The Redwood Highway between Willits and Laytonville (10/26/14) Walter Gabler
Color spotter Walter Gabler traveled the Redwood Highway between Ukiah and Fortuna in search of fall color.
The Redwood Highway between Willits and Laytonville (10/26/14) Walter Gabler
Wild Cucumber, Redwood Highway (10/26/14) Walter Gabler
Walt reported the color was beautiful, though spotty along US 101. He said the best color is seen between Willits and Ukiah, near the highway, but it is patchy. Brilliant yellow, chartreuse, orange and lime are seen in the bigleaf maple, black oak and wild cucumber.
The Redwood Highway – US 101 (Patchy – 10 – 50%) – Color is spotty along the highway with the best color showing between Ukiah and Willits.
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William Land Park, Sacramento [iPhone or Nikon? – You Guess] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
For a Monday morning live segment on Sacramento’s KCRA-TV3 about CaliforniaFallColor, I spent Saturday exploring Sacramento County.
Mormon Island Wetland (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
Mormon Island Wetland (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
Plaza Park, Fair Oaks [iPhone] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
Plaza Park, Fair Oaks [Nikon] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
40th Ave., [iPhone] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
40th Ave. [Nikon] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
William Land Park, Sacramento [iPhone] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
William Land Park, Sacramento [Nikon] (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
The color was patchy, though still beautiful with chartreuse sycamore and yellow and lime cottonwood throughout the County. Patchy fall color can be as lovely as full peak. Also, photographing fall color need not be about the grand landscape, it can also be about little places.
For this assignment, I carried two cameras, a Nikon D700 with Nikkor 28 – 300 3.5F AF lens and an iPhone 5S using Ollo Clip lenses (wide angle, fisheye and telephoto with polarizer). I’ve been experimenting with the iPhone on travel writing assignments.
Images shot with an iPhone photographs are not as sharp as with a full frame digital camera like the Nikon. Admittedly, I did not use a tripod which would have improved sharpness. And, the softness seen in these is exaggerated, because I used in-app filters. I use Adobe Photoshop’s iPhone app to filter my photos, as the resulting images are remarkably appealing.
I began Saturday’s trek in Folsom. While transiting town to US 50, I spotted golden crested cottonwood at Mormon Island Wetlands and pulled over to the curb on Sophia Parkway, shooting these two images with the Nikon while standing inside the Folsom city limits, proving that it isn’t necessary to drive hundreds of miles to find dramatic landscapes. They’re all around us when we’re observant.
Fair Oaks is a gentrified rural village outside Sacramento where roosters crow and have the run of town. None would cooperate for these photos of Plaza Park.
The American River has valley oak and black cottonwood that are still Just Starting.
The Fabulous 40s are tree-lined residential avenues in East Sacramento with landmark London Plane Trees (towering sycamore) creating canopies of leaf-heavy branches. The scene is lovely though overwhelming, so I sat on the curb to put the scene in perspective by photographing a pile of leaves in the foreground.
William Land Park is Sacramento’s great central park, with a golf course, zoo, children’s fairytale town, ponds, lawns and lots of trees. There are so many varieties of trees, that the color changes gradually from mid October through Thanksgiving day.
To confuse the conversation further, color spotter Sharon Chew provides this photo shot with her HTC Android phone of the boulevard of near peak liquidambar along Pocket Rd. at Greenhaven in southwest Sacramento.
Patchy – Sacramento County (10 – 50%) – Cottonwood and sycamore are showing lime, yellow and chartreuse throughout Sacramento County. Still, way short of nearing peak, though lovely none the less.
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Indian Summer, Hot Springs Mountain (10/25/14) Scott Turner
Modern Hiker’s Scott Turner traveled out to Hot Springs Mountain in eastern San Diego County, yesterday to provide these images of the color change there and to inspire this article on Indian Summer.
Black Oak, Hot Springs Mountain (10/25/14) Scott Turner
Black Oak, Hot Springs Mountain (10/25/14) Scott Turner
Hot Springs Mountain is located on an Indian rancheria in eastern San Diego County. It’s a beautiful place, though remote, not very accessible and therefore not the kind of location most color spotters would venture.
That’s one reason we like Scott’s report so much. He repoted that black oaks are a lot further along than he thought they’d be. There’s a large mixed forest of oaks and pine on Hot Springs Mountain that are near peak.
Continuing to the Laguna Mountains, he found the higher elevations as patchy. Palomar Mountain and Julian are also patchy. Scott plans to visit them again next Friday and promises another report with photos.
Scott’s photographs of the hazy air hanging over Hot Springs Mountain on an Indian reservation made me wonder how Indian summer got its name. The answer may not be what you think it is.
