Trip Report, April 25, 2020

A couple of East Mineral King residents drove up to their cabins over the weekend, and sent these beautiful shots.  I'm sure it makes us all want to head up to the mountains as soon as possible!

Please note: the road is NOT open to the public yet.  When it is, I will post right away so everyone can access the valley.

Stories, Photos Wanted for Research

Laile Di Silvestro of the Crowley cabin (great-granddaughter of Arthur Crowley) is an archaeological researcher, and currently is collecting photos, knowledge, and stories relating to Mineral King. Specifically, she is seeking photos of the pack station that used to be where the Tar Gap parking lot is now (the “Burchell Corral,” as I remember it), as well as any information folk may have on its history and any memories or stories about it. This is one of the sites that was owned by women in the silver rush days.

Laile will submit the technical reports to the National Park Service as a public domain work. The photographs and stories help to make sense what is on the ground and to develop the historical background portion of the reports. The Park Service uses the final reports for educational purposes and to inform management planning. Photos and names will not be used in the report without permission; but the information will be invaluable if the report is to be accurate.

If you can help, please contact Laile directly at laile@mindspring.com.

New MKPS Blog

Our sister organization, the Mineral King Preservation Society, created a blog three weeks ago, which has some interesting stories already posted.  Check it out!
https://mineralking.org/blog

SEKI Conference Call

Lisa Monteiro from the MKPS was a part of a conference call last Wednesday (April 15) with Woody Smeck, Superintendent of Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.  I thought you might be interested in her notes, especially the last paragraph.  Thanks, Lisa!

Permission was granted by Sup. Smeck to pass along these notes.  He added, "I’ll work on a future message for our cabin communities as we get closer to reopening the parks.  There are still a lot of unknowns within the public health realm. Be safe and enjoy the wonderful spring weather."

Conference call notes:

The main focus of the call was about the phased system they will use in collaboration with public health guidelines to look ahead for opening. The first phase would be for day use/recreation in dispersed manners, no concessions, no visitor centers, but with public restrooms open. 

The second phase would be to open some retail and some campsites, grab and go food services. The main goal will be to manage the density of areas. 

Lastly would be a sort of return to a "new" normal including more disinfecting, and following the guidelines set in place by the governor, and Tulare and Fresno County guidelines.

I asked about any access issues for cabin owners and he said the only ones that will most likely be affected are those with their water line tied into park water systems, as those will tie into when they can safely turn those back on. He does not have any concrete dates yet. The calls will most likely continue every Wednesday. 

Trip Report, April 8

Ryan Reynolds of West Mineral King took a trip as far as Silver City (as far as he could make it!) and encountered quite a bit of snow. 

He sent a photo and brief video of his friend enjoying a romp in the snowfall.

Road Trip, April 3, 2020

(This was before this week's anticipated snow storm!  A video of highlights of this trip is up on our Facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MineralKing)

"Friday, the snow level was a lot higher than the previous weekend. I believe the snow line started about the ranger housing near Atwell Mill. It was patchy up to Silver City. Most of the way up to Sunset Point, there was snow. And very patchy from Sunset Point to the cattle guard at Faculty Flats. Snow depth from the cattle guard to about the Timber Gap parking varied from about 2ft to 4+ feet. From the Timber Gap parking area to the bridge, again, very patchy with snow drifts as deep as 3 feet. The snow is melting very quickly, but still offers a very beautiful scenery as well as some snowshoeing. Hopefully this week brings some more much needed snow! Enjoy"

Photo by Bruno Stephen