My parents arranged for us to stay in a rustic cabin in Mineral King valley, the old family favorite. Though it had been many years since I last was in Mineral King, I was surprised and somewhat relieved to see how little had changed. The same old windy, cliff hugging one lane mountain road, except with the added challenge of increased traffic due to the holiday weekend. An early morning start from Riverside through the Mojave ensured we missed holiday traffic. We stopped at Atwell Mill for the traditional hike down to the nice waterfall on the river. As soon as we stepped out of the car we saw our first bear, looking on at us more cautiously than curiously.
After Saturday's canyon adventure we all went for a hike up to Eagle Lake. I was sure to pack all the luxuries: hammock, packraft, etc. Despite the drought the meadows still looked to be in relatively decent shape. The colorful splashes of metamorphic rocks no less fascinating than I remembered. The final hill climb was longer but no more challenging than in my memory. It was nice and warm up by the lake, perfect for a leisurely lunch. Almost everyone had a go at paddling the packraft around the lake and napping between two foxtail pines.
Sara and I were looking for a bit more of a hike so I left some of the unnecessities with my parents and brother to take down. I always wanted to do a traverse from Eagle to White Chief valley which would take in some nice alpine wilderness and allow me to show Sara some of the interesting karst features in White Chief (though the day was quickly getting on). We boulder scrambled our way up the obvious route and the head of the lake which afforded spectacular views of this unique area of the Sierra Nevada (frontispiece). Once on top we walked through gnarled clusters of foxtail pines, sentinels of the granite slickrock and scree. At the saddle down to White Chief Lake we ran into a friendly ranger who chatted us up for a bit before we headed on. He talked up the route down into the glacial cirque of White Chief but we found it very straightforward. I had never been in the valley this late in the day so it was neat to see it in a different light.
Unfortunately there was not much time for caving but we did walk into the entrance of Shower Cave for a quick look before high-tailing it down to the main trail. We were hiking out a bit later than I hoped but ended up timing the hike just right to see the last golden light touch the peaks on the north side of the valley.
The trip felt short but it was a great weekend away, the first real one I had since settling back in to southern California. It was even better to be able to spend some quality time with Sara and my family in a special place I have not been in quite a while. Thanks to all of them.
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