(Since posting this message I posted a later update on conditions during this period: “More Eastern Sierra Aspen Color Conditions“.)
I’m currently down in Bishop “doing email” at Starbucks for an hour or so during the harsh light time of the day, so I though I’d post a quick report on conditions in the Bishop Creek area today – along with some (semi-) educated guesses about what lies ahead.
I was up way before dawn this morning and heading up 168 well before the sun came up – there was a bit of light in the sky. My plan was to do “the aspen thing” very early, but as I drove I saw that the clouds were likely to light up in interesting fashion and that it looked like there was some light precipitation on the highest peaks that would soon be illuminated by the sun. So I took a detour out into the Buttermilks on Starlite Road, found a spot looking at Mt. Emerson (?), set up my shot, and waited. I figured that an almost sure thing here was worth a slightly later arrival at the aspens.
The clouds and the wind suggested that the weather forecast of, uh, clouds and wind was probably accurate… I soon finished shooting here and headed up 168. The wind strengthened, at some points blowing hard enough to raise dust clouds on the surrounding slopes. After passing through Aspendell, where the trees are still completely green, I began to see some color just above here. I’d say that it more or less begins above the Cardinal Resort, though the real color starts a bit higher.
I decided more or less spontaneously to try North Lake. I had heard that the “river of color” above the lake had mostly passed its prime and was partially brown, and I knew that the wind would interfere with photographs of the lake, but I also figured that some close-up photographs of sheltered trees might work. There was a fair amount of color along the first part of this road – I came back later and spent some time shooting there as the sun/shadow line approached – and again after the exposed section overlooking Aspendell. Clearly the trees that were further along in the color transitions have taken a bit of a beating from the wind, though there are still quite a few green trees and enough color among the others to make the trip worthwhile. (I also like shooting bare or nearly bare aspen trunks…)
I drove up toward Sabrina but did not stay, instead deciding that the road to South Lake might be more promising. I returned through Aspendell an then turned right to head toward South Lake. The trees before the small village a ways up the road are almost all completely green. Above this village some color starts, and eventually there were some very nice sections. While the conditions ranged from green to yellow to “leaves all gone” and included some brown leaves, there were still plenty of shooting opportunities. I eventually ran out of “good light” as the morning wore on, but I’ll likely had back up that way this afternoon and evening since I located several promising locations.
My general sense of the conditions is that they are a bit unusual. It seems to me that the elevation where the trees start to change color is a bit higher still than I would have expected – it surprised me a bit to see no color at Aspendell, for example. On the other hand, the color started fairly quickly above this level as I ascended. Yes, there are some brown leaves (though these, too, can be interesting photographic subjects) and yes, the wind is blowing down a lot of leaves. But even up high and close to the areas where the leaves have blown down I could find other sheltered groves with excellent color.
So, what now? The weather report still calls for much colder conditions tonight along with the possibility of snow flurries. I think that the aspen conditions in the higher areas are likely to deteriorate somewhat quickly if this holds. On the other hand, there is still a lot of green! The middle and lower elevations have largely not changed yet. Perhaps the change to colder conditions will trigger a change there – and those who are coming up in the next week will find great color.
On another topic: For the past few years Vern Clevenger has had a gallery a couple doors down from the Bishop Starbucks. This morning I saw that Vern is no longer there. I just checked his web site and see that his gallery has moved to Mammoth at 220 Sierra Manor Road #4. I guess that Bishop’s loss is Mammoth’s gain!
Yes, the pass closures threw the monkey wrench into lots of people’s plans… including mine. Although I had contemplated the possibility that Tioga might be closed by even traces of snow – that seems to be the NPS policy – I wasn’t expecting so many closures. In the end I had to come back by way of Monitor and then Carson.
Hi, Dan–I followed the same route you did yesterday morning, and saw pretty much what you did (and I was probably driving through Starbucks about the same time you were there). Since I didn’t find much color around Bishop Creek, I drove north to June Lake to check that out, and found almost no color there, either. I took a gamble based on some of the color reports I’ve been following and decided to head to Lundy Canyon for evening light, and set up camp at Lundy Canyon campground so I’d be there for first light. Lundy’s as green as June Lake is, and while I’d hoped to at least get some nice shots of the lake at sunrise, the storm changed those plans. I woke up at 5:45 to find three inches of snow on the ground, and it was coming down hard and steadily–almost complete whiteout conditions. Since I drive a subcompact, I opted to get the heck out before I got stuck there, so no morning light pics, unfortunately. If Inge heads up to Lundy sometime over the next week, I hope she’ll report back about conditions. I’d be very surprised if you can even get into Lundy right now, but I’ll be back through on my way back from Yosemite in two weekends, so if things have cleared off, I’ll be back at Lundy in hopes there’s more yellow than green.
