2016 – Page 15 – California Fall Color

Autumn is Events Season

Bishop Chamber & Visitors Bureau

Tawni Thompson of Bishop reminds us that September and October are prime events months in Inyo County, with history, endurance, cultural, pop, film, sport and fishing faires, festivals, days, races, ralleys and seminars.

Here are some highlights to combine with a fall color viewing trip.

9/10 – Laws Museum Good Old Days. Pioneer crafts, demonstrations, live music & pie auction. www.lawsmuseum.org

9/9-9/11 – White Mountain Double Century Bike Race. http://ndzone.com/white-mountain-double/

9/16-9/18 – Millpond Music Festival. www.inyo.org

9/23-9/25 – Pabanamanina Pow Wow & California Indian Days

9/30-10/2 – Fall Colors Car Show, Fine Art Show & Sale, Arts & Crafts Faire and Choo Choo Swap Meet at Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop. http://www.owensvalleycruisers.com/fallcolors.htm

10/7-10/9 – Lone Pine Film Festival. http://www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/

10/7-10/9 – VCMC Dual Sport Motorcycle Rally. http://vcmc.info/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=370060&module_id=183046

10/14-10/16 – Fly Fishing Faire. Seminars, vendors, fly-tying demonstrations, casting, classroom and on-the-water clinics. All skill levels welcome! http://www.bishopvisitor.com/event/bishop-fly-fishing-faire/

10/28-10/30 – Eastern Sierra History Conference. http://esiaonline.com/eastern-sierra-history-conference/

For travel planning info, CLICK HERE.

September 2, 2016/by John Poimiroo

Eastern Sierra, High Sierra

Little Lakes and Convict Lake Break Out

Little Lakes Valley, Rock Creek Rd. (8/31/16) Josh Wray

Little Lakes Valley in the Eastern Sierra near Mammoth Lakes is known for breaking out early, though Convict Lake usually waits to be paroled.

Color spotter Josh Wray escaped his office in Mammoth Lakes today and ran right to these High Sierra hideouts to see how fall color is developing. He said the beautiful warm days and cool nights that Mammoth has experienced lately inspired his breakout.

Rock Creek Rd. (8/31/16) Josh Wray

Little Lakes Valley, Rock Creek Rd. (8/31/16) Josh Wray

True to form, Little Lakes Valley beyond Rock Creek Rd. is showing more lime and yellow among the quaking aspen, than Convict Lake where most color has tainted the willows, yellow-orange, but both are showing signs of color. Here’s what he found:

Patchy (10-50%) – Little Lakes Valley Rock Creek Rd. above 9,000ft – The Little Lakes Valley is off to a great start and is pretty far ahead of the rest. Changing color starts at about 8,500ft and there are some dark green giant aspens featuring bright yellow leaves at the top already. The aspen groves surrounding Rock Creek Lake have started the transition into lime green colors while trees higher up on the ridge already contain a mostly yellow shade. I give this spot two weeks until the largest groves start showing significant changes in coloring. Get up there early morning for soft light and while the lake is calm for epic photo ops.

Convict Lake (8/31/16) Josh Wray

Little Lakes Valley, Rock Creek Rd. (8/31/16) Josh Wray

Just Starting (0-10%) – Convict Lake above 7,800ft – Not worth a trip specific to fall colors right now, but some willows are changing near the outlet while the aspen grove tucked back in the canyon across the lake is showing a little bit. Nothing major though. With water levels up quite a bit from last year and a drier summer (helping prevent the black spot disease), the fall colors at Convict Lake should display one of the best presentations in years. This spot tends to peak around the middle of October given the fact that it’s elevation is a bit lower than other hotspots. Make sure to hit this spot in the early morning as well. And once it’s at peak take a little walk to the wooden path on the backside. You’ll be glad you did.

August 31, 2016/2 Comments/by John Poimiroo

Special Report

Special Report: Why Do Trees Drop Their Leaves?

Big Bear Ski Resorts (11/11/15) Alena Nicholas

It’s survival not just of the fittest, but of the wisest.

Deciduous trees drop their leaves in order to survive. As days grow shorter and colder, deciduous trees shut down veins and capillaries (that carry water and nutrients) with a barrier of cells that form at the leaf’s stem.

Called “abscission” cells, the barrier prevents the leaf from being nourished. Eventually, like scissors, the abscission cells close the connection between leaf and branch and the leaf falls.

