Potem Falls, Montgomery Creek (10/23/19) Laura Jean
Hike of the week takes you to Potem Falls, an impressive 60-foot drop along Montgomery creek in Shasta-Trinity National Forest near CA-299.
AllTrails.com describes the trail as a .4-mile, lightly trafficked out & back along Montgomery Creek (Trinity County) that features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels.
The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding and is best from March through October. Dog-friendly.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2019-10-26 15:32:372019-10-26 22:57:37Hike to Potem Falls
Hamilton Branch, Feather River (10/26/19) Jeff Luke Titcomb
The Hamilton Branch of the Feather River drops from Dyer Mountain into Lake Almanor.
The designated census area or community of Hamilton Branch has 587 residents beside this stream which is considered to be exceptional for fly fishing.
In late October, Hamilton Branch is edged with firey orange color from oak, willow and maple. Plumas County color spotter Jeff Luke Titcomb scores a First Report for Hamilton Branch, and what a beauty it is.
Hamilton Branch, Lake Almanor (4,505′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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.
Marble Mountains Wilderness Area (10/6/19) Leor Pantilat
Class in Session. So, who here has heard of the Marble Mountains?
No, the Marble Mountains of which I’m speaking are not in Vietnam, nor Southern California. Those are different ranges with the same name. The one I’m thinking of is in Northern California’s Siskiyou County.
Technically, they’re the northwest portion of the Salmon Mountains. Familiar, yet? No?
Maybe this will help … They’re a sub-range of the Klamath Mountains. Did I hear a “Huh!?”
Still cold? Here are some tips: the Marble Mountains area was one of the first four “Primitive Areas” designated in America (1931), became a Wilderness Area in 1953, and the Pacific Crest Trail passes through it.
Believe me. When I first learned of the Marble Mountains I was scratching my head, too. I’d never heard of them.
Images sent today by Leor Pantilat show a range deserving of greater recognition. The problem is, the Marble Mountains are in a state with 352 mountain ranges. So, it’s understandable that you might not have heard of them.
Wikipedia reports that more species of conifer (17) live in proximity there than any place else in the world, including the Brewer’s spruce; incense cedar; Western Juniper; white, subalpine and Shasta red fir; Engelmann spruce; mountain hemlock; Pacific yew; and whitebark, knobcone, foxtail, lodgepole, sugar, ponderosa and western white pine.
CaliforniaFallColor.com has mentioned the Marble Mountains previously, but Leor’s is the first report showing fall color there.
Marble Mountain Wilderness Area (10/6/19) Leor Pantilat
Bigleaf maple are Near Peak and lighting the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area’s remarkable conifer forest with yellow and gold. Dogwood are patchy and grasses from 6,000′ to 7,000′ are colorful. Peak should arrive within a fortnight.
Moving on … So, who here has heard of the Chemehuevi Mountains?
Marble Mountain Wilderness Area (3,000 to 5,000′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – Bigleaf maple.
Red Maple, College Creek Dorms, HSU (10/5/19) Michelle Pontoni
Maple, HSU Police Bldg (10/5/19) Michelle Pontoni
Humboldt State University’s school colors are green and gold, Michelle Pontoni tells us, but in autumn the Arcata campus looks more like USC with all the red and gold.
Near the University Police building, one of the tallest evergreens on campus towers over maples that hang with golden leaves. The change has happened so rapidly, that Michelle expects returning students to be surprised by the color change when they resume class today.
She writes, “One vibrant red maple stands among others still green lining both sides of Harpst Street outside the College Creek dorms, with a quarter moon hovering low in the southern sky.”
Ivy, Harry Griffith Hall, HSU (10/5/19) Michelle Pontoni
Ivy, Harry Griffith Hall, HSU (10/5/19) Michelle Pontoni
Usually, the busy intersection of Harpst and B streets resounds with hundreds of students passing each hour, but all that could be heard this past weekend was the “tiny rustle of leaves and just a whisper of wind near empty tables outside ivy-covered Harry Griffith Hall. There, the ivy seems almost animated, crawling up the wall in varying shades of green to red. Nearby, hydrangeas in blue, pink, and white join the spectacle. While, beyond lively crimson maple leaves are glimpsed between the greens and golds.
Pontoni recommends walking the Humboldt State campus in Arcata to appreciate the show, though the school is nicknamed Hills and Stairs University (HSU) for all the ascents and descents that students make during their matriculation.
One thing’s certain, color awaits around every building and up every staircase at HSU, and Michelle Pontoni scores a First Report for her colorful description of autumn in Arcata.
Humboldt State University, Arcata – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Silver Lake, Plumas County (10/3/19) Michael Beatley
Silver Lake near Meadow Valley looks nothing like its surrounding landscape. Plumas County is a forested place with bigleaf maple, mountain ash, aspen and lots of conifers.
