24 Little Hours
Well, if what Dinah Washington once sang was true …
“What a difference a day makes
Stanley Adams / Maria Grever
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain …
Then, what a difference a week makes, at least in Big Bear Lake. James Wei reports he was there a week ago when it was Patchy to Near Peak and now golden hues are everywhere.
He wonders whether the dry year had something to do with the fact that the color isn’t as vibrant as he remembers and though his bike ride through the mountains was fantastic, there’s a sense the color won’t last.
Big Bear, San Bernardino NF (10/17/20) James Wei 
Big Bear, San Bernardino NF (10/17/20) James Wei 
Big Bear, San Bernardino NF (10/17/20) James Wei
- Big Bear Lake – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Lee Vining Powers Up
Poole Power Plant Rd off CA-120 in Lee Vining Canyon (approx. four miles west of US 395) is dappled with color.
Eastern Sierra color spotter Gary Young drove there from Bishop, noting that smoky air was thick from the top of Sherwin Grade June Lake, but cleared up after the June Lake turnoff, “thanks to northerly winds.
Lee Vining Canyon is now at full Peak.
Lee Vining Canyon (10/17/20) Gary Young 
Lee Vining Creek (10/17/20) Gary Young 
Lee Vining Canyon (10/17/20) Gary Young 
Lee Vining Canyon (10/17/20) Gary Young 
Lee Vining Canyon (10/17/20) Gary Young
- Lee Vining Canyon(6,781′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Siskiyou Splash
Indian Rhubarb (Darmera) have begun splashing the edges of the Upper Sacramento River by the Cantera Loop in Dunsmuir with flame red/orange and magenta, color spotter Philip Reedy reports.
Big-leaf maple, Cantera Loop, Upper Sacramento River (10/16/20) Philip Reedy 
Indian rhubarb, McCloud River (10/16/20) Philip Reedy
Autumn’s show is just beginning between Dunsmuir and Mt Shasta, where bigleaf maple are speckling the forest with bright spots of yellow.
Downstream from McCloud Falls, on the McCloud River, the Darmera are dripping with orange and hot yellow. Just upstream at the middle falls, there is just a hint of color below the falls. However, most of the Indian Rhubarb along the river above middle falls remains green. Give it a week or two for peak.
Over the next two weeks the colors will develop steadily moving downstream toward Castle Crags. Based on historic pattern, Reedy forecasts “it should be very nice in a week.”
- Cantera Loop, Upper Sacramento River (2,290′) – Patchy to Near Peak (10-75%) Go Now.
Last Hope
This is likely the last peak weekend in the Hope Valley. Marc Crumpler was there a couple of days ago and wrote Caples was now past peak and the rest of CA-88 was barely hanging on.
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler 
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler 
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler 
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler 
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler 
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler 
Hope Valley (10/15/20) Marc Crumpler
Below is what Hunter Irvin found when he visited the Forestdale Creek Rd. near Red Lake on Sun., Oct. 18, proving it’s time for the fat lady to sing, cause we’re losing Hope.
Hope Valley, CA-88 – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, You Almost Missed It.
Walnut Banquet
Southern California color spotter Peter Asco noted that “September’s heatwave put a halt to the color shift already in progress and – to the delight of resident squirrels – accelerated the maturing of the California Black Walnuts.”
He adds that “With the present cool-down, these showy residents (the walnut trees) of our Southern Traverse mountain ranges, are starting to turn color again and are at 10%.
For an entertaining outing, Western Grey Squirrels are the acrobats of California tree squirrels. Eastern Fox Squirrels (orange highlights), seen above, are an exotic that is threatening the native grey squirrels.
- Black Walnuts, Santa Monica Mountains – Patchy (10-50%)
Bishop Creek Memories
Bishop Creek Canyon is now mostly Past Peak and here’s what you missed.
