Mike Hughes/Special to the Sun

It seems like every winter around the middle of January we have a short Indian summer. It could almost be considered a second Indian fall. By this time the leaves have gone through their transitional change of colors from green through gold. A lot of the leaves are still tenaciously sticking to the mother ship until a stiff breeze, deep freeze or heavy rain dislodges them from their perch. The snow is capping the highest of the alpine peaks and horsemen have been forced out of the High Lonesome down into the Wide Lonesome. The upper country is taking a respite so that it can replenish itself for the coming rebirth of spring.

Recently my Ferrier, Jay Alexander, came to work on the horses and we got into a gab session like we typically do. We talked about the trips we have taken and the trips we plan to take into the backcountry sometime in the future. By the way, Jay is the one who suggested we pack into Little Whitney, good call on that one Jay. Eventually Jay finished up and headed out, which meant I had to do some chores before the wife got home.

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I grabbed the leaf rake and began the gather. If you have never done a “Leaf Roundup” in a breeze I can assure you it is a regular Huckleberry. Insofar as raking leaves is not a strenuous mental activity, I began to review my conversation with Jay. He had mentioned something I had recently began to suspect, the lack of long term use in the high country. Oh sure, you could see a few rigs parked at trailheads or in the campgrounds, but once you were in the trees, hardly ever did you see a soul. I’m not sure if this is a testament to the vast expanse available to the public or a red flag as to the declining use of public lands, because of less outdoors types of activities and hobbies.

True, it can be argued that we still occasionally see the old time Gold Rush to the high country. Take Whiskey Flat Days, for example, a large group of people rush into the Kern River Valley every February, specifically to Kernville and put some of their gold into the local businesses. This is a good thing. Similarly during the summer months there are those who rush to the Kern River and put their gold into whitewater, fishing and camping excursions and this, too, is a good thing.

Recently I read an article in the Kern Valley Sun stating every year we have thousands of visitors rush up to The Trail of a Hundred Giants. They walk through and enjoy the unique beauty and the surrounding areas. Some have even been known to leave gold behind at the local establishments.

I don’t know, maybe I am just over thinking this whole dang thing. Anyway, I had better get back to work because a breeze just stampeded a whole lot of those golden leaves out of the pile and rushed them back onto the front lawn.

So until next time keep the leaf rake handy and visit the high country often, just saying.