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Mt. San Jacinto – A Palm Springs Peak

Mount San Jacinto State Park (10/7/17) Naresh Satyan

The bright gold of peaking willows, grasses and ferns becomes intensified at sunset at Mount San Jacinto State Park above Palm Springs, reports Southern California color spotter Naresh Satyan who scores a First Report.

Naresh reported the best color seems to be along the creek between Long Valley and Tamarack valley between 8500′ and 9000′, only a short walk from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway station.

He recommends taking the tram up to hike the mountains any time of year, though in autumn, the colors provide extra incentive.

Mount San Jacinto State Park, above Palm Springs (8,516′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

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Still Mostly Green in the Hope Valley

Red Creek (10/6/17) Phillip Reedy

Red Lake (10/6/17) Phillip Reedy

Red Creek (10/6/17) Phillip Reedy

Red Creek (10/6/17) Phillip Reedy

A day ahead of this weekend’s Alpine Aspen Festival, Phillip Reedy drove over Carson and Luther Passes, reporting that though there is more color than a week ago, many areas of the Hope Valeyu are still “mostly green.”

More yellow, orange and red surround Red Creek cabin, though the groves above the cabin are still mostly green.

Give it a week to two for peak color.

On the south side of CA-88 by Red Lake Creek you’ll find lots of color. Heading east past Blue Lakes Road, the large grove (across the cattle pasture to the north) is nearing peak, and groves above along the mountainside are turning yellow.

Phillip’s favorite grove, to the west of the West Carson down in Hope Valley is looking good with some orange, a lot of yellows, and still much green.

This past week, we reported Sorensens as peaking, which Phillip confirms, stating he believed it would be a magnet for color spotters attending the Alpine Aspen Festival.
As you drive Luther Pass (CA-89) toward South Lake Tahoe  the aspen are still mostly green and there wasn’t much color from there all the way to Truckee.
Reedy concurs with others who’ve reported that the aspen leaves, this year, lack luster. One way to get around that is to photograph the leaves blacklit, as many frontally lit leaves have a dull cast to them, this autumn.
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Big Bear Goes Big

Black oak, Green Valley Lake, near Running Springs (10/7/17) Jim Lancaster

Big Bear, in the Inland Empire’s San Bernardino Mountains, is nearing peak with both native forests and landscaped yards full of color.

Color spotter Jim Lancaster traveled up from Orange County to enjoy autumn in the mountains, sharing pictures of black oak, carrying uncharacteristically golden leaves at Green Valley Lake and exotics dressing  home in the town of Big Bear.

David Calhoun commented that “the leaves are definitely over 50% peak in Big Bear. Probably closer to 75% now… lots of beautiful colors over the past few days.”

Big Bear (6,752′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!

Big Bear (10/7/17) Jim Lancaster

 

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Lundy Canyon – 50/50

Lundy Lake (9/30/17) Kimberly Kolafa

Lundy Canyon (9/30/17) Kimberly Kolafa

Color spotter Kimberly Kolafa visited Lundy Canyon last Saturday and found lots of patchy color with it at about “50/50 gold/green” around the lake.

She wrote, “If I were choosing a trail to day hike this weekend, the one up Lundy Canyon would be my pick.”

Lundy Canyon (7,858′) – Patchy (10-50%)
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Lime, Yellow, Orange and Gone

Table Mountain Group Camp, S. Fork Bishop Creek (10/3/17) John Poimiroo

Bishop Creek Canyon is a mix of every level of peak, from Just Starting, to Patchy, to Near Peak, to Peak, to Past Peak, some occurring at the same location.

North Lake is a puzzle. It’s lime, yellow, orange and gone, all at the same place.

Peak color is near the lake with green aspen far above. We rate it Near Peak, though it’s peaking in areas, nowhere close in others and past peak, too.

Sabrina is topsy turvey. The higher you go, the less consistent the color is. Intake II (at the lowest elevation) is Near Peak, while Sabrina Approach (higher up) is Patchy.

Aspen at the center of the Groves Above Cardinal Village were past peak and surrounded by a ring of patchy, though mostly green aspen. Aspendell has hardly any color, though that’s not unusual. It’s often the last to peak.