What appears to be a well-researched report in The Mountain Eagle says the condition of dry, hazy weather in October and early November dates back to the 18th century in the United States.
Some believe the term evolved from the fact that native Americans would hunt then, as it was Indians practice to burn off underbrush for easier collection of acorns, a vital source of nourishment, accentuating the hazy and smoky atmosphere. The open forest also made it easier to hunt animals.
The Mountain Eagle said there’s an entirely different explanation, that has nothing to do with native Americans. During the 1800s, clipper ships were able to carry the heaviest when crossing the Indian Ocean during “Indian Summer,” as it was the fairest season of the year. To maximize what they could carry in their holds, the sailing ships would even mark “I.S.” on their hulls as the maximum load level thought safe to sail the Indian Ocean during Indian Summer.
Whatever the origin of the term, it is a pleasant time of year spent, most pleasantly, outdoors enjoying fall color.
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Color spotter Janek U wrote that he traveled to the Eastern Sierra from Orange County, yesterday, stopping twice along the way along US 395. We receive many reports from Bishop Creek Canyon and points north, but were most interested on his report of what he saw south of Bishop, as few spotters have reported about those areas (tip: the fastest way to get a photo or report posted is for it to be about an area from which we don’t receive many reports).
Janek reported that at Lone Pine, he drove up to Whitney Portal. “There is some color on the peaks on the way up but they are too remote. There are also some groves of aspens near the road but there aren’t too many trees. He continued north to Bishop Creek Canyon finding the last of the color at Aspendell, noting that “The tops of some trees are beginning to turn red.”
It’s truly remarkable that the color there continues to show, even though winds over 20 mph were blowing.
Lone Pine (US 395) – (Peak to Past Peak) – Stands of color are seen high up in the Eastern Sierra.
Aspendell, Bishop Creek Canyon (Peak to Past Peak) – Brilliant color continues to survive, despite winds above 20 mph. For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been reporting the color would last only a few days. Reports of its death are beginning to sound “Twainian.”
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Quite a bit of color developed in the Shasta Cascade this past week, with three of its eight counties now almost Near Peak. The Shasta Cascade straddles the Southern Cascade and Northern Sierra mountains, which have shared foliage, though different wildlife.
The gorgeous photograph taken by Joel Rathje (above) shows the diversity of color now developing in the forests of northeastern California. The Shasta Cascade’s show is more subtle and painterly with brushes of yellow bigleaf maple, rosey dogwood, burnt umber California buckeye, orange-yellow black oak, golden cottonwood, chartreuse wild cucumber, orange-red Indian rhubarb and burgundy Oregon grape.
Bizz Johnson Trail (10/19/14) Stan Bales
Lassen County (Near Peak 50%-75%) Lassen County has begun to show vibrant yellows bigleaf maple and red dogwood. The Bizz Johnson trail is flanked with fall colors. GO NOW!
Greenville (10/14/14) Jeff Titcomb
Plumas County (Near Peak 50%-75%) If you plan to see Plumas County at peak, don’t wait much longer. Plumas is near peak with vibrant red and yellow scattered throughout the county. Quincy is at peak. See “Comments” for a guide to touring Plumas County. GO NOW!
Siskiyou County (Near Peak 50%-75%) With cooler weather descending into Northern California, Siskiyou County should also be at peak by Halloween. The color is particularly impressive when set against the backdrop of snow-covered Mt. Shasta which received a few inches within the past week. GO NOW!
Anderson (10/19/14) Brittany Pozek
Shasta County (Patchy 10%-50%) Shasta County is seeing patches of red and orange throughout the county. Most trees are starting to change and, with cooler weather making its way in, they are expected to peak at the end of October. Most trees in the Anderson area are still green with patches of red and yellow. Big changes are predicted in the next two weeks.
Aspen, Lassen County (10/14/14) Joel Rathje
Trinity County (Patchy 10%-50%) Trinity County is almost at near peak and predicted to show in early November. The historic town of Weaverville on Hwy 299 is a favorite fall color destination, with yellow bigleaf maple and chartreuse wild cucumber along the Trinity River.
Tehama County (Patchy 10%-50%) Tehama should be at near peak by the end of the month. River towns such as Cottonwood and Red Bluff are now having their riparian parks populated with reds and yellow oaks and willows.
Bidwell Park, Chico (10/19/14) Amanda Secrest
Butte County (Patchy 10%-50%) The urban forests of Chico are almost near peak. Chico’s Bidwell Park, the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, walnut orchards along Hwy 99 and the foothill community of Paradise are prime locations to see peak around Halloween.
