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Tahoe is Supposed to be Blue, not Gamboge

Mountain maple, Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe (10/12/19) John Poimiroo

The tourist offices at Lake Tahoe make a big point about promoting their destination as “Blue.” In autumn, they should be promoting “Gamboge.”

That’s because vivid yellow, now being worn by the lake’s aspen and mountain maple, is Tahoe’s autumn tone.

Fall color is peaking around the lake with aspen carrying lurid yellow and lime leaves, rose hips cherry in their cheeky choice of color and mountain maple gold.

Here’s a sampling:

  • Lake Tahoe (6,225′) – Near Peak (50-75%), GO NOW!
  • Martis Creek (5,925′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW!
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Volcanic Legacy Spurts

Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (10/13/19) Martha Fletcher

Ocasional spurts of autumn brightness are appearing along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (CA-89) in Northeast California.

Shasta Cascade color spotter Martha Fletcher pulled over to record this colorful black oak.

It is carnelian-dressed early for a black oak, which we term the Halloween tree for their bold orange and black colors, but then Halloween decorations have been in the stores since September.

  • Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, CA-89 (7,000′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
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Good Day to go to Court

Plumas County Courthouse, Quincy (10/13/19) Michael Beatley

There’s hardly ever a good day to go to court, unless you’re in Quincy.

Sugar maple, Quincy (10/13/19) Michael Beatley

That’s because the Plumas County Courthouse on Main St. is surrounded by peaking color, right now.

Plumas County color spotter Michael Beatley reports that landmark sycamores and maples in downtown Quincy are almost at full peak.

La Porte Rd., east of Quincy (10/13/19) Michael Beatley

The same is occurring along La Porte Rd, just east of Quincy, where a centenarian sugar maple is a beautiful reason to stop to the side of the road.

In all, it’s a good day to go to court, as long as you’re heading to Quincy.

  • Quincy (3,342′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
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Etna Keeps Erupting

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Etna (10/9/19) Laura Jean

Fall color surrounding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Etna continues to erupt in crimson, orange and yellow.

A variety of native and exotic trees are decorating Siskiyou County’s Scott Valley with vibrant color. They include black cottonwood, bigleaf maple, rabbitbrush, red maple and sugar maple.

First reported by Siskiyou County color spotter Laura Jean nearly two weeks ago, the color seen here is now listening to its closing hymn.

  • Etna (2,936′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Blinded to the Light

Mountain maple, Quincy Airport (10/12/19) Robert Kermen

Sometimes, we’re blinded to the light, revved up by the cold, a color spotter in the night.

Paraphrasing Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics, we are often more influenced by popular belief than scientific fact.

In color spotter Robert Kermen’s case, he was blinded to the light, not knowing that it had a greater influence on fall color change than temperature.

He wrote when submitting this report, “I used to think that a leaf’s turning color was triggered by temperature or colder air flow, but when I saw this tree I knew that was only part of it. Just like fruit trees, the side that gets the most sunlight, has the riper fruit. Except that in the case of leaf coloring, the side that gets the most sunlight in the fall turns color first.”

The revelation happened when he saw this unusual tree and confirmed his “aha moment,” when he read Brent Cook’s article, How A Tree Grows.

Cook states, “If you’ve ever seen a tree that has green leaves on one side and red, orange, or yellow leaves on the other, it was probably a result of different amounts of sunlight. In the northern hemisphere, leaves that are on the southwest side of a tree will receive much more sunlight than leaves on the opposite side. Leaves near the top of a tree will also receive more sunlight than leaves at the bottom of the canopy. Consequently, phytochrome (photoreceptors) will trigger abscission (fall color) sooner in leaves getting more sunlight.”

Note that in the above photograph, the shaded side of the tree (left) is still green, whereas the side in the sunlight (right) has turned color. It’s counterintuitive, but a fact of nature. Why that is true, is not entirely clear to me.

Could it be that the sunlit side of the tree senses the change in autumn light waves sooner than that in the shade? We’ll let a dendrologist answer that.

In the meantime, the below photograph answers the question. Jeff Luke Titcomb took it from behind the fence to reveal: it isn’t one tree with two sides, it’s two trees whose canopies have merged.

It is a mystery solved to everyone’s embarrassment. Though, because of Bob’s inquisitiveness, we learned something new about the possibilities that a tree could have two fall color sides, because of light.