We were there to sort it out and ran into dozens of color spotters and photographers who were shrugging their shoulders in confusion. Seeing me trying to find some color along a stream at Sabrina Approach, one photographer turned and said, “I did the same thing, and came to the same conclusion… not yet there. Still, I’m glad to be here.”

Those of us who were there this week, were certainly glad to be in Bishop Creek Canyon searching for fall color, as there were moments of breathtaking wonder.

Travel writer/photographer Lee Foster and I found it in a dazzling display along the South Lake Road. From Parchers down to the Mist Falls at Mountain Glen the hillsides are lit with pink, orange, yellow and lime aspen.

While several of South Lake’s groves could technically be rated as “Patchy,” Oh!, how beautiful they are in the midday sun. No one photographing them was disappointed. That’s why it gets rated as peaking. GO NOW!

Southern Inyo County

  • Whitney Portal (8,374’) – Patchy (10 – 50%)
  • Onion Valley (9,600’) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
  • Big Pine Creek (7,660’) – Patchy (10 – 50%)
  • Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery (4,000’) – Just Starting (0-10%)
  • Alabama Hills (4,534’) – Just Starting (0-10%)

South Lake

  • Weir Pond (9,650’) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • Parchers Resort(9,260′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • Willow Campground (9,000’) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • Table Mountain Group Camp (8,900’) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • Surveyors Meadow (8,975’) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • Mountain Glen (8,500′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
  • Mist Falls and the groves above Bishop Creek Lodge (8,350’) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
  • Four Jeffrey Campground (8,000’) – Patchy (10 – 50%)

Sabrina Lake

  • Lake Sabrina (9,150′) – Patchy (10 – 50%) to Peak (75-100%)
  • Sabrina Approach (9,050′) – Patchy (10-50%)
  • Sabrina Campground (9,000’) – Patchy (10 – 50%)
  • Groves above Cardinal Village (8,550’) – Patchy (10 – 50%) 
  • Aspendell (8,400’) – Just Starting (0 – 10%)
  • Intake II (8,000’) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
  • Big Trees Campground (7,800’) – Just Starting (0 – 10%)

North Lake 

  • North Lake Road – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • North Lake (9,255’) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
  • Upper North Lake Road – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!

Round Valley/Pine Creek

  • Pine Creek Pack Station – Peak GO NOW! – A small grove of aspen is at peak near the trailhead and pack station.
  • Pine Creek Rd. – Patchy (10-50%) – The black and Frémont cottonwood along Pine Creek will be gorgeous when they peak.
  • Round Valley – Patchy (10-50%) – Landmark black cottonwood grow throughout the Round Valley, often near old weathered cabins. They are now crowned with yellow and will be beautiful at peak.
  • Lower Rock Creek Rd. – Patchy (10-50%)

Owens Valley/Bishop

  • Owens Valley – Just Starting (0-10%)
  • Bishop – Just Starting (0-10%)

Here’s a fun gallery of snaps taken at various unidentified Bishop Creek Canyon locations.

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

Bishop Creek Canyon (10/6/17) Dandy Candywolf

 

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Fall Color Brightens Small Towns

Aspen, Antelope Lake (10/3/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Quaking Aspen, Antelope Lake (10/3/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Red Maple, Chester (10/3/17) Kathy Wasson

Quaking aspen at Antelope Lake in Plumas County’s Indian Valley (Northern Sierra) are peaking with bright orange-gold color.

The drive to remote Antelope Lake on the Genessee/Antelope Lake Rd. passes the charming town of Taylorsville (Pop. 154), that has changed little since it was founded in 1852.

Elsewhere in the Shasta Cascade, bright color is appearing in Chester at Lake Almanor, where an exotic red maple stands beside the town’s bicycle rental shop.

Antelope Lake (5,000′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

Chester (4,534′) – Patchy (10-50%)

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You Gotta Have Hope

Red Creek Cabin, Hope Valley (10/2/17) John Poimiroo

(Hope Valley – 10/2/17) The Hope Valley (CA-88, Carson Pass) is typical of the dilemma facing color spotters this autumn… the show is all cattywampus.