Modoc County (Patchy 10%-50%) Modoc County approaching near peak. Locals are predicting it will peak in early November. Cooling temperatures have intensified early shows of vibrant yellow and red.
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Despite the warning, Greg Newbry shot this near June Lake anyway (10/19/14) Greg Newbry
June Lake Loop (10/19/14) Alicia Vennos
June Lake Loop (10/21/14) Steve Wolfe
June Lake Loop (10/21/14) Steve Wolfe
Lee Vining Canyon (10/21/14) Steve Wolfe
Mono County color spotter Alicia Vennos reports that fall color continues to explode in Mono County and predicts it should hold for at least another weekend, barring storms or high winds.
Today, Eastern Sierra color spotter Steve Wolfe left Bishop Creek Canyon to drive north along U.S. 395. He confirmed what Alicia’s been saying, that aspen up Lundy Canyon, along the June Lake Loop and in Lee Vining Canyon are, surprisingly, still full in many places, with at- or past-peak, “Go Now!” colors.
Steve predicted that “with weather due to warm up about 10 degrees for the next few days, the color should continue to hold at least until the end of the week. The color north of Bridgeport and south of Walker River is at- or past-peak, too, with yellow, orange and the occasional red.”
He wrote that “Lundy Canyon, while not as spectacular as June Lake Loop in its variety and intensity of color, is still uniformly yellow, with some green hanging in there. Lee Vining also has brilliant, full aspen stands.”
Lower Rock Creek Road (Near Peak – 50 – 75%) The lower trail is finally turning and should be close to peak this weekend.
Convict Lake (Peak to Past Peak) – “Ambush at the Lake” the Convict Lake Resort’s annual fall fishing derby is running now through Nov. 15, with cash and resort prizes. Morrison’s Bonus Derby Weekend is Oct. 31 – Nov. 2, 2014. For more about these events, contact Convict Lake Resort at 800-992-2260 or www.ConvictLake.com. GO NOW!
Mammoth Lakes (Peak to Past Peak) – GO NOW!
June Lake Loop (10/19/14) Greg Newbry
June Lake Loop (Peak – 75 – 100%) – The June Lake Loop/Hwy. 158 is particularly beautiful from Gull Lake, “down canyon” to Grant Lake. GO NOW!
Little Walker Lake (10/19/14) Alicia Vennos
Walker Lake (Peak – 75 – 100%) From the north end of the June Lake Loop/Hwy. 158, Little Walker Lake (Walker Lake on the Google Map) is peaking at lake level, and should hold through the weekend. Alicia Vennos provides this advice on how to get there: the trailhead is the only public access (you cannot drive to the lake on Walker Lake Rd. as that end of the lake is private). Find the trailhead at the end of Sawmill Canyon Rd. On the Fall Color Map, it doesn’t look that close to the lake but you just walk up a short incline from the parking lot, and you can look right down on the lake. GO NOW!
Lower Tioga Road (10/19/14) Alicia Vennos
Lee Vining Canyon (Peak – 75 – 100%) – Groves at the base of Tioga Pass Rd./Hwy. 120 just north of the US 395 junction in Lee Vining Canyon are just turning now while along Poole Plant Road, the color is peaking and again should be amazing this weekend, as well. GO NOW!
Lower Lundy Lake Road (Peak – 75 – 100%) Lower Lundy Lake Rd. is rich in color — definitely peaking. GO NOW!
Sonora Pass (Peak to Past Peak) Sonora Pass and Leavitt Meadows are also glowing, with some areas and stands past peak. Autumn rides through the trees are still available at the Leavitt Meadows Pack Station: text (preferred) or leave a message at (775) 450-0014. GO NOW!
Walker River (Patchy – 10 – 50%) – The drive along the West Walker River in north county is becoming golden as the trees and willows along the shore get increasingly brighter.
Walker, Coleville, Topaz (Patchy – 10 – 50%) – Spots of bright yellow and lime are seen among the Antelope Valley’s stands of black cottonwood.
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Yosemite National Park public information staffer Ashley Mayer reports that the famed exotic sugar maple beside the Yosemite Chapel has shed most of its ruby leaves and sections of the Tioga Road are now past peak. Isolated stands of yellow aspen can be seen from the Tioga Road down Tenaya Canyon.
Tenaya Lake (10/20/14) Darryl Chew
Tioga Road (10/20/14) Sharon Chew
The color is descending toward Yosemite Valley. There, black oak, dogwood and bigleaf maple have not yet begun to show much color, though the area surrounding Fern Spring at the west entrance to the valley is the first to brighten. Fern spring is a popular location for still life photography of mottled yellow, orange and burnt umber bigleaf maple leaves sprinkled across the black clear water of the spring.
