,

Eastern Sierra Upper Canyons Explode

McGee Creek (10/10/15) Leor Pantilat

McGee Creek (10/11/15) Leor Pantilat

Color spotters Leor Pantilat and Steven and Maddie Noiseux traveled to McGee Creek and Rock Creek in the Eastern Sierra this past weekend and sent back these photos and reports.

McGee Creek (10/10/15) Leor Pantilat

McGee Creek (10/11/15) Leor Pantilat

McGee Creek (10/10/15) Leor Pantilat

McGee Creek (10/11/15) Leor Pantilat

McGee Creek (10/10/15) Leor Pantilat

McGee Creek (10/11/15) Leor Pantilat

Rock Creek (10/10/15) Maddie Noiseux

Rock Creek (10/10/15) Maddie Noiseux

Rock Creek (10/10/15) Maddie Noiseux

Rock Creek (10/10/15) Maddie Noiseux

As we predicted last week, Rock Creek was peaking, as was McGee. Steven Noiseux said, Rock Creek “Looks to be peak color now. The lake was past peak with barren trees.”

Pantilat wrote, “I have been to many of the typical hot spots for color in the Eastern Sierra the past couple weeks and the best color right now in my opinion is in the McGee Creek drainage.

“The color is peaking from the trailhead and is virtually continuous for the first 4 miles of the trail when it begins to transition to a pine forest at the beaver pond.”

Leor confirmed what we’ve reported that, “As one travels north, the color becomes more hit and miss with a lot of stripped aspen that prematurely dropped leaves. This is especially the case in the Twin Lakes/Bridgeport area under 8,000 feet. Above 8,000 feet I found an excellent peaking grove near Barney Lake.”

Lake Sabrina (10/8/15) Cuong Diep

Lake Sabrina (10/8/15) Cuong Diep

Color spotter Jaded Jennifer writes, “Just got back from the Eastern Sierra last night.  Conway Summit was half down and half peak.  Bishop Creek Canyon at South Lake was absolutely gorgeous, but again trees were half down.  June Lake only needs a few more days and it will peak.  Lots of color around the loop but mostly lemony and butter yellows.  The loop between Grant lake and Silver Lake had more color.  Convict Lake had some good color.  Lots of color still left at Virginia lakes at the actual lake.”

Most importantly she concluded, “Had a blast!”

Peak GO NOW! Above 8,000′ in all upper Eastern Sierra canyons.

4 replies
  1. Kim says:

    Thank you so much for the current updates! My family and I are thinking of taking a trip to see fall leaves in the Sierra this Saturday-Monday. We are concerned by the upcoming weather (rain forecast) and how that will affect the fall leaves… will there still be much to see after the rain? Will it be worth driving 7+ hours? Also, my parents are old, and my mom especially cannot walk well. I was wondering if the photos posted on this site require hiking, and if so, how long the hikes were and the level of difficulty. Would we be able to see many of them from the road in the car? Will you have another posting tomorrow or Friday? I know I asked tons of questions. I hope you can answer them for me! Thanks a bunch!!! 🙂

    • John Poimiroo says:

      The photos pretty much speak for themselves. The color at June Lake is spectacular. June Lake is a long drive anywhere from So. Cal or No. Cal, so it’s an overnight trip for most. Nearly all the fall color in the Eastern Sierra is beside highways and roads. That’s what’s so great about it. You can drive right to it. Only those trails that we describe as hikes are away from the road. June Lake is particularly easy, since all the color is directly beside state highways that are lightly traveled. There’s enough fall color at June, that if you are worried about weather this weekend, then go next week or the week after. When we report GO NOW! the color is ready to see and won’t last long, so it’s your call as to whether to go or not. Rain does not necessarily ruin color, though it can, particularly when followed by freezing temps. We post as soon as we get reports and can get to the keyboard. Some take longer to post because they’re not logical or documented, but we check those out. Good luck and have fun! Hope you get to see the color before it falls.

    • John Poimiroo says:

      Absolutely. They will make it to December. It just depends on where. If you mean June Lake, yes. If you mean Rock Creek, no. If you mean Sacramento… I was just there and it’ll be two to three more weeks before peak.

Comments are closed.