The Cabin at 7 Cienega Mirth (Halloween 2016)

Happy Halloween!

Up until about a week ago I planned to skip doing anything for Halloween. After thinking about it I thought there is one area I would not mind doing again on here. So without further ado, here is the video for The Cabin at 7 Cienega Mirth:

I’ll be doing another blog that should be up next weekend that will run a slightly different non-Halloween edit of this video with some alternative footage. I explain why when I get to that point. However, in the meantime let me go over some of my thoughts on this video and what actually happened.

Video editing thoughts:

If you have seen the original video that I put up some years back, you might remember the weather conditions with the clouds going over the mountains making it a little extra spooky. I knew there was no way I could reproduce that atmosphere in this most recent video. That is probably the main reason I will keep the old video up along with this new one.

The old video, like a lot of my old videos, is hard for me to watch. It was good for the time I did it, but it was from an older camcorder that did not have the features my latest one has. I did a bunch of things in that video that I would consider editing mistakes today. After thinking about it over time I started to get the itch to do another video of this spot.

Originally, the idea was to video the cabin all in one take right as I reached the spot. That didn’t work out as I explain below. So, I went with the backup plan. The video came out alright. There are a few moments I would have liked to have done over, but overall I am pleased. I had more special effects ready to go, but when I did some tests on Youtube the quality wasn’t working. So, I decided to cut some of them out.

Hiking thoughts:

You know how I mentioned in the video that it can’t get worse than a zombie outbreak or the Evil Deadites showing up? Well, it did!

I parked at the backpacker’s parking lot again for this one. There is a trailhead closer to Glacier Lodge in Big Pine. The trail from the backpackers parking lot is a little more exposed, seems slightly longer, but starts out a little higher. I got there around 8:30am, noticed a bunch of cars parking, and started right away.

I had the trail all to myself. It took me about an hour to get to the cabin. Then as I was making my way with the camcorder recording I spotted two people in front of the cabin. It was slight shock to seem them since I thought I would have the place to myself. I decided to skip the cabin and go to the first two Big Pine Lakes.

On returning to the cabin I started the recording again. This time I noticed some people sitting by the stream by the cabin. Oh no! I didn’t want to have any people in this video since that would ruin the mystique of what I was trying to create. No problem, I just went with the backup plan you saw in the video.

However, before I did that I shut off the recording and went to the people there in an attempt to just be High Sierra friendly and let them know what I would be doing. Oh my goodness, these people were complete “holes”. As I approached I said “hi” and then asked in a joking way, “So, are you fishing today?”  They didn’t look back at me, but just said “Huuuuhhhhhhhhhh?!?” I asked the same question and got the same response. Then I changed it to, “Are you taking pictures?” and the same response. Sigh. I understand people wanting to be left alone in the isolated High Sierra, but these people were ultra-unfriendly. I then told them that I was going to take a short video of the cabin, but not too worry I wouldn’t be getting them in the video. The guy then completely understood me and told me they were only going to be there for five more minutes anyways. I did what I said and got out of there right as others showed up. So, I never did have the cabin to myself. No big deal, but that couple really put me in a bad mood. Zombies, Evil Deadites, or unfriendly idiots made stupid by a haunted cabin seem to be all the same for me.

Other tidbits:

When I got back to the trailhead I was still a little irritated, but felt better driving back to Big Pine and HWY 395. I still had another thing I wanted to do that is…going back to the Alabama Hills! I should be feeling great when I get there! Then as I made the turn in Lone Pine to head to those rocks, and I saw a sign that said, “Roadwork ahead! 25 minute wait!” You have to be kidding me! I thought I had escaped this. Turns out on this trip at many points on HWY 395 from just past Kraemer Junction to the June Lake Loop to Lee Vining and beyond there were twenty minute stops due to roadwork. The one place I didn’t think would face this, but they were doing something on Whitney Portal Road. There was something else that was annoying about the Alabama Hills, but I leave that for some other time.

A few links:

Lon Chaney Cabin Hike Pics (All new pictures on Flickr)

The Lon Chaney Cabin (The old blogs about this place that has the old video if you have not seen that)

The music taken from Incompetech.com is called Metaphysik, One of Them, and Thunder Dreams.

The Lon Chaney Cabin #4 of 4 (Halloween Haunts 2010)

(GPS: N37 08.140 W118 27.940)
Nightmare #2 (concluded)

I thought this would be a good time to show the video I did for this one. I think this one really captures the atmosphere that I mentioned at the beginning of the month. Was that him looking up at me in the stream in front of his place? No, that had to be a tree reflection...I hope.

As I moved around the cabin I took this picture of the side. There are two doors to this place. Lots of windows and areas are boarded up all around it. I do not know about you, but it would freak me out a bit if someone I did not expect came to the door and started knocking way out in the wilderness like this. Especially at night. It is common for people to travel by these days, but during the time this place was built it must have been much more rare for people passing by.

This may not look that impressive compared to earlier in the season when there would be a lot more water. This is the North Fork of Big Pine Creek that comes down from the lakes down to Glacier Lodge. I can imagine Lon Chaney, family, and friends coming out to see this every morning. In an odd way this cabin was a movie location. Well, not really in the way I usually do things, but a replica of the cabin was used in the bio picture Man of a Thousand Faces starring James Cagney as Lon Chaney. From what I can tell the picture below shows the movie cabin with a view you would get looking west from Bishop, CA. which really isn't too far from Big Pine and where I was at. I assume the background was added in to the minature or replica. This shows James Cagney outside of the cabin replica they used. Notice they are fishing right out in front. That probably did not happen just like this in that he probably hiked to the nearby lakes. Notice how they did a pretty good job here recreating the cabin. You can even see the square spaces they have to what I assume was a small cellar or storage area. That is what I thought when I looked in them at the real cabin. One thing they do in the movie is show Cagney drive right next to the cabin. Okay, that would never have happened, but overall it is fun to see what they did with this place in the movie. So, that wraps this one up. My dad always used to tell a story about Lon Chaney Jr. sitting in front of him at a L.A. Rams football game at the coliseum. Not much to it other than saying that it happened. In any case, my next blog will not be about Lon Chaney Jr., but it will have a werewolf. Until then...
The Lon Chaney Cabin (Youtube Version)

An old L.A. Times Article about this place.