North Lake Rd (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
North Lake Rd (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
North Lake Rd (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
North Lake Rd (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
North Lake (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
Sabrina Approach (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
S Fork Bishop Creek (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
S Fork Bishop Creek (10/11/20) Steve Nipps 
South Lake Rd (10/11/20) Steve Nipps
Color spotter Sierra Alder reported traveling from Ojai to the Eastern Sierra this past week. She notes that wilderness areas in Inyo National Forest remain closed and that it’s easy to be confused (the map is hard to read) and cross a boundary, which could result in a fine. So, use caution when near a wilderness area.
- North Lake (9,225′) – Past Peak, You Missed It.
- North Lake Rd (9,000′) – Past Peak, You Missed It.
- South Lake Rd. (9,768′) – Past Peak, You Missed It.
Goodbye God, I’m Going to Bodie
The position of a comma can mean everything.
A young San Francisco girl, when told her family would be moving to the infamous gold rush mining town of Bodie, recorded in her diary, “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.”
But, had the comma been moved one word, it would have changed the meaning entirely. Then, she would have been recorded as saying, “Good, by God I’m going to Bodie.”
The position of fall color can mean everything, too. Doug Van Kirk was on the East Side yesterday and found peaking fall color going to Bodie.
Good, by God!
- Bodie (8,379′) – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now. – Best along the Bodie road, near US 395.
- Conway Summit (8,143′) – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now.
- Twin Lakes Rd. (7,000′) – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now.
California Blushes
California continues to blush, as seen on the California Fall Color Map. Past Peak leaves appear at elevations above 8,500′.
Simply Marvelous at Marlette
Comedian Billy Crystal, in his impersonation of actor Fernando Llamas, used to joke, “You look marvelous, simply marvelous.”
That can be said of Lake Marlette on the east side of Lake Tahoe, presently. “It looks marvelous, simply marvelous.”
Color spotter and cyclist Barry Calfee was there yesterday and reported that the Flume Trail was lined with peak fall color between Spooner Lake and Lake Marlette.
The trail passes picturesque Spencer’s cabin, a 280-square-foot cattleman’s cabin from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Spencer’s Cabin, Lake Marlette (10/15/20) Barry Calfee 
Flume Trail, Lake Marlette (10/15/20) Barry Calfee 
Lake Marlette (10/15/20) Barry Calfee 
Flume Trail, Lake Marlette (10/15/20) Barry Calfee 
Lake Marlette (10/15/20) Barry Calfee 
Flume Trail, Lake Marlette (10/15/20) Barry Calfee
- Lake Marlette (7,823′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Leavitt Creek Cascade
In his constant search for great fly fishing photo locations, Philip Reedy never has to leave California.
Today, he sent this shot – part of a package he’d taken with a fly fisherman in the frame for a fishing publication – of Leavitt Creek. It’s located near Sonora Pass (CA-108) and presently it’s surrounded by peak fall color.
Sardine Creek runs nearby. There are two Sardine Creek Falls, an upper one and a lower one, but for all their power, this cascade on Leavitt Creek is lovelier.
Nevertheless, should you choose to hike to Sardine Falls, Sonora Central describes the hike as follows, “Reaching Sardine Falls requires an easy 1.2 mile hike on an unmarked trail but offers rewarding views of the surrounding Sierras as well as the falls themselves. There are actually two falls, the main Sardine Falls which drops about 50′ and a smaller waterfall downstream about 25′ high. Both falls are on McKay Creek which has plenty of runoff from the snow melt throughout the summer season. This destination gets quite a bit of foot traffic in the warm summer months but if you plan your trip on a weekday or late in the season you just might have the falls to yourself.”
I’ve not hiked to Sardine Falls, but the writeups indicate there’s no good spot to photograph the falls. However, this cascade on Leavitt Creek is remarkably photogenic.
California Fall Color creds go to Doug Van Kirk for correctly identifying the cascade as being on Leavitt Creek. We’d initially misidentified the creek as Sardine Creek. So, a can of sardines is ready for him to pick up as his prize.
- Leavitt Creek Cascade (8,750′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!