June Lake (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
June Lake Loop (10/13/18) Todd Backman
Grant Lake, June Lake Loop (10/13/18) Todd Backman
It’s time to scream, “GO NOW to June Lake,” as June is busting out all over.
Cell phone snaps sent from Bruce Wendler and Todd Backman show Patchy to Near Peak conditions along the June Lake Loop.
Wendler assessed some stands as Peaking, while others were solidly Near Peak. 
North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
North Lake Rd., Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
North Lake (Bishop Creek Canyon) took a while to move toward peak, then got hot, hot, hot for a week. Now, it is fading fast.
Bruce Wendler said North Lake “still has some charm.” Further down the N. Fork of Bishop Creek, trees are at peak, as is the pond at Aspendell.
Roberto Ferido found the South Fork of Bishop Creek to carry Peak color below 8,500′.
The June Lake Loop is transitioning from Patchy to Near Peak, with lots of color now surrounding Silver Lake in Mono county.
S. Lake Rd., Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Roberto Ferido
S. Lake Rd., Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Roberto Ferido
S. Lake Rd., Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Roberto Ferido
S. Lake Rd., Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Roberto Ferido
Aspendell, Bishop Creek Canyon (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
Rabbitbrush and aspen, McGee Creek, Mono County (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
McGee Creek, Mono County (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
Silver Lake, Mono County (10/13/18) Bruce Wendler
Bigleaf maple, Round Valley (10/13/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Bigleaf maple, Round Valley (10/13/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Bigleaf maple, Round Valley (10/13/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
“Road to Round Valley,” sounds like it should be a country song, doesn’t it?
In my mind, I hear the “Yodeling Blonde Bombshell” Carolina Cotton, singing about losing her first love along that road “when a black oak stole his blackened heart.”
The pain of her loss just makes me saddle sore, though having seen these oaks at peak, I understand how her cowboy’s affections could be stolen so easily.
So, when Jeff Luke Titcomb sent images taken along the “Road to Round Valley” in Plumas County, the black oak, bigleaf maple, California ash and Pacific dogwood he’d photographed had me humming a cowboy melody as Carolina might sing, complete with mournful yodel.
Pacific dogwood, Round Valley (10/13/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
California ash, Round Valley (10/13/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Black oak, Round Valley (10/13/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Jeff writes, “The road to round valley is still waiting for the oaks to change and they still have some time to go. Dogwoods started early but slowed down when the rain came, but now the leaves are just dropping in some places most likely due to months of dry weather.”
The action appears to be among the bigleaf maple, “which are in full color.”
Perhaps in my reverie, Carolina wins her cowboy’s heart again “beneath the spreading branches of granny’s golden maple tree.” Brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?
West Shore, Lake Tahoe (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
Pacific sunset maple, Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
Peak fall color is enveloping Lake Tahoe.
Near Peak color is appearing along North Lake Boulevard (CA-28) in Tahoe City, Carnelian Bay, Tahoe Vista and Kings Beach and along the west shore.
Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), Pacific sunset (Acer truncatum x A. platanoides) and red maple (Acer rubrum) are speckling the shoreline with spots of yellow, orange, red and gold.
Lake Tahoe does not have expansive groves, as seen in the Hope Valley or Eastern Sierra. Though, flashes of gold appear in its meadows, forests and along drainages.
Over Brockway Summit (CA-267), groves along Middle Martis Creek remain peaking to the Martis Valley.
Groves surrounding the much-photographed decaying cabin at Middle Martis Creek (CA-267) are now at the end of their Peak, though there’s still beauty among trees in the meadow surrounding it, which have lost most of their leaves.
Patti Jazanoski found the cabin to be “very fun to shoot around, if you’re in the mood to be creative,”
In Truckee, banks along the Truckee River are forested with peaking willows and Near Peak yellow and lime aspen. Exotic red maple bring intense color to historic downtown Truckee.
And, at the South Shore, Tallac Creek and Taylor Creek (CA-89) are full of Near Peak color.
Tahoe Vista, Lake Tahoe (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
Truckee River, Truckee (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
Truckee (10/11/18) Patti Jaznowski
M. Martis Creek, CA-267 (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
M. Martis Creek, CA-267 (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
M. Martis Creek, CA-267 (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
M. Martis Creek, CA-267 (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
M. Martis Creek, CA-267 (10/11/18) Patti Jazanoski
Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas
Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas
Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas
Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas
Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas
As American as … Apple Hill, Julian and Oak Glen.
These California apple harvest destinations are famous for their cider, pie, strudels, confections and sauce, all made of apples, of course.
Even though the apple pie was invented in England, the following prove that nothing could be truer than the expression “as American as apple pie:”
That’s just the start of why autumn adventures in apple country has become such a tradition for Californians. Presently, fall color is Just Starting, though the apple harvest is happening, and Americans LOVE their apples.