In the heart of Yosemite Valley, the black oak are still green, though they approach peak at Halloween and their black branches are typically dressed in bold orange leaves by the first of November.
Color spotters Sharon Tan, and Darryl and Sharon Chew sent photos of their visit to Yosemite, yesterday.
Tioga Road, Yosemite National Park (Peak to Past Peak) – Aspen at the highest elevations have lost color, though those near 7.000′ still show yellow. Willows and shrubs are showing gold and crimson.
Bigleaf Maple (10/20/14) Sharon Chew
Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park (Patchy – 10 – 50%) – Orange black oak, rose-colored dogwood, golden black cottonwoods and cadmium yellow bigleaf maple are only beginning to show their coming beauty. Look for Yosemite Valley to be lovely the last week of October and first two weeks of November (weather permitting). The sugar maple near the Yosemite Chapel peaks in early October, and like its New England brethren bursts forth in a very short color display. It peaks so quickly that even residents of Yosemite Valley will miss seeing the color, if they don’t pass the chapel within a few days of peak. Our recommendation: plan a trip to Yosemite the first week of November.
Color spotter Steve Wolfe reports that aspen in the small Bishop Creek Canyon (Eastern Sierra) town of Aspendell and its surrounding area “survived this past week’s wind and are still pretty full, at peak and a bit beyond.”
A plus is that green is still showing here and there, indicating that the color will last another few days. We suggest readers compare these shots to those Steve provided last week, to see how much it has changed.
East of Aspendell (10/20/14) Steve Wolfe
Steve concludes that “Aspendell is definitely the place to go for what remains of spectacular fall colors” up Bishop Creek Canyon.
Eel River (unknown date) mlhradio, Flickr Creative Commons
The Save The Redwoods League reported on its Facebook page this past Friday that “the redwood forest is ablaze with color.”
So, we called color spotter Grant Roden at Elk Meadow Cabins. Grant is a naturalist/guide located at Orick near Redwood National and State Parks. He said the color has peaked at Elk Meadow, though he’s heard that spots along The Redwood Highway (U.S. 101) are peaking, as this photo from the Save The Redwoods League website shows.
Because the elevations in the North Coast are consistent, the color descends much as it does in New England, by latitude along the coast starting at Del Norte County, then descending to Humboldt and eventually Mendocino County. North Coast vineyards, of course, go off on their own schedule by grape variety, and many are peaking, now.
Elk Rut, Elk Meadow Cabins (File Photo) Rick E Martin
Grant said the elk rut, this past September, was one of the most spectacular in recent memory. He said he could hardly get out the Elk Meadow Cabins front office door for the battles occurring between bull elk on the lawn surrounding the lodge. The rut is one of the most colorful, fascinating and exciting wildlife events to occur annually in California. It’s certainly worth planning a trip to see, next September.
Also of note is that the return of moist weather to the North Coast has become an unexpected attraction, with drought-parched Californians reveling in the rain.
The Redwood Highway (Peak – 75 – 100%) – We’re asking North Coast spotters to confirm this report by sending photos.
Redwood National and State Parks (Past Peak) – YOU MISSED IT!
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Volunteers cleaned up Lake Gregory’s shoreline this past weekend (10/19/14) Michelle Fox
We received a comment from Cindy, a color spotter, that she was disappointed with the color to be seen at Lake Gregory this past weekend, reporting that it didn’t match the rest of the San Bernardino Mountain’s peak billing.
So, we investigated, communicating with Michelle Fox at Lake Gregory who provides these photos. A group of local volunteers were at the lake doing a volunteer, end-of-summer, shore cleanup when Michelle photographed the scene. Bravo to all those who volunteered their Sunday to keep Lake Gregory pristine.
Michelle agrees that the color will continue to develop (weather permitting), whereas other areas of the San Bernardino mountains have been shown as peaking, perhaps because Lake Gregory is one of the lower elevations in the mountains. Still, it’s a beautiful place with delicate color.
Lake Gregory (Patchy – 10 – 50%) – Oaks and other deciduous trees surrounding the lake have been slowly developing their color since first reported on Oct. 5. Unlike higher elevations in the San Bernardino Mountains, Lake Gregory has not neared peak and will continue to develop color in coming weeks.
Lake Hemet (Just Starting – 0 – 10%) – A report from Lake Hemet states that little color has yet developed in the San Jacinto Mountains. On the basis of that report, we’ve downgraded the San Jacintos and ranges to the south, to Just Starting. Reports and photos from the San Jacintos, Mt. Laguna, Julian and Mt. Palomar are appreciated.
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says the condition of dry, hazy weather in October and early November dates back to the 18th century in the United States.
