High Sierra Surprise: Full Peak – GO NOW!
Weir Pond (9/24/15) Jared Smith
After posting Mono County’s report this morning, I anticipated the arrival of Jared Smith’s report from Bishop Creek Canyon in the Eastern Sierra. I sensed he would report Near Peak at Surveyor’s Meadow, but was blown away by the news that color has changed rapidly in the past few days, pushing all areas above Mt. Glen Campground to full Peak.
Therefore, CaliforniaFallColor.com is issuing its first GO NOW! alerts of autumn (just a day after the autumnal equinox). When we issue these alerts, do not delay getting to the locations identified as Near Peak or Peaking, as the turned leaves are very fragile and can be blown away. In this instance, there is such a mix of color that it should last a while, though our advice is… GO NOW!
Here’s Jared’s report:
Overall Conditions Above 8500ft Elevation
Surveyor’s Meadow (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – What a difference a week makes! Color has exploded up Bishop Creek Canyon at higher elevations, with Lake Sabrina, North Lake and anything on the South Fork above Mt. Glen Campground peaking.
Jared says he’s noticing some odd transitioning occurring. “Where usually entire groves change together, instead a really cool mix of yellow, orange and red are appearing simultaneously with quite a few stubborn green aspen in the mix.” The color variation is gorgeous though he is rating these areas at Full Peak or at the high end of Near Peak, “as by the time those stubborn green trees turn, the others may have given up their color. We’re certainly in the “Go Now!” zone. If the weather plays ball, the next 7 days will be excellent in the higher reaches of the canyon…hard to say beyond that.”
Overall Conditions Between 7500ft & 8500ft Elevation – Patchy (10% – 50%) – Quite a bit more yellow than last week but still mostly green in areas that we’ll see go off later in the autumn. I would rate this area just above 10% but barely. Some brilliant yellow patches below Mt. Glen Campground, Cardinal Village, Intake II and Mist Falls, but below those spots we’re looking at mostly green.
Weir Pond (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – Weir Pond (9650ft) – Weir is about as good as its going to get this season with brilliant yellow and a bit of orange reflecting off the glass pond. The aspen along the road are still mostly green so there is still a little left to change, but this is pretty much peak photo time if you want to catch the yellow on the hillside and near the inlet.
Sabrina Campground (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – Sabrina Campground (9000ft) – This area is hard to call because even areas close to one another change at slightly different times, but there is peak color right now in large areas along Hwy 168 and just above the campground on the North Lake Rd. Still some green within the campground itself but there is peak color surrounding it.
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – Parchers Resort (9260ft) – Yellow pretty much surrounds the resort on all sides with the groves above Rainbow Meadow on the old trail to South Lake taking the cake as the most brilliant. Groves below the resort in between Parchers and Willow Camp are also looking spectacular.
Near Peak – GO NOW! (50% – 75%) – Willow Campground (9000ft) – The campground is really starting to change but the canyon walls above the to the south of the beaver pond are already exploding with color. I’m still guessing next week will be the best.
Peak – GO NOW!(75% – 100%) – Table Mountain Camp (8900ft) – Lots of color now showing all around the campground as well as below the campground. There is still some green yet to change along the roadway but it likely won’t the best will be seen over the next 7 days tops.
Surveyor’s Meadow (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – Surveyors Meadow (8975ft) – This is probably the most brilliant view along South Lake road with lots of yellow and touches of orange. We’ve lost a little color from those scrub aspen that popped early, but the larger aspen are now showing brilliant color and have brought this area into the “Go Now” zone. I’d expect the next 7 days to be the window for this location to be at its best.
Sabrina Lake (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Sabrina Lake (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – Lake Sabrina (9150ft) – Spectacular views at Lake Sabrina now. This may be closer to the 75% mark than the 100% mark, especially as the approach to the lake still has some ways to go, but not for long. Some rosy red, orange and yellow blanket the shoreline as well as the canyon wall near the lake’s main inlet. Breathtaking morning reflections off the lake despite the lower than normal water level.