Had the leaves remained on branches, the leaves would have continued to drink and, once temperatures drop to freezing, the water in the tree’s veins would freeze, killing the tree.

Further, with leaves fallen, bare branches are able to carry what little snow collects on them, protecting them from begin broken under the weight of the snow. So, by cutting off their food supply (leaves), deciduous trees survive winter.

The fallen leaves continue to benefit the tree through winter, spring and summer by creating a humus on the forest floor that insulates roots from winter cold and summer heat, collects dew and rainfall, and decomposes to enrich the soil and nurture life.

It’s a cycle of survival, very wisely planned.

August 31, 2016/2 Comments/by John Poimiroo

Special Report

Special Report: Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Chlorophyll Molecule (Wikipedia)

We explain this each autumn and now is as good a time as any to describe it, once more.

It is the combination of shorter days and colder temperatures that cause leaves on deciduous trees to change color.

Throughout spring and summer, green chlorophyll (which allows trees to absorb sunlight and produce nutrients) is made and replaced constantly. However, as days grow shorter, “cells near the juncture of the leaf and stem divide rapidly but do not expand,” reports Accuweather.com, “This action of the cells form a layer called the abscission layer. The abscission layer then blocks the transportation of materials from the leaf to the branch and from the roots to the leaves. As Chlorophyll is blocked from the leaves, it disappears completely from them.”

That’s when vivid yellow xanthophylls, orange carotenoids and red and purple anthocyanins emerge.

Orange is found in leaves with lots of beta-carotene, a compound that absorbs blue and green light and reflects yellow and red light, giving the leaves their orange color.

Yellow comes from Xanthophylls and Flavonols that reflect yellow light. Xanthophylls are compounds and Flavonols are proteins. They’re what give egg yolks their color.

Though always present in the leaves, Carotenoids and Xanthophylls are not visible until Chlorophyll production slows.

Red comes from the Anthocyanin compound. It protects the leaf in autumn, prolonging its life. Anthocyanins are pigments manufactured from the sugars trapped in the leaf, giving term to the expression that the leaves are sugaring up.

The best fall color occurs when days are warm and nights are clear and cold. California’s cloudless skies and extreme range of elevations (sea level to 14,000′) provide ideal conditions for the development of consistently vivid fall color, as seen in these reports.

August 30, 2016/by John Poimiroo

Eastern Sierra, High Sierra, Special Events

Go Fly A Kite!

Eastern Sierra Kite Festival

Walker, Calif. is the location of the first Eastern Sierra Kite Festival on the weekend of Sept. 17 and 18.

Colorful kites will be competing, demonstrated, built and displayed at this visual and fun event.

That’s great timing for a trip to Virginia Lakes, off Conway Summit, where color should be approaching peak.

Early peak color may also be near peak then at Tuolumne Meadows in eastern Yosemite National Park.

And, if you arrive from the south, a trip up Bishop Creek Canyon should be rewarding that week.

CLICK HERE or HERE, for more about the festival.

August 26, 2016/2 Comments/by John Poimiroo

First Report, Statewide

The Low Down on Down Low

Chinese pistache, Watsonville (8/21/16) Chuck Eads

For the past week and a half, we’ve received a flush of reports of near peak fall color appearing down low (Oakland, Berkeley, Watsonville, Salinas, San Diego), though spots of color have been reported up high, too (Eastern Sierra, San Bernardino Mountains).

So, what’s the low down on color that’s down low?

Almost all the early peak color seen at lower elevations so far (with the exception of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve in San Diego) has appeared on non-native trees, whereas native trees appear to be developing normally.

Every year, we get reports of trees with early color. Often the trees happen to be exotics (non-native), like the liquidambar that LA Leaf Peeper reported as fringed with red in June.

Does this mean an earlier autumn? We suspect not. Early change is more likely a product of a particular environment, locale or specie, than it is a harbinger of an early autumn, statewide.

Our recommendation to see the best color is to plan travel to see fall color in California, as normally. The best way to do this is to use this site as a research tool, by looking back at the area you want to visit (category) or date when you plan to visit (archives).

Notice when the color was at peak at a given location during the past five years, then pick an average date for past peaks, or find locations where it was peaking when you can travel and go there.

With either approach, your choice should be very close to peak color. And, that’s the low down on traveling to see the best fall color in California.

