Mineral King sits in the southern part of Sequoia National Park and receives fewer visitors due to its remote location. Campers and backpackers reach a dramatic mountain landscape with rushing waterfalls and a small number of historic buildings, including wooden cabins tied to families present before the area became a national park. Laile Di Silvestro’s family connection to Mineral King dates to the 1870s, and she works as an archaeologist seeking stories she did not hear while growing up. In 2024, a hike with Di Silvestro connects the trail to California Gold Rush trail blazers and to discrimination during boom times. Bishop pine trees on the Point Reyes Peninsula are well adapted to local conditions but are viewed by locals as pests because of how they die, prompting efforts to manage them at Tomales Bay State Park. Rough and Ready, near Grass Valley, has a distinctive origin tied to secession in 1850 and a name history explored through local testimony.
"Mineral King is located in the southern part of Sequoia National Park but its remote location means it gets fewer visitors than other parts of the park. So the campers and backpackers that make the trek are rewarded with a spectacular mountain range with rushing waterfalls. There are only a handful of buildings here, including some historic wooden cabins that belong to a few families who've been here long before this was a national park."
"One of those cabins belongs to Laile Di Silvestro's family. Her connection to Mineral King goes back to the 1870s. Today, she's an archeologist, and she's looking for the stories she didn't hear growing up. In 2024, as part of our Hidden Gems series, host Sasha Khokha hiked Mineral King with Di Silvestro to learn about some surprising trail blazers in the California Gold Rush, and the discrimination some people faced during those boom times."
"The bishop pine doesn't have that kind of celebrity status. But if you live on the Point Reyes Peninsula in west Marin County you're all too familiar with it. These indigenous trees are so well-suited to growing here, that to locals they're notorious pests, not because of how easily they grow, but because of how they die. In 2024, reporter Lusen Mendel took us to Tomales Bay State Park to meet someone who's made it his mission to deal with the pesky and strangely loveable pines."
"We head to the Nevada County town of Rough and Ready, about 5 miles west of Grass Valley. In 1850, it seceded from the nation and temporarily became its own republic. In 2017, KQED's Bianca Taylor spoke to a proud resident of Rough and Ready to learn more about the town's history, and how it got its name."
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