Weekend Update
Janesville Rd. (10/6/12) Richard McCutcheon
Several color spotters sent weekend photos and reports today. Kathy Levine and Helen Gunter posted photos of Onion Pass, Rock Creek and Hwy 168 (Sabrina Lake) on California Fall Color’s Facebook page.
Janesville Rd., Plumas County (10/6/12) Richard McCutcheon
Kettle Rock, Plumas County (10/6/12) Richard McCutcheon
Richard McCutcheon of Plumas County sent an email reporting that he, “was hunting up in the high country and the colors are coming great. up on the Janesville Rd., from Antelope and on Indian Creek in Plumas County, there are some “great colors” are to be seen.
Sawmill Pass (10/6/12) Dennis Vance
Sawmill Meadow (10/6/12) Dennis Vance
15 – 30% – Sawmill Canyon – Dennis Vance tells us about an exhausting hike to made up the Eastern Sierra’s longest pass, Sawmill Pass which travels “over 13 miles” with a “6,000′ elevation gain.” He writes, “I stopped short of the pass and settled down at the Lake which is just over 10,000′.” To accomplish this, he left the trailhead at 6 a.m. (4,640′) on Thursday morning, Oct. 4 and gained 2,400′ before he dropped into the canyon. What he saw in the deep, riparian stream bed was color changing 15-30%. There were California black oak,quaking aspen, water birch, California rose hip, blue elderberry, several types of ferns and deerbrush. The pines were Jeffrey, foxtail,, silver tip, lodgepole, and limber pine along with white fir.
50 – 75% – Sawmill Meadow (8,400′) – Vance wrote, “Once over the ‘Hogsback,’ I arrived at beautiful Sawmill Meadow at 8,400′. I was overwhelmed with the serenity here. I laid down in a bed of long grass that deer had flattened that morning and fell asleep!”
Upon reaching Sawmill Lake at just over 10,000′, the water is pristine. Mostly granite and Pine. Dennis said, “I saw not one person on this solo 12 hour hike.” More of his photos of the hike are seen on his blogsite at www.inyoportal.blogspot.com.
30 – 50% – Onion Pass, Inyo County (west of Independence)
75 – 100% – Rock Creek, Mono County (south of Mammoth Lakes)
75 – 100% – Sabrina Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon, Inyo County30 – 50% – Janesville Rd., Indian Creek, Plumas County – spots of bright color are to be found in the Northern Sierra.
Sawmill Lake (10/6/12) Dennis Vance
Onion Pass (10/6/12) Kathy Levine
Rock Creek (10/6/12) Kathy Levine
Hwy 168, Sabrina Lake (10/7/12) Helen Gunter