Fall Arrives Along The Bohemian Highway
What a wonderful state. What other place has a road called The Bohemian Highway?
Darrell Sano spent his Labor Day exploring Sonoma County, returning with these shots of color developing along the Bohemian Highway (CA-116), where vineyard workers are busy, seven days a week, bringing in the harvest.
Despite its overall Patchy rating, GO NOW! or you’ll soon miss seeing grapes on the vines. Plus, Darrell advises that “the light is turning amazing now, fall is here!”
Patchy (10-50%) – Bohemian Highway (CA-116)
Bishop Creek Yellowing Up
Color spotter Jill Donald camped in Bishop Creek this week, capturing these shots along South Lake and North Lake roads.
She reported, “A few aspen are yellowing; some willows are yellowing; and some leafy groundcover plant is turning vivid oranges and reds.”
Just Starting (0-10%) – Upper Bishop Creek Canyon
Truckee/North Tahoe Just Starting
A Labor Day weekend sojourn sent us traveling east along I-80 (Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway) to Truckee, then south on CA-267 across Brockway Summit to North Lake Tahoe.
Spots of emerging yellow are seen among lime to dark green quaking aspen and black cottonwood at Dutch Flat and Cisco Grove.
The groves of green quaking aspen and willows beside Middle Martis Creek and surrounding an abandoned settler’s cabin, halfway between Northstar and Brockway Summit on Hwy 267, are backlit with lime and emerging yellow.
At Agate Bay, aspen brighten the forest with drips of yellow and some leaves damaged with black leaf spot fungus.
Lake Davis color spotter Rene Blanquies, said the aspen groves between Sierraville and Truckee along CA-89, are not yet showing much color.
A year ago, we reported infestations of black leaf spot fungus along this route at the Cottonwood Creek, Cold Creek, Cold Stream and Upper Little Truckee campgrounds, and several stands of dead aspen in this area. Rene noted that the dead aspen now have a “bleached bones” appearance.
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Truckee and North Lake Tahoe
Catching Up: Virginia Lakes, Santa Rosa, Piedmont
Holiday weekends always seem to delay posting observations. That’s the case with these reports, submitted with apologies for their maturity.
Carolyn Webb reported from the Virginia Lakes Resort last week that color has been appearing increasingly along the Virginia Lakes Rd.
Above is a photo received on 9/8/17 to compare how the color has developed in the past 12 days. Since she took the original shot of quaking aspen (at left), more yellow has emerged and the rabbitbrush remain at full peak bloom.
Anirudh Natekar contributed shots of color found in Santa Rosa. Though, we assess it to be normal summer color. Some ornamental trees, like purple leaf plum, Japanese maple, American persimmon and Norway maple, provide beautiful maroon, purple and deep red color in summer. Even liquidambar can do so.
Though, the red or purple color is not the result of autumn. It’s just the tree’s normal color. Still, they do provide bloody good contrast to the greenness of summer.
Darrell Sano took an 8-mile “town walk” this past week from the BART station at Lake Merritt in Oakland up windy hilly roads through Piedmont.
The day was clear and sunny day, he reported, “a departure from the overcast ‘June Gloom’ that has plagued the Bay Area most of July and August, with below average temperatures and a thick marine fog blanketing the sky. Darrell got a number of lovely images of what’s happening among the landscaped and native color of the East Bay, backlit with late summer light. Darrell exudes, “There is nothing like fall light!… backlit fall colors simply glow vividly.”
Fall Color Guide and Map
Eastern Sierra destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have again published a comprehensive guide to fall color along US 395, a route named by USA Weekend as “one of the USA’s five best road trips.”
California’s Eastern Sierra Fall Color Guide & Map lists major annual events, significant fall color plants, and directs color spotters to 21 locations along US 395 from Big Pine to Topaz where spectacular fall color can be viewed.
The publication can be obtained at Mono County and Inyo County websites and visitor centers or CLICK HERE.
First Report: Jenks Lake and Barton Flats Rec. Area
Alena Nicholas reports exploring new areas in the San Bernardino Mountains, today, the Barton Flats Recreation Area adjacent to Jenks Lake.
This area has a variety of trees “that should be beautiful during peak season,” including black oak, creek dogwood, chokecherry, Rocky Mtn maple, bigleaf maple, white alder, black cottonwood and Frémont cottonwood. Alena says “things are just starting to turn a bit” at 6,500′ in elevation.
The area has several small lakes and ponds, creeks and streams.
“Aspen Meadow” is closeby. Last October, California Fall Color reported that aspen would be the first trees to recover near Big Bear Lake following the Summer’s Lake fire, and that appears to be happening, according to Alena’s report.
A ranger at the Barton Flats Rec. Area said “the aspens are about six to seven feet tall and filling in very nice.” Alena promises to “take a trip there soon, as there’re some nice meadows and streams there.”
Look for several First Reports this autumn from this color spotter, both from the mountains and lowlands.
Also, these shots again show what you can capture with a cell phone, though Alena promises to start carrying the big gun, once the color fills in.
Just Starting (10-15%) Jenks Lake and Barton Flats, San Bernardino Mountains (6,500′)
Autumn is Events Season
Tawni Thompson of Bishop reminds us that September and October are prime events months in Inyo County, with history, endurance, cultural, pop, film, sport and fishing faires, festivals, days, races, ralleys and seminars.
Here are some highlights to combine with a fall color viewing trip.
