An article in SF Gate discussed a decline in the number of aspen trees: “Climate Change Cited in Die-off of Aspens”
According to the report, there are a number of factors affecting the trees: fire prevention policies that stop the natural burn cycle, insect infestations, and climate change. The reports speaks mostly about trees outside of California, but those one wonders if these factors affect the trees here as well.
Early Autumn Snow, Conway Summit. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Aspen trees begin to change color after an early autumn snow storm at Conway Summit, Sierra Nevada, California.
Back in September I began making plans to visit the eastern Sierra near the end of the month and during early October, and based on previous experience with fall Sierra aspen color I made some assumptions about when and where the color might be at its peak. This year has not evolved according to expectations. I would have expected the huge aspen groves below highway 395 at Conway Summit to be nearing or at peak color during the first weekend of October… but instead the trees here were largely still green with only a few spots of real color. It seems like the low and middle elevation aspens are behind schedule this year.
However, as if to temper the slight disappointment about the lack of brilliant colors, I did get to visit during an early fall cold snap and storm passage that dropped anywhere from a trace to a few inches of snow over a good portion of the Sierra – including the peaks above Conway Summit.
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Basin Mountain, Morning Light. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Early morning light with clearing clouds above Basin Mountain and the Sierra Crest near the high desert of the Buttermilks, Sierra Nevada, California.
I awoke well before dawn in Bishop on this early October morning with intentions of being at a location such as North Lake for dawn, but as I ascended the road into the Sierra from Bishop I was distracted by impressive cloud formations over the Sierra crest around Basin Mountain and the peaks of the crest. I spontaneously made a change in plans and turned off the main road towards the Buttermilks to see if I could find a place to photograph this scene before it all ended.
There is a small “village” up Starlite Road from 168, and a gravel road continues beyond it. This road soon took me to the top of a small hill before a big drop-off and once I spotted the way the peaks lined up and the location of the trees I decided to stop here, set up, and be ready to shoot dawn light.
While the light itself seems quite interesting, one of the most unusual features is seen in the shape of the clouds above the crest – they almost trace the rough outline of the high peaks.
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Sunset Virga, Mount Conness. Yosemite National Park, California. September 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Viewed from Fletcher Lake, virga illuminated by sunset light falls over the Sierra Nevada crest near Mount Conness – Yosemite National Park, California.
I’ve had this one sitting on my (computer) desktop for the past couple of weeks, so I think it is time to post it. On this late summer evening that in many ways felt more like early fall, a surprise thunderhead rose up above Mount Conness in the late afternoon, dropping rain for a while and continuing to drop virga as dusk came on. (“Virga” is the precipitation that falls from high clouds but evaporates before reaching the ground.)
This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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