Thank you Dan for the update. I was watching the roads, because I had plans on meeting a photog group (CANP) today 10/4 at June Lake. Unfortunately the Tioga pass was closed due to snow so was Hwy 108. Other passes needed 4×4 or chains, so I had to stay home. I am not prepared to use chains on my Corolla.
Planned for alternate routes on Wednesday when I come back to Bishop until Saturday. The lower elevations should be nice by then or bare – who knows.
For anyone who reads these comments… I’m currently making my midday visit to Bishop after shooting in the Bishop Creek area again this morning. A quick update, to be followed by a real update after I return home, passing by a few more aspen areas on the way.
First, I enjoyed meeting with a small group of Flickr folks for dinner at La Casita last night – all were connected with the Eastern Sierra Fall Color group started by “spiritdancing.” After dinner I headed back up the hill to my “campsite” at Four Jeffreys Campground. As predicted is was quite windy – in fact this was a continuation of the conditions I encountered when I photographed there in the afternoon and evening on Saturday… not ideal for photographing aspens!
The precipitation held off until well after midnight. I woke up this morning to clouds and a very thin dusting of light snow. I headed back up the road towards South Lake. While the wind had diminished a lot this morning, it was quite cold – upper 20’s – and cloudy. Very light snow continued throughout most of the morning with occasional sun breaks.
I don’t know if it was the changed lighting or my imagination or the weather, but it seems like the trees took a giant step in the direction of “more color” this morning. Yes, there are some barren and near barren trees, but there was also a lot of color in the upper part of this canyon.
I left the area shortly after noon and made a quick detour up past Aspendell to Sabrina, more out of curiosity than anything else. Again, I think I could see an increase in color since yesterday. The outlying trees around Cardinal resort are now turning, and the trees above that have all turned. There are even now a few trees turning yellow below Aspendell.
As I left Sabrina it started to snow for real. No idea if this was just a passing snow shower or a sign of something bigger coming htis afternoon. From Bishop I can see snow on all of the area peaks including White Mountain to the east.
By the way, have you ever gone up to Sagehen? I found some gorgeous color there last year. Granted I didn’t think the area was as pretty as around the Bishop Creek area and yet I got some pictures there I like, just loaded with color. I’m wondering if it might be worth side trip this year.
Well, I leave San Jose for Bishop Monday morning and I’m there until Thursday. It sounds like its going to be a bit of a grab bag for me. Who knows what I’ll get. But as I have so often heard, you just have to take what nature gives you and find something to shoot anyway.
I’m still a bit of a newbie at shooting aspens but when I was there about this time last year, I found all sorts of color at Aspendell and at North Lake, Sabrina, and South Lake. June Lake was a total bust for me though last year and Lundy Canyon was mostly a disappointment.
Regardless, I am so looking forward to being there. I’m going to be staying around the corner on Yaney in a nice B&B and you can bet I will spend some time in that Starbucks, just like I did last year. Too bad you won’t be there! But if you make it up next weekend too, I’ll be sure to save some good shots for you. :-) And thank you for this update!
Cynthia
Dan,
The aspens in Aspendell are always the last to change in that area. I don’t know why, but they normally don’t change until the second week in Oct. Most of the pictures I have of them were taken from Oct 10-17. I’ve often thought it’s because they are larger trees or maybe there’s a micro climate in that area.
Otherwise what you’re reporting sounds about right for the first few days of Oct.
Steven
Thanks for the detailed update, Dan. From the sounds of possible weather changes, next weekend could still be a grab bag for me. I’ve moved my hotel reservations to Mammoth in case the color starts popping further north, but a friend and I will at least check in at Bishop Creek next Friday, 10/9.
Good shooting,
Greg
It seems like a bit of an odd aspen color season. A lot of what I “know” about aspen color seems to not quite apply this year. Climate change? A dry year? Normal variations?
In any case, the good news from my perspective is that while things seem “different,” it seems possible to find some great color if you just poke around a bit.
Take care,
Dan
That sounds like an accurate assessment from what I thought last weekend. There was little consistency to the colors around North Lake in my opinion. A lot of greens but also a lot of oranges.