Fowl Idea
Here’s a fowl idea. Between waiting for fall color to descend through the foothill canyons to lower elevations, fill the time enjoying the fall migration of water fowl and their predators to California’s Central Valley.
Robert Kermen spent yesterday among sandhill cranes, great blue heron, egrets and a watchful redtail hawk near Nelson.
He writes, “With the flooding of the harvested rice checks, rodents are forced above ground where blue herons, red tail hawks, kestrels and other predators gobble them up.”
“Also seen are magnificent sandhill cranes, that even this late in the season can be seen going through courtship displays.”
If you stay until dusk, you’ll see them flying in at sunset to roost overnight in shallow ponds or on islands protected from predators by natural moats.
- Central Valley Wildlife Refuges (birdwatching) (50′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
All The Leaves Are Down
All the leaves are down
And the sky’s not gray
I’ve been for a walk
On an autumn day
I’d be seeing Patchy
If I was in L.A.California dreamin’
— apologies to The Mamas and the Papas
On such a late fall day …
Michael Beatley walked past a church on his hike to Boyle Ravine in Quincy yesterday morning, if he passed Community United Methodist along the way.
Boyle Ravine (First Report) provides outdoor learning for students at nearby Quincy Elementary School (What a great idea. Every school oughta have outdoor learning nearby). It’s at the end of Coburn St. and has been newly added to the California Fall Color map.
There, you’ll find the faded glory of bigleaf maple, Pacific dogwood, black oak, alder, fern, violas, cedar, pine and fir trees along the forest trail.Looks like we’ll have to do some California dreamin’ about visiting it next autumn.
- Boyle Ravine, Quincy (3,342′) – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT.
On Track To Great Fall Color
Along the Upper Sacramento River between Dunsmuir and the city of Mt. Shasta (I-5), you can hike beside railroad tracks laid by the pioneer Central Pacific RR to waterfalls, fabulous fly fishing and peak fall color.
Phillip Reedy and a fishing buddy hiked to fish the river on Friday, but “Not wanting to have our camera gear take a bath, we decided not to wade across the river and instead hiked along the railroad tracks from Shasta Way in Dunsmuir to Mossbrae falls,” discovering “great fall color and views of Mt. Shasta along the tracks, although we had to clear off of the tracks at one point to let a long freight train pass by.”
Phil estimates this is likely the last opportunity to see peak color between Dunsmuir and the city of Mt. Shasta. “The trees still look great near Dunsmuir but are dropping leaves rapidly. Closer to Mt. Shasta at Cantera Loop the trees are mostly bare.”
South of Dunsmuir, north of the I-5 fire area, the mountainsides are still very colorful with scrub oak. Though, overall fall color in the mountains of northern California is “dwindling rapidly, so it’s time to look to lower elevations”
He said the hike to Mossbrae Falls (near the bedroom community of Shasta Springs) and the falls themselves are beautiful and worth the effort. A shorter hike from a parking area in Dunsmuir leads to Hedge Creek Falls, nearing the end of their peak.
Dunsmuir is a town that loves trees and trains.
Dogwood Daze, held annually in late May, is a friendly, homespun event with pancake breakfast, pie social, doggie parade, soapbox derby, homemade crafts and a well-timed realtor’s open house. No doubt a number of out-of-towners were enticed to buy a second home in Dunsmuir after experiencing the small-town, innocent fun of Dogwood Daze.
The Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens in the town park is full of native white dogwood (Pacific Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii) which, though now past peak, carried heavy loads of red and rose-colored leaves this past month. Locals remain proud of a 1924 visit by major leaguers Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel who played an exhibition game in the park during a barnstorming tour by rail that stopped in Dunsmuir.
This railroad town is used to welcoming visitors. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight stops there, daily. Visitors can dine in an opulent dining car at the Dunsmuir Railroad Park Resort, or stay overnight in one of several cabooses (much warmer and inviting than described in the previous post).
- Mossbrae Falls, Shasta City (2,529′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Hedge Creek Falls, Dunsmuir (2,490′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Dunsmuir (2290′) – Peak to Past Peak, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT.
- Mt Shasta City (3,586′) – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT.
All Aboard!
The sound of the Dixiana’s mournful steam whistle piercing through the redwoods and resounding off surrounding hills is one that’s dear to my heart.
I worked for a year at the Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, in the redwood forested Santa Cruz Mountains. My office was an ancient narrow-gauge caboose that sat on a siding beside the main track to Bear Mountain and near the historic Welch grove of redwoods, the first preserved in California.
The first hour of each morning was spent getting the caboose warm by stoking its tiny iron stove with small splits of wood, the cabin filling with the smells of smoke, printer’s ink and hot coffee. We wore mittens and sweaters inside until the first shafts of sunlight would find their way through the chilly redwood canopy to warm the car.
By the time the chug and toot of the approaching Dixiana could be heard, we were taking off sweaters and walking across freshly raked decomposed granite paths to the depot to greet arriving passengers.
In autumn, the luminescent leaves of Western sycamore, bigleaf maple and black oak that grew near the depot would litter the tine-scored paths with spots of orange, yellow and gold.
Once the Dixie departed for her journey up the mountain, her long, throaty whistle could be heard echoing through the woods as she climbed … a fond memory that is as fresh as the color seen above in the black oak canopy arching over the train.
- Roaring Camp Railroads, Felton (285′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
- Patchen Pass at Summit Road (CA-17) (1,814′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Boulder Creek (479′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Gone Big in Big Pine
Cottonwood cannot be overlooked in the Owens Valley. They’re just too big.
Color spotter Mark Harding was driving US 395 through Big Pine on Tuesday when he could hardly stop looking up, and it wasn’t the views of Mt. Whitney that caught his eye.