In some places like at the Red Creek Cabin (seen above), it’s Near Peak to Peak color, while in others the aspen look like they’re Just Starting.

So, you gotta have hope when we say, although the Hope Valley is Patchy overall GO NOW!, as there is enough peak color to make it worth the trip.

Here’s a rundown from top to bottom:

Castle Point Trailhead, CA-88 (10/2/17) John Poimiroo

Castle Point Trailhead – Peak to Past Peak (We All Missed It) – The Aspen look terrible, few leaves and light color. This stand used to be glorious.

Caples Lake – Patchy to Near Peak – One stand of at Peak aspen on northeast shore showing orange and yellow, though many others in Patchy condition.

Red Lake Area -Patchy (10-50%)

Red Creek Cabin – Peak (75-100%) – GO NOW!

Hope Valley -Patchy (10-50%)

Sorensen’s Resort, Hope Valley (10/2/17) John Poimiroo

Sorensen’s – Near Peak  – GO NOW!

Woodford’s Canyon – Patchy (10-50%)

Overall Hope Valley (7,300′) – Patchy, though there’s plenty of Near Peak and Peak Color to make it worth seeing. GO NOW!

Alpine Aspen Festival – Oct. 7 & 8, Hope Valley

 

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Ventana Wilderness / Big Sur

Bigleaf Maple, Ventana Wilderness (10/1/17) Leor Pantilat

(Big Sur – 10/3/17) California’s Central Coast is not known for its fall color, though “the coast-facing canyons of Big Sur contain a nice concentration of bigleaf maples,” reports Leor Pantilat who scores a prized First Report.

Ventana Wilderness (10/1/17) Leor Pantilat

Poison Oak, Ventana Wilderness (10/1/17) Leor Pantilat

Ventana Wilderness (10/1/17) Leor Pantilat

In these mountains, the fall color progression is a rolling peak depending on the slope aspect and elevation. For now the best color is at the highest elevations of the Santa Lucia Mountains.

Pantilat states that “the endemic Santa Lucia Fir forest provides a unique setting. Bountiful poison oak is also bright red at the higher elevations.

Leor took these images near Cone Peak on Sunday. He estimates that color will persist in this area for at least a couple more weeks and then progressively move down the canyon where it will mix with redwoods below ~2000 ft into November.

Expect spots of bright color in an otherwise evergreen forest of fir, redwood and live oak.

Ventana Wilderness – Big Sur Hills (3,000 to 5,000 feet) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!

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Unsynchronized North Lake

(North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon – 10/3/17) – Here’s a report from Bishop Creek Canyon, recorded today.

North Lake and Sabrina Lake are Near Peak, though with large areas of Patchy color. South Lake has Peak color and is glorious!

Please note: This autumn is very different in Bishop Creek Canyon from previous ones in that the color is not synchronized. Groves in the same area are at all stages, from Just Starting to Past Peak.

So, if you delay visiting, you’re likely to miss it all, as no one area is going to peak all at once this year.  Only South Lake has that potential, but even the green among the groves is spectacular, there. Expect to see bare limbs near brilliant color, beside green trees.

Bottom Line… GO NOW!

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Plumas County Fills With Color

Bigleaf maple, Plumas County (9/30/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Plumas County color spotter Jeff Luke Titcomb took a road trip in search of fall color.

Bigleaf maple, Plumas County (9/30/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Wild Locust, Plumas County (9/30/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Dogwood, Plumas County (9/30/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Plumas County, Plumas County (9/30/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Dogwood, Plumas County (9/30/17) Jeff Luke Titcomb

He rode along Hideaway Road and Round Valley Road to the Round Valley reservoir, then up from there to the top, and back down to Canyon Dam near Lake Almanor.

He found the Canyon Dam side not as far along with weeks to go until peak color. Though the dogwoods are coming along and bigleaf maples are half way there.

River bottoms along Wolf Creek in Greenville are full of yellows and reds beside Hideaway Road.

A tree that is often confused (wild locust) are in full yellow. Jeff reports that the higher you go in the area,  the longer it seems the color will take to peak, though the valley floor is turning fast.

Plumas County (3,500’) – Patchy (10-50%)

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