road to be a problem, it might not hurt to write a letter to the acting superintendent, whose name I do not know. (Woody is away, working at the Grand Canyon this summer.)
Mineral King Wildflowers is the name of the book I published in March of this year. In it, I said that most of the wildflowers in Mineral King hit their peak in July. This year it might be even truer, because the June flowers are still blooming in July. But perhaps the July flowers will not happen until August. More will be revealed in the fullness of time. Here is what was in bloom last week.
Tomorrow is Independence Day. I will be silent on the blog, but will return for July 5, more Mineral King wildflowers.