Two trees in one, Quincy Airport (10/14/19) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Bob was returning to the Northern Sacramento Valley by way of the Beckwourth Pass (5,221′) (named after legendary mountain man James Beckwourth; his is an extraordinary story) and CA-70 along the Feather River. Color is near peak throughout most of the route.

  • Feather River, CA-70 – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
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Lakes Basin

Sardine Lake, Lakes Basin (10/12/19) Michael Beatley

Often overlooked in the Northern Sierra is the Lakes Basin of Plumas and Sierra Counties.

The Lakes Basin is part of the Sierra Nevada’s and the Pacific Crest Trail runs through it. It has numerous lakes, Gold lake, Salmon Lake, Packer Lake, Upper and Lower Sardine Lake, Young America Lake and Goose Lake among the better known.

Fall color in the Lakes Basin is modest, though its hot reflections upon the lakes’ clear blue waters, along with emerald glimpses of their icy depths, are mesmerizing.

Yesterday, Plumas County color spotter Michael Beatley hiked to an old USFS lookout that overlooks Sardine Lake and reports that the area is hovering between Patchy and Near Peak with some of its aspen still fully green, while others are peaking.

  • Lakes Basin (8,857′) – Patchy to Near Peak (10-75%) GO NOW!
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Boca Panorama

Logan Alexander used a Moto Z3 camera phone in panorama mode to create this image of Boca Reservoir and score a First Report for this location. Aspen are at peak.

Boca Reservoir is on the Little Truckee River, 27 miles southwest of Reno near I-80.

  • Boca Reservoir (5,614′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Lake Camanche Nets Color

Trout Pond, Lake Camanche (10/11/19) Terry Willard

With a reputation for “Monster” fish, Lake Camanche between Ione and Valley Springs, northeast of Stockton, is known for going big.

The record catfish caught there weighed 27.6 pounds, large mouth bass bent the scale at 18.17 pounds, a trout came in at 19.42 pounds and its record crappie weighed 3.16 pounds.

As a fly fisherman, I don’t think I could have landed any of them. Though landing fall color is far easier.

The lakeshore literally glows with warm colors in October, as seen in Terry Willard’s photographs of native wetland grasses, Fremont cottonwood and exotic trees.

  • Lake Camanche (135’) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
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Going to Church

St. Canice Catholic Church, Nevada City (10/10/19) Robert Kermen
Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Ft. Jones, Siskiyou County (10/9/19) Laura Jean

Color spotters Robert Kermen and Laura Jean found inspiration and saw the light as they traveled through Nevada City and Ft. Jones this week.

Kermen was driving along CA-20 when he began to notice quite a bit of color mostly from alder, bigleaf maple and dogwood.

He wrote, “The stretch between Grass Valley and I-80 has always fascinated me with its mix of hardwood and deciduous trees.“

Exiting I-80 at Bowman Lake, he visited the headwaters of Bear River and one of his favorite falls to find that bigleaf maple leaves had littered the area.

“At an elevation of approximately 5000 feet, it appeared the big leaf maple were peaking while the dogwood was just starting. While hiking the Sierra Discovery Trail, which follows Bear River, he noticed that most of the big leaf maple were infected with “fungal tar spot disease.”

Upon reaching Grass Valley, he was struck by the beauty of St Canice Catholic Church and maples that surround it.

Exotic color, Ft. Jones (10/9/19) Laura Jean

Laura Jean was similarly inspired, driving CA-3 through Siskiyou County. The towns of Ft. Jones and Etna and environs are at peak and “vivid.”

  • CA-20, Bowman Lake to Nevada City – Near Peak (50-75% GO NOW!
  • CA-3, Scott Valley, Ft. Jones to Etna – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Paso Robles – Pass of the Oaks

Poison oak enveloped by coastal fog (10/10/19) Mark Harding

Paso Robles, on the Central Coast, is named for its oaks, which are mostly Live Oaks (evergreen). Of its many oaks, only Valley Oak is deciduous.

There is color to be found on the Central Coast, when you look for Fremont cottonwood, bigleaf maple, box elder, California sycamore, creek dogwood, California ash, vineyards, willows and poison oak.

Though, CaliforniaFallColor.com receives few reports from the Central Coast, because the region’s mild climate doesn’t encourage the development of deciduous plants. Those that are native there, also grow in colder areas of California.

Central Coast color spotter Mark Harding sends back these images taken in Templeton and Paso, proving that fall color does appear along the coast.

  • Paso Robles (732’) – Patchy (10-50%)