Near Peak (50-75%) – Watsonville Community Hospital (Go Now!)

August 25, 2016/by John Poimiroo

First Report, San Diego County

First Report: Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve

California sycamore, Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve (8/21/16) Sweetshade Lane

Color spotter Sweetshade Lane tweeted seeing subtle color at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve in San Diego, thereby scoring the first “First Report” of the season.

California sycamore, Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve (8/21/16) Sweetshade Lane

Frémont cottonwood, Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve (8/21/16) Sweetshade Lane

The preserve covers some 4,000 acres in the Peñasquitos (meaning little cliffs) and Lopez canyons of San Diego. It is an area with stark beauty and prehistoric cultural sites that date back over 7,000 years.

Los Peñasquitos Canyon was part of the first Mexican land grant in San Diego County. Tours of the historic Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos Adobe are available to school groups and the public.

The canyon is renowned as a nature preserve containing geologic formations, over 500 plant species including several landmark trees and 175 birds, as well as many reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Los Peñasquitos Canyon’s Frémont cottonwood have begun revealing golden leaves, while the twisted limbs of California sycamore are laden with equally twisted chartreuse and rose-colored leaves, providing sculptural detail to the scene.

Just Starting (0-10%) – Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve

August 24, 2016/by John Poimiroo

San Francisco Bay Area

Berkeley Already?

Tilden Park, Berkeley (8/23/16) Sandy Steinman

Red isn’t supposed to be seen in Berkeley until Stanford visits for The Big Game. Yet, Natural History Wandering’s Sandy Steinman sent colorful shots of crimson, coral and rose foliage blushing at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley’s Tilden Park.

He even found a summer holly (Comarostaphylis diversifolia) carrying bright lime, yellow, orange and red berries.

Check out Sandy’s newly updated national and California fall color pages (Blogroll at left). There’s lots of great info on his blog to inspire wandering in search of fall color.

Just Starting (0-10%) – Berkeley

Comarostaphyllis diversifolia, Tilden Park, Berkeley (8/23/16) Sandy Steinman

Tilden Park, Berkeley (8/23/16) Sandy Steinman

August 24, 2016/by John Poimiroo

What They're Saying

NBC Bay Area Ready for Foliage

NBC Bay Area

Always an encouraging sign is when other media notice our reports. NBC Bay Area is one of them.

Posted this week on their blog (which is consistently on top of trends) was the declaration from blogger Alysia Gray Painter that though “the autumn equinox is still a month off… a popular leaf-peeping blog (hey, that’s us!) is up and running for 2016.”

OK, so we’re “popular” but not yet trending. Nonetheless, that’s still about as early a nod as California Fall Color has ever gotten.

Could it be that more than we are anxious to see autumn arrive?

August 23, 2016/by John Poimiroo

High Sierra, What They're Saying

Sierra Nevada Tree Identifier

Sierra Nevada Tree Identifier, Jim Paruk

Jim Paruk’s Sierra Nevada Tree Identifier is an indispensable tool for fall color photographers and viewers.

The 126-page book includes black and white illustrations by Elizabeth Morales (needles, leaves, fruit, nuts, flowers/bracts, cones and pods) and detailed descriptions of 44 native trees found in the Sierra Nevada.

Paruk points out that “By knowing your approximate altitude, field identification of certain trees can be greatly simplified,” noting that “similarly-appearing sugar and western white pines grow at different elevations (the sugar pine is lower).”

The book is particularly helpful in identifying cone-bearing trees (pine, nutmeg, yew, fir, hemlock, cedar, sequoia and juniper), though for the fall color viewer, it is helpful in separating broad-leaved trees, as well. Of particular help is the section on willows, whose leaves are identical to the untrained eye.

An important omission, however, is any description of fall color to be seen in the leaves. Paruk fails to specify colors commonly displayed by Sierra Nevada trees (e.g., California black oak leaves turn orange in autumn).

Published by the Yosemite Conservancy, the book is available at Amazon.com and is sold at the California Welcome Center in Mammoth Lakes for $9.95.

August 23, 2016/by John Poimiroo

Autumn is Events Season

Little Lakes and Convict Lake Break Out

Special Report: Why Do Trees Drop Their Leaves?

Special Report: Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Go Fly A Kite!

The Low Down on Down Low

First Report: Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve

Berkeley Already?

NBC Bay Area Ready for Foliage

Sierra Nevada Tree Identifier

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