Yosemite is Back

Yosemite National Park reopened to day visitation yesterday and both Steve Arita and Adarsh Dattani were there to record its beauty.

Steve reports the fall colors are beautiful with peak black oak, bigleaf maple and emerging Fremont cottonwood. A few dogwood still carry rosy leaves, though they are the exception.

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As is typical of autumn, the Merced River was just a trickle, though rain is expected to fall on Friday. Once it does, it will recharge the waterfalls. Snow is a possibility, which would be beautiful should it drop as low as the valley (4,000′) and frost the gold and orange fall color with white.

Steve marveled at the alpenglow. When you live in the valley for as many years as I did, you learn to wait for the alpenglow (the refraction of sunset light through the upper atmosphere) to paint El Capitan and Half Dome pink. Sunsets are best enjoyed in Yosemite Valley by facing east, not west, in order to see this effect.

American black bear were out foraging in the Valley. They are often active in autumn and more easily seen because shrubbery doesn’t disguise them as much.

Dattani found dogwood to be at Peak higher up and just turning red in the Valley (later than usual). Bigleaf maple are now Past Peak. Cottonwood are colored lemon and lime, while the black oak are blushing orange.

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Yosemite is a definite GO NOW and could be outrageously beautiful should it snow to valley level on Friday, then clear. As such, a Thursday – Sunday visit is recommended.

Yosemite National Park is CaliforniaFallColor.com’s Peak of the Week.

• Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park (4,000′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!