San Bernardino County color spotter Alena Nicholas was there, today, and sent these images, but no apple pie. C’mon, Alena, share the love.
Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas
Black oak, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Indian rhubarb, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
It’s a short hike from CA-89 to Indian Falls. So short, that Jeff Luke Titcomb walked there for a picnic lunch.
Indian Falls is a popular summer swimming hole (be cautious of ankle grabbing rocks), but in autumn it’s a convenient spot for a quick get away.
Black oak (Quercus kelloggii) that have grown between cracks among the boulders like larger bonsai trees, have turned bright red and orange. Mid October is an early Peak for black oak, which is more a Halloween tree.
In comparison, the bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) and Indian rhubarb (Darmera) near the creek are Patchy. Still, it’s worth the hike to see the oaks and enjoy a bit of solitude by Indian Creek.
Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Black oak, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Black oak, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Indian rhubarb, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Indian rhubarb, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Indian rhubarb, Indian Falls (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Kings Creek Meadow, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
Kings Creek Meadow, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
Kings Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
Kings Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
Kings Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
Kings Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
The hike to Kings Creek Falls in Lassen Volcanic National Park begins with lacy meadow grasses that grow throughout Kings Creek Meadow, then it rises through a textural blend of yellow Lemmons willow and a mix of hot pink and scarlet shrubs, to the wispy white falls that are embraced by Tolkienesque-like willow.
If ever there is a middle kingdom in California, it is Lassen Volcanic at this magical time of year.
Shanda Ochs hiked there this week and suggested that there are so many unusual and vibrant plants to see along the trail that one might want to carry a pocket field guide to identify them.
One of the difficulties of identifying plants in the Shasta Cascade is that field guides written for the Sierra Nevada or other parts of Northern California don’t often work.
That’s because the volcanic soil, deep snowfall, climate and other conditions have encouraged the evolution of different native plants than are found in the Klamath range, Sierra Nevada, or nearby Sacramento Valley.
Part of the joy of hiking at Lassen Volcanic and on Mt. Shasta, is that you’re always finding something unexpected and new.
For a guide to the Kings Creek Falls Trail, CLICK HERE.
At Manzanita Lake at the northwest entrance to Lassen Volcanic NP, Shanda said the willow that ring the lake, are “about done, with alder still in change. The cottonwood is also about 75% with some almost bare, to others about half changed.”
It’s always difficult to rate an area when some species have peaked, others are peaking and still others near peak, but we’ll classify it at peak, as it isn’t going backwards.
Kings Creek Falls (7,300′), Lassen Volcanic National Park – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Manzanita Lake (2,900′), Lassen Volcanic National Park – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Kings Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/9/18) Shanda Ochs
Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/10/18) Shanda Ochs
Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP (10/10/18) Shanda Ochs
Sugar maple, Hideaway Rd., Greenville (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Sugar maple, Hideaway Rd., Greenville (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) are sweet to the eye. Perhaps that’s why so many were planted in Plumas County.
This particular specimen sugars the scenery along Hideaway Rd. in Greenville.
Leaves of the sugar maple can evolve in color through a full spectrum from dark green to lime, to yellow-green, to yellow, to yellow-orange, to orange, red and burgundy, during autumn.
Though numerous of the exotic trees have been planted in Quincy, Greenville and other Plumas County towns (Northern Sierra), none seem to have naturalized, leading a UC Davis botanist, with whom we consulted, to conclude that planting one is not likely to interfere with the growth of native trees.
Sugar Maples, Plumas County (3,586′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Onion Valley Rd., Independence (10/11/18) Ursula Esser
Onion Valley Rd., Independence (10/11/18) Ursula Esser
We often advise, “Look down, not just up.”
That’s a difficult thing to do when you’re in the Eastern Sierra, as the mountains draw your attention up to them.
However, if you only look up, you miss the beauty to be seen down upon the high desert floor.
Ursula Esser sends these images of Onion Valley Road in the Owens Valley, with rabbitbrush, shrubs and boulders creating a fall palette of yellow, orange, sage, grey and auburn near Independence.
Independence (3,930′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Onion Valley Rd., Independence (10/11/18) Ursula Esser
Onion Valley Rd., Independence (10/11/18) Ursula Esser
Onion Valley Rd., Independence (10/11/18) Ursula Esser
Man, what a view!, Big Bear (10/9/18) Steve Shinn
Frémont cottonwood are Near Peak at Big Bear (above), where fields of yellow rubber rabbitbrush lead up to the golden-orange trees. Color spotter Steve Shinn laments that, “What the fires didn’t get our crazy weather and lack of rain did.”
Nonetheless, bigleaf maple at Big Bear and quaking aspen at Aspen Grove Trail are also peaking, Black oak are still Just Starting.