The Lon Chaney Cabin #3 of 4 (Halloween Haunts 2010)

(GPS: N37 08.140 W118 27.940)

Nightmare #2 (continued)

I think I should just mention briefly why this cabin is even out here. In my experience, it is very rare to see a fully built cabin out in middle of nowhere in the backcountry like this. In the past I have shown some remains of places miner's lived at, but those are usually broken down. This was obviously well thought out and still remains. It is property of the forest service and that is part of the reason it is still in respectable shape.

From what I read about Lon Chaney, he liked fishing. This area back here by the cabin is very close to some lakes one can do some trout fishing. I can imagine a person getting up in the morning and then taking a hike to one of the lakes back here. Chaney had been to this location before during the times he camped out here on fishing expeditions. He loved the area, so in the 1920's, Chaney had the well known Afro-American architect Paul Williams design this place out here. Apparently, it was the only cabin like structure he ever designed.

It really is an impressive place. Here is the backside as I came down from the trail.

Then to the side with the monster-like chimney.
The granite walls are two feet thick!
They would have brought in all the supplies they needed by mule. Here is the very front looking at where Chaney and family would have come out the front door.
I went up to the door and turned to my right.
For more on Paul Williams please go to the site dedicated to him HERE.
In the next and final blog entry on this I will show the view one has coming out the front door and the other side of the cabin. I will explain a little more about it and show you how, in an odd way, it was actually a movie location.
The Lon Chaney Cabin (Youtube Version)

The Hike to Lon Chaney's Cabin #2 of 4 (Halloween Haunts 2010)

Nightmare #2 (continued)

At this point in the hike I passed the John Muir sign telling me I was now in the wilderness. This is the point where things were a little more exciting because for the longest time in this hike you can see where you are going. For about 30 minutes I was proceeding and looking at what I am about to show. Now I would enter it.

This is where you are adjacent to the North Fork of Big Pine Creek. The video shows it a little better. Most of the pictures I took were not that great so I will just show you a zoom in of it. BTW, as you will see, this is the creek that crosses right in front of the cabin.
Continuing on the stairway trail to the unknown. Again, just to the left of this picture the stream runs by it.
At this point the trail flattens out and things start to look a little more friendly. Lots of green here.
That lasted about five minutes or so. Then we are back to the autumn look: yellow leaves on the ground and bare trees with very little long range visability. I knew I was getting close.
And then I saw my final destination!
As the sign notes, The Chaney Cabin is now owned by the forest service. It can be used as living quarters for the rangers, but from what I have read is mostly used for storage.

In the next two blogs I will show more pictures of the cabin.

The Lon Chaney Cabin (Youtube Version)

The Hike to Lon Chaney's Cabin #1 of 4 (Halloween Haunts 2010)

(GPS: N37° 07.690 W118° 25.660)

Nightmare #2

First, happy 10/10/10! Here is one that I have wanted to do for a long time. It is one that I really enjoyed doing. The silent film actor, Lon Chaney, had a cabin built way back in the backcountry away from civilization. When you finally see the video I did, and some of the pictures, you will see why this really worked as the mood I like for a "Halloween Haunt." It is going to take four blog entries to cover it. Let's get to it...

This was on the way home back to So. Cal. It was really windy on HWY 395 and I was a little concerned I would not be able to do this because I figured the wind would be much worse at the higher elevations. It ended up not being too bad, but there was the threat of a possible rain or snow storm as I started hiking from the trail.

After driving to the town of Big Pine, CA I took Crocker St. to the west which turns into Glacier Lodge Rd. I had thought I had not been here before. After driving some way, I had remembered I was here before with a friend who was looking for some property to purchase. This was some twenty years ago. In any case, I was at the trail head looking into the mountains.
I knew the hike was not going to be too difficult. The destination was in the John Muir Wilderness in the back country and there would be some climbing elevation involved, but it would only take about an hour to do. So, I packed lightly with just the bare minimum involved. While the clouds looked benign, like I mentioned above, these types of situations can turn very cold and stormy quick. I started up the trail that goes diagonally up the mountainside.
Then looking to the left I had this. One of the Calfornia 14ers, the Middle Palisade is covered in clouds in the background. It kind of looks like Mt. Whitney in that it has some serrated spikey high points just to the left of it. This is one of those areas I just had to stop and let the video record for a few minutes. It really had that beautiful, moody, and maybe "haunted" look about it.
A little further I made the turn to the right to see a creeping cloud drifting over the mountainside of where I would be going. The destination is beyond all those trees you see in the left side of the picture. To get there the trail would go from the right and then eventually cut over to the left along the mountainside. Again, while I was experiencing this it was beautiful, but creepy in a sense too since I was not sure if the whole mountainside was going to be engulfed with foggy cloud conditions.
The following would be about the middle of the picture above. It is the rock stairway on the trail you encounter before making the right turn into the John Muir Wilderness.
This is looking back to where I was earlier. You can see a trail below, but that is not the one I took. There were a few other trails to different places that divert from the main trail.
At about this point, I entered the John Muir Wilderness. I will continue this one tomorrow. I will explain more about the cabin when I get to it.
The Lon Chaney Cabin (Youtube Version)