9/10 – Laws Museum Good Old Days. Pioneer crafts, demonstrations, live music & pie auction. www.lawsmuseum.org
9/9-9/11 – White Mountain Double Century Bike Race. http://ndzone.com/white-mountain-double/
9/16-9/18 – Millpond Music Festival. www.inyo.org
9/23-9/25 – Pabanamanina Pow Wow & California Indian Days
9/30-10/2 – Fall Colors Car Show, Fine Art Show & Sale, Arts & Crafts Faire and Choo Choo Swap Meet at Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop. http://www.owensvalleycruisers.com/fallcolors.htm
10/7-10/9 – Lone Pine Film Festival. http://www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/
10/7-10/9 – VCMC Dual Sport Motorcycle Rally. http://vcmc.info/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=370060&module_id=183046
10/14-10/16 – Fly Fishing Faire. Seminars, vendors, fly-tying demonstrations, casting, classroom and on-the-water clinics. All skill levels welcome! http://www.bishopvisitor.com/event/bishop-fly-fishing-faire/
10/28-10/30 – Eastern Sierra History Conference. http://esiaonline.com/eastern-sierra-history-conference/
For travel planning info, CLICK HERE.
Little Lakes and Convict Lake Break Out
Little Lakes Valley in the Eastern Sierra near Mammoth Lakes is known for breaking out early, though Convict Lake usually waits to be paroled.
Color spotter Josh Wray escaped his office in Mammoth Lakes today and ran right to these High Sierra hideouts to see how fall color is developing. He said the beautiful warm days and cool nights that Mammoth has experienced lately inspired his breakout.
True to form, Little Lakes Valley beyond Rock Creek Rd. is showing more lime and yellow among the quaking aspen, than Convict Lake where most color has tainted the willows, yellow-orange, but both are showing signs of color. Here’s what he found:
Patchy (10-50%) – Little Lakes Valley Rock Creek Rd. above 9,000ft – The Little Lakes Valley is off to a great start and is pretty far ahead of the rest. Changing color starts at about 8,500ft and there are some dark green giant aspens featuring bright yellow leaves at the top already. The aspen groves surrounding Rock Creek Lake have started the transition into lime green colors while trees higher up on the ridge already contain a mostly yellow shade. I give this spot two weeks until the largest groves start showing significant changes in coloring. Get up there early morning for soft light and while the lake is calm for epic photo ops.
Just Starting (0-10%) – Convict Lake above 7,800ft – Not worth a trip specific to fall colors right now, but some willows are changing near the outlet while the aspen grove tucked back in the canyon across the lake is showing a little bit. Nothing major though. With water levels up quite a bit from last year and a drier summer (helping prevent the black spot disease), the fall colors at Convict Lake should display one of the best presentations in years. This spot tends to peak around the middle of October given the fact that it’s elevation is a bit lower than other hotspots. Make sure to hit this spot in the early morning as well. And once it’s at peak take a little walk to the wooden path on the backside. You’ll be glad you did.
Special Report: Why Do Trees Drop Their Leaves?
It’s survival not just of the fittest, but of the wisest.
Deciduous trees drop their leaves in order to survive. As days grow shorter and colder, deciduous trees shut down veins and capillaries (that carry water and nutrients) with a barrier of cells that form at the leaf’s stem.
Called “abscission” cells, the barrier prevents the leaf from being nourished. Eventually, like scissors, the abscission cells close the connection between leaf and branch and the leaf falls.
Had the leaves remained on branches, the leaves would have continued to drink and, once temperatures drop to freezing, the water in the tree’s veins would freeze, killing the tree.
Further, with leaves fallen, bare branches are able to carry what little snow collects on them, protecting them from begin broken under the weight of the snow. So, by cutting off their food supply (leaves), deciduous trees survive winter.
The fallen leaves continue to benefit the tree through winter, spring and summer by creating a humus on the forest floor that insulates roots from winter cold and summer heat, collects dew and rainfall, and decomposes to enrich the soil and nurture life.
It’s a cycle of survival, very wisely planned.
Special Report: Why Do Leaves Change Color?
We explain this each autumn and now is as good a time as any to describe it, once more.
It is the combination of shorter days and colder temperatures that cause leaves on deciduous trees to change color.
Throughout spring and summer, green chlorophyll (which allows trees to absorb sunlight and produce nutrients) is made and replaced constantly. However, as days grow shorter, “cells near the juncture of the leaf and stem divide rapidly but do not expand,” reports Accuweather.com, “This action of the cells form a layer called the abscission layer. The abscission layer then blocks the transportation of materials from the leaf to the branch and from the roots to the leaves. As Chlorophyll is blocked from the leaves, it disappears completely from them.”
That’s when vivid yellow xanthophylls, orange carotenoids and red and purple anthocyanins emerge.
Orange is found in leaves with lots of beta-carotene, a compound that absorbs blue and green light and reflects yellow and red light, giving the leaves their orange color.
Yellow comes from Xanthophylls and Flavonols that reflect yellow light. Xanthophylls are compounds and Flavonols are proteins. They’re what give egg yolks their color.
Though always present in the leaves, Carotenoids and Xanthophylls are not visible until Chlorophyll production slows.
Red comes from the Anthocyanin compound. It protects the leaf in autumn, prolonging its life. Anthocyanins are pigments manufactured from the sugars trapped in the leaf, giving term to the expression that the leaves are sugaring up.
The best fall color occurs when days are warm and nights are clear and cold. California’s cloudless skies and extreme range of elevations (sea level to 14,000′) provide ideal conditions for the development of consistently vivid fall color, as seen in these reports.