Peeling The Onion
Photographers have been peeling layers off of Onion Valley this autumn. First Soyoung Kim hiked beyond it to Kearsarge Pass. Now, Mark Harding shows a wriggling strip of color climbing Independence Creek.
Hiking out of Onion Valley is considered to be epic. Modern Hiker describes the hike from Onion Valley to Mount Whitney as a long hike that allows the hiker to experience some of the best high country in both Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, avoiding the brutal climb from Whitney Portal.
Most readers of California Fall Color are not out for as big a hike as the one from Onion Valley affords, though the drive up to Onion Valley Campground is one that introduces an alpine experience without the effort. And, the twisting ascent to the campground (top picture) is the sort of narrow, fragile climb experienced classically in the Alps by struggling cyclists. It is a vicarious layer to be peeled from this onion.
- Onion Valley (9,600′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Big Pine Creek (7,660′) – Past Peak, You Missed It.
- Whitney Portal (8,374′) – Past Peak, You Missed it.
I’m confused About big pine creek, there was a previous article posted on October 11 saying that it’s still patchy, and now four days later we have missed it! So what is the deal?…
Big Pine Creek can be beautiful, as shown on 10/4/14 (Patchy), 10/13/15 (Peak) and 10/3/17 (Patchy), but it gets very few reports or photographs, as the groves are small.
So, we depend upon the comments submitted by experienced spotter/photographers and when one says it’s Past Peak, despite it being reported as Patchy earlier, we accept the reported without corroborating photos. As, the logic is: if it was worth photographing, the spotter would have done so.
In this case, it’s well around the time Big Pine Creek should be peaking or past peak, so we didn’t contest the report. However, if photos arrive showing otherwise, we will update its status.
Also, always consider that one spotter’s Past Peak is another spotter’s Peak.