North Lake Road (9/24/15) Jared Smith
North Lake Road (9/24/15) Jared Smith
North Lake (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Peak – GO NOW! (75% – 100%) – North Lake (9255ft) – This was an area difficult to grade as areas of the north shore of the lake, the approach to the lake, and the aspen grove near the upper parking lot are all fully peaking. Still yet to peak however are the road just past the lake (one of my favorite views), and the aspen along the west shore. It’s hard to say whether or not this area will have color all at once so I consider this a “go now” scenario as there is peak color to be had and whether it will get much better is hard to say.
Near Peak – GO NOW! (50 – 75%) – Stiny Loop above Mt. Glen Camp (8600ft) – We’re getting pretty close to a peak color situation here with tons of yellow mixed in with lime green.
Groves Above Cardinal Village (9/24/15) Jared Smith
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Mist Falls and the Groves above Bishop Creek Lodge (8350ft) – I almost wanted to call this patchy but alas, only a few yellow trees and some obvious lightening of the aspen at the very crest of the waterfall. This location is always photo-worthy, but not like it will be in 7 to 10 days from now.
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Aspendell (8400ft) – Very few signs of color here right now.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Groves above Cardinal Village (8550ft) – This area actually lost some color over the last report as far as the yellow that was blanketing the east wall of the canyon below Cardinal Pinnacle. The aspen surrounding and below Cardinal Village are starting to lighten up considerably with some nice yellow patches in the mix. Looking for this to get really good in the next week or so.
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Four Jeffries (8000ft) – Nothing but a few yellow branches showing right now. The aspen have lightened considerably though over last week.
Patchy – (10 – 50%) – Intake II (8000ft) – Much of the yellow on the canyon wall is gone, but the color is just starting to develop around the lake with bright lime greens mixed with some patchy yellow.
Just Starting – (0 – 10%) – Big Trees Campground (7800ft) – Nothing but green here right now.
Great update! John — please check your Facebook mailbox. I dropped you a PM.
– Bill
Hi John,
Thanks for this amazing report! My question is out of all these locations, which ones are accessible via car and which ones require hiking?
Suveyor’s, Sabrina, Weir, North Lake, Steiny Loop, etc.
Thanks for any help in advance!
Mumtaz
All are accessible by car. That’s the great thing about the Eastern Sierra. In almost all cases, you can drive right to the color. On North Lake, the North Lake Road can be driven in a normal (non-SUV) automobile, though if you want to continue to the lake, there’s a short hike.
Hi John,
Thank you for the fabulous website! (and info therein……did he really say therein?). I am planning my southern mini “Odyssey” (Bishop) from Reno on Oct 6-10th. I fear I may miss some, if not most, of the splendor of the colors. Could you possibly tell me best place to catch colors this late (…..of course, a “guestimate” I understand). Also best “mini-hikes” under 3 miles to venture out in Bishop, Ca. I have a 4×4 SUV! Thank you, again John!
Stevie Ray
Stevie Ray, Driving south on US395 from Reno is the best possible route to catch the best color that week, as you’ll pass it surely on the way. I’d suggest a definite stop at the June Lake Loop, though also divert up the canyons, as there will likely still be bold color up any of these canyons: Lundy, Lee Vining, Convict Lake, Rock Creek/Hilton Creek, and Bishop Creek. Certainly, you’ll be near the tail end of Bishop Creek, though there’ll still be beautiful color. The week before you go, begin visiting this website and deciding on the places you want to visit. Use the Fall Color map to give you precise locations of the color
Hi – Love your site !
I’m wondering while you disabled the enlarge feature on your beautiful photos ?
They are so incredible when we can see them in the larger format !!
Thanks for all of your hard work.
Hmmm, didn’t know that was disabled. Will check. Thanks. Just checked. WordPress has changed. It used to be this happened automatically. Now, when I load an image, I need to link the image to the file in order for it to enlarge. I just changed the images on the latest posting and will do that on all in the future. Thanks again for alerting me to this.