The Amazing Race

The people who compete in the television reality show The Amazing Race have nothing on Philip Reedy, or many other color spotters who contribute to CaliforniaFallColor.com.

Today, Reedy drove from Davis to Truckee, then north to Satley and back west on 49 through Sierra City, Downieville and down, back into the Sacramento Valley … just to see what was peaking.

Tomorrow, his race continues north to the Shasta Cascade, where other avid color spotters will be going, as that’s where fall color prizes can now be found.

On his whirlwind loop of the northern Golden Chain Highway, he stopped at Cottonwood Creek, just south of Sierraville where patches of snow mix with fall color.

Phil suggests going for shots where fall color and snowfall combine – scenes you get only soon after an early storm like we got on Sunday and Monday. Frozen images like his say a lot about the change of seasons and the fragility of nature.

He advises that between Bassetts Station and Sierra City, there’s good color along the North Fork of the Yuba River and up the mountainsides beside it.

At Lavezzola Creek, Reedy was disappointed to find little sign of Indian Rhubarb by the river. River flows jumped from 200 cubic feet a second to over 8,000 cfs on Sunday night, washing away remaining rhubarb (a nugget to store for future reference). Phil had been planning to take fly fishing shots with peak orange-red rhubarb surrounding the angler, but “it was not to be this year.”

So, Phil is heading north to the Shasta Cascade in his amazing race to find other Indian rhubard which might have avoided being swept away. The race continues and the prize is a rhubarb.

• CA-49, Sierraville to Downieville (4,957’) – Peak (75 – 100%), GO NOW!