Bishop Creek’s Over The Top

North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon (10/1/18) Adam Potts

This has been a mind-boggling past week up Bishop Creek Canyon. You might say, “it was over the top!”

North Lake finally caught up with Lake Sabrina and South Lake, rushing from Patchy to Peak in a few days. Then, clouds, rain, snow, refreshing clear autumn air and rainbows filled the skies over Inyo County.

North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/30/18) Douglas Van Kirk

All that action attracted so many photographers that local color spotter Gigi de Jong described them as leapfrogging over one another for “the sweet spot and that great shot.””

What they saw, she described, were “soft clouds” sweeping across the sky “as the cumulus built in the late afternoon heat, then dissipated as the cool winds scattered them about.

“As the shadows played over the landscape, the colors seem to change from within. Sunlight brightened the yellows and shade deepened the oranges and reds.

North Lake Bishop Creek Canyon (10/1/18) Tracy Zhou

Every vista had something magical about it,” Gigi said, causing observers to see things they hadn’t noticed before, like an old log cabin opposite Weir Pond and lovers as in love with the scene as they were with each other.

So many images arrived, that it’ll take days to post a representative selection, here. We’ll do our best, but there are many repeats and we like to show variety. In the meantime, we’re over the top over what we received.

As for the outlook, color has almost peaked at the highest elevations, but there’s still great color to be seen up Bishop Creek Canyon for another two weeks. Presently, the color is peaking under 9,000′, and the storm just made it better.

Autumn Storm, US 395, Independence (10/3/18) Ursula Esser

South Fork, Bishop Creek

South Lake (9,768′) – Peak to Past Peak (75-100%) GO NOW or YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!
Wier Pond (9,650′) – Peak to Past Peak (75-100%) GO NOW or YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!
Parcher’s Resort (9,260′) – Peak to Past Peak (75-100%) GO NOW or YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!
Willow Campground (9,000′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Surveyor’s Meadow (8,975′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Table Mountain Camp (8,900′) – Patchy (10-50%)
Mist Falls and the Groves Above Bishop Creek Lodge (8,350′) – Patchy (10-50%)
Mountain Glen Campground (8,200′) – Patchy (10-50%)
Four Jeffreys (8,000′) – Patchy (10-50%)
Big Trees Campground (7,800′) – Just Starting (0-10%)

Middle Fork, Bishop Creek