Frémont and black cottonwood (Populus Fremontii and Populus trichocarpa) each grow to 100 feet in height in the Eastern Sierra.
A landmark Frémont cottonwood can be as tall as an 11-story building and five feet wide at its base.
Their limbs are loaded with golden leaves at peak and, with little else as tall in the Owens Valley, elder cottonwood dominate the valley horizon.
The most pronounced difference between each genus is its leaves. Frémont cottonwood have heart-shaped leaves, while those of the black cottonwood are spear-tip shaped.
Those in Mark’s pictures are Near Peak, though cottonwood hold their leaves longer than aspen, so they will continue to stay bright for another two weeks.
Cottonwood growing nearby in the Alabama Hills have peaked in January, proving a durability that just cannot be overlooked.
- Big Pine (3,989′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
The Eye of the Beholder
A proverb restated since the third century, B.C., is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
One might look at Mark Harding’s photographs of June Lake, post peak, and see nothing but gray, bare limbs.
Mark recognized the beauty within the austerity of the forest.
Just because an object, a plant or a person is worn, past peak or aging does not mean it is without beauty, character or interest as Mark so artistically depicts in his photographs.
- June Lake Loop (7,654′) – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT. Or, did you?
Private Waters
The Fly Shop in Redding operates streamside fishing cabins on private waters. That might sound exclusive, but visiting them is as easy as staying at one of their lodges, whether you’re an angler or not.
Shasta Cascade color spotter Martha Fletcher was at The Fly Shop’s Hat Creek Ranch and found its two streamside vacation cabins shaded by yellow bigleaf maples.
Nearby, “the creek offers meadow fishing with undercut banks and willows that offer just enough cover to keep the fish happy, but not so overgrown that an angler can’t present a fly to one of the numerous trout that rise consistently throughout the day. PMD, BWO, Caddis, Stoneflies, Midges, Hoppers and other assorted Terrestrials and even streamer patterns, all have their time and place during the many seasons of Hat Creek.
“Hat Creek is noted for the vibrancy of its aquatic life. Top water action is prevalent every day of the season, and opportunities abound for nymph and streamer fishing as well. There are fish of all sizes in this stretch of river, and patient anglers, who take the time to stalk their quarry and make a good presentation, can sight-cast to some real bruisers,” The Fly Shop writes.
As for Hat Creek Ranch’s fall color, it appears to be dropping off.
- Hat Creek Ranch (3,422′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
It Was Beautiful While It Lasted
Mono County color spotter Jeff Simpson’s final report just arrived. He wrote, “One of the most spectacular fall color seasons in recent memory is slowly coming to an end.
“Most locations in Mono County are now past peak with the exception of Lower Rock Creek Trail, the West Walker River and the towns of Walker, Coleville and Topaz. “All these locations are at full peak and will have good color for the next five days or so.”
A few groves along the June Lake Loop and in Lundy Canyon still carry bright color, though mostly across Mono County … YOU MISSED IT.
C’mon, Jeff. We expect treats on Halloween, not tricks. Ah well, it was beautiful while it lasted.
- Walker Canyon (5,200′) Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT! – Great color remains along the banks of the West Walker River, with some sections Past Peak. The best color is located near Mountain Gate Park closer to Walker.
- Walker, Coleville and Topaz (5,403′) Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – A towering boulevard of gorgeous, peaking cottonwood lines US-395 and should remain stunning through the end of the week. Topaz Lake is at full peak and has beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
- Lower Rock Creek Road (7,087′) Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT! – Lower Rock Creek near Paradise is still carrying nice color. A few peaking aspen can still be enjoyed along the Lower Rock Creek Trail. It’s now Past Peak above Tom’s Place.
- Crowley Lake Community 6,949′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!
It was beautiful while it lasted.
Happy on the Klamath
Near Happy Camp, west of Yreka, on the Klamath River, Phillip Reedy found happiness floating, fishing and photographing fall color.
Phillip wrote of his first day on the river, “my fishing buddies had little patience for photography and I never even got to stop and take any pictures.”
Fortunately, the river Gods … that means, his guides, “took pity on me and chose a stretch of the river teeming with color, mostly dogwood, oak and big leaf maple. I spent the morning in the front of the boat taking pictures while my buddy fished out of the back.”
Reedy returned with having bagged his limit of gorgeous fall color and a First Report for the Klamath River.
- Klamath River (1,660′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Mt. Laguna: Sunrise Highway
The Sunrise Highway (S1) – a national scenic byway – travels through the Laguna Mountains east of San Diego.
The road rises from 4000′ to 6000′, making it ideal terrain to see black oak at peak in autumn.
Jean Pan and Dylan Ren drove the highway on Sunday, which is about an hour’s drive from San Diego, reporting that “the leaves are looking really nice!”
“Between mile marker 21-26, there are a lot of black oaks at both sides of the road.” Jean said, recommending stops at the Laguna/El Prado campground and the Morris Ranch road area whose small loop near the visitor center which she said has the best color.
Since Jean and Dylan rated the highway as now being at Peak, I’m urging to GO NOW. As, I can’t recall the Laguna Mountains lasting more than a week at peak, due to the dry conditions and small band of peak color.
Not identified on the highway is a scenic overlook at the summit of Mt. Laguna. To reach it, turn right past the Desert View picnic area and continue up the mountain ’til the road ends, SoCalRegion.com recommends.
There are no services along the route, which was first built in the 1920s, though are found at Lake Cuyamaca and Pine Valley. There’s also a general store and restaurant at Mt. Laguna.
- Sunrise Highway, Laguna Mountains, San Diego County (5,623′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!