Today’s Morning Musings post is a brief summary of some things I’m hearing about the development of the eastern Sierra fall aspen color. With the exception of some things I saw a week and a half ago in the Yosemite backcountry, what follows is entirely second-hand information, gleaned from descriptions and photographs I’ve seen posted here and there on the web. (That means that you will likely want to do whatever other checks you normally rely on if you want more detailed and specific information.)

I usually target the first week of October for my first serious aspen photography in the eastern Sierra, but in recent posts I have mentioned the widespread feeling that the color just might come early this year. I also wrote about seeing some strong signs of autumn color in northern Yosemite during  the first two weeks of September, earlier than I would usually expect to see such things.

After reading some years of the annual excitement of “the aspens are changing early this year!” following the discovery of an odd tree here or there with some yellow leaves, I’m usually pretty cautious about reports of early color. However, I’m starting to hear and see a significant number of reports and photographs suggesting that things really are getting underway early this time.

There have been a number of signals in the past couple of days that color is now present in the high valleys above Bishop, California. The Parcher’s Resort Fall Color Report (always a popular source of information) started mentioning the color change last week, and it is now showing photographs of some color that looks more like what I’d expect in another week or more. In addition, several photographers have posted shots from this part of the eastern Sierra that include areas with which I’m very familiar — to the point that I recognize individual small groves of trees — and these photos are showing enough color to make for interesting photography already. On top of that, the weather forecasts for the next week are pointing to weather that starts to look a lot more like autumn, including mention of high elevation snow late next week.

As I’ve written before, it is simply not possible to predict with complete accuracy how the color transition will play out, and even if some color is coming now there will almost certainly be more later. However, if I were to make a bet right now, I would bet that photographers looking for fall color in the eastern Sierra might want to think about a) watching reports, b) trying to remain flexible, and c) being ready to go sooner rather than later.

*Photo: Aspen Tree, Morning Light. Bishop Canyon, California. October 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning Musings are somewhat irregular posts in which I write about whatever is on my mind at the moment.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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