Though Silver Lake, (see above) looks like it might better fit, tucked away in one of the granite canyons of the Eastern Sierra. That’s partly because the lake sits just below the Pacific Crest Trail, north of Spanish Peak. So, it is truly part of the High Sierra, even though classified as within the Shasta Cascade region.
Color spotter Michael Beatley scores a First Report for Silver Lake by sending the images he took this morning. He drove upon a USFS dirt road, that he describes as “well maintained” and “accessible by car,” six miles from Bucks Lake Rd. to Silver Lake.
USFS road to Silver Lake (10/3/19) Michael Beatley
Mountain Ash, Silver Lake (10/3/19) Michael Beatley
Beatley says the deciduous trees and plants have yet to show much color, though the warm morning light reflecting off the conifers in the top photo made it appear that they are changing, though they aren’t.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2019-10-03 16:35:102019-10-03 19:09:55Silver Lake Is Looking Golden
Jackie Gleason, an early television sitcom comedian’s famous exultation was, “how sweet it is!” When it comes to fall color in Mono County’s Sweetwater Mountains, it surely is.
Outdoor broadcaster Bob Simms (KFBK1530 Sacramento) passed through Mono County last week to find little happening, then returned today to share these photos taken in the Sweetwaters.
Bob scores a First Report for the area (the first time anyone has reported fall color for a location), and that’s surprising, considering how widely Jeff Simpson, Alicia Vennos and other Mono County color spotters venture. Perhaps that’s because the Sweetwaters are only accessible by 4WD vehicle or pack animal.
The Sweetwater Mountains straddle the California/Nevada border, within Toiyabe National Forest and separate the West Walker River from the East Walker River.
I’m sure the rivers are what attracted Bob, as he’s a formidable angler and the consummate outdoorsman.
CLICK HERE to listen to last Saturday’s “Outdoor Show with Bob Simms in which we spoke about California Fall Color. Start the podcast at 21:00 to hear the report.
Better yet, tune in to KFBK 1530AM Saturday mornings from 5 to 8 a.m. or listen to his podcasts to hear his thorough reports on California’s outdoors and fishing.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2019-10-01 22:37:452019-10-02 20:41:49How Sweet It is
Antelope Creek Drainage, Pioneer (9/29/19) Lyle Gordon
Color spotter Lyle Gordon scores a First Report for Pioneer, which until now had been bypassed.
Lyle found bigleaf maples just starting along Antelope Creek at 3,700′.
Pioneer is one of those places that has generated its own pseudo history. Pioneer Station, a rest stop along CA-88, is often thought to have been a Pony Express station, but it never was.
The Pony Express route traveled through El Dorado County, to Amador’s north. Instead, the rest stop was established in 1925, long after the Pony Express ceased to exist.
Still, it is a favorite place to eat for travelers driving CA-88. And now, Pioneer gains true history as the first sighting of fall color this year in Amador County.
Antelope Creek Drainage, Pioneer (3,700′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2019-09-29 22:02:262019-10-02 20:46:42Pioneer Gets a First Report
Bracken fern, Cold Creek Trail, Reds Meadow (9/15/19) Leor Pantilat
Californian’s have long looked to the ground for gold. In autumn, Bracken fern, locust and willows provide the state’s first flashes of gold.
Color spotter Leor Pantillat found it this past weekend on trail runs southwest of Reds Meadow (reached from Mammoth Lakes) between 7,000′ and 8,000′) along Crater and Cold Creeks in Madera County, posting the first “First Report” for 2019.
A First Report is the first report ever submitted for a given location. There is no prize other than Fall Color Creds for reporting it first. Nice one, Leor.
Locust, Crater Creek, Reds Meadow (9/15/19) Leor Pantilat
Bracken fern, Crater Creek, Reds Meadow (9/15/19) Leor Pantilat
Willows, Fish Creek, Reds Meadow (9/15/19) Leor Pantilat
This weekend, ground covers will continue to provide some of the best color to be seen anywhere up to 10,000′ in elevation.
Reds Meadow (7,500′) – Near Peak (75-100%) – Bracken fern, willows and locust.
Western Sycamore, Mines Rd, Livermore (11/27/18) Anirudh Natekar
Pleasanton is aptly named.
Located in the Livermore Valley, northeast of the Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley), Pleasanton is the wealthiest mid-sized city in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and was ranked by USA Today in 2014 as #4 among America’s 50 best cities in which to live.
As pleasant as the town is, I wish they’d kept its original name, El Alisal, The Sycamores. As, in late November Pleasanton is a place to find beautiful fall color, including among its sycamores.
Anirudh Natekar explored Pleasanton and Livermore yesterday, scoring a First Report and sending these views of the beauty to be seen there. Hurry as it’s just about gone.
