A boulder in the midst of early autumn aspen color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada
Besides being an example of relatively bright color, this little aspen scene may reveal a few other things to close viewers. The colors range almost across the entire spectrum of aspen color, from the green or trees that have not yet turned, through the typical brilliant golden-yellow, and in between some orange and even a bit of red. These are rather small trees, growing on very rocky soil, the environment where the trees frequently begin to turn first.
The slope is perhaps not remarkable among many other similar slopes that are also covered with aspens. But for some reason — it may be an accidental turn I took near here years ago — this little section of an east side valley seems special to me, so much so that I have to make a sort of ritual passage past and through it when I’m in the area. This photograph was made close to the middle of September, which seems early for Eastern Sierra aspen color. But after several drought years the trees are not behaving according to the familiar plan. Yet, there is still a lot of green, too, which promises several weeks of developing color to come.
Even though the calendar reports that a few days of summer still remain, and the thermometer here in the San Francisco Bay Area still reads hot enough for summer, the annual autumn color show is now underway in the Sierra Nevada. I’m just back from four days “over there,” and I’d like to share a bit of what I saw, along with a few hunches about where things might go over the next few weeks. (Disclaimer: Predicting fall color is very much an inaccurate science — kind of like predicting the outcome of the playoff games before they begin. Over the years I’ve been surprised many times, and we really won’t know how this year’s color plays out until it happens.)
Early fall color from aspens on rocky slopes in the Eastern Sierra Nevada
Between September 16 and 19 I visited the Yosemite around Tuolumne Meadows, a few spots well east of the Sierra with views back toward the range, the Mono Basin, US 395 between Conway Summit (just north of Mono Lake) and Bishop Canyon, and Bishop Canyon itself.
Acknowledging the risk of pronouncing this to be an “Early Aspen Season This Year!”, I’m going out on a limb and saying that it did seem like some of the color is progressing on an early than usual schedule. I usually wouldn’t both seriously hunting for aspen color in the Sierra this early, but I found a number of places with color worthy of photographing. In fact, I had the joy of photographing alone in some locations that will be overrun by photographers in a few weeks! (To be clear, and as I’ll clarify below, there are still lots of very green trees!)
For example, the photograph above was made up in Bishop Canyon at between 8000′ and 9000′ in a place that I visit every year. While these particular trees are often among the earliest in the area to change colors, seeing almost an entire slope of yellow/gold this soon is not what I would expect.
Most of the early color comes from small aspens, growing at relatively higher elevations, and often on what seems to be margins terrain — in very rocky areas, along talus slopes, and it areas that are typically dry. There is some extensive color in some areas east of the Sierra, areas that are drier and tend to support the smaller “scrub” aspen trees.
Would I recommend going up there right now to see the color? Not exactly, though if you do go you’ll be able to find some nice color if you poke around a bit in the usual places, emphasizing the higher and rockier locations. That said, there are still a lot of very green trees, and the vast majority of the bigger and taller trees are essentially still completely green. This is especially true in the low elevation canyons, where the trees often grow larger and are sheltered more from the elements.
When will the rest of the trees change? Good question! I don’t know, but I have some hunches. Typically they would get their color after the start of October, and some years ago I would look for the best color beginning a few days into October and continuing through the second week and possibly a bit later as the final good color comes to large, low elevation aspens. My thinking this year is that last year’s (2015) pattern may be a guide to this year as well. Color last year also started a bit early. Last year it also looked like some trees were stressed by the prolonged drought. But in 2015 many of the bigger trees in areas perhaps less affected by drought seemed to change on almost their typical previous schedule. This meant that at any given moment it might have been a bit harder to find the “perfect grove,” but that the season actually lasted longer due to the early start.
Speaking for myself, if I had a choice between going early in the usual time frame (starting near the beginning of October) and going later (say at the end of the second week of the month) I would be more inclined to gamble on the early time rather than the later this year. In round numbers, perhaps aiming of the first week of October would be a good bet — though I’m also confident that, barring weather surprises, there will still be color at lower elevations and among the largest trees later on, too.
If you want expansive views of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, head east of the range and up into the mountains. The White Mountains are renowned for providing such views, but there are many other ranges, too, and you can get some idea where to look for them by driving along US 395 and asking the question: “I wonder what is over there?” I ask that question from time to time, and it led me to this spot back in July, at which time I decided to return when the aspen color began. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting quite so much color, this still being mid-September — but I was pleasantly surprised.
This section of the crest features the prominent summits of Mounts Ritter and Banner — though technically these peaks are west of the crest and the lower and closer ridge is the actual crest. Further to the left of these peaks a bit of the Minarets is visible. The aspens in the foreground are the sort that seem to change colors early — relatively small trees in very high places and growing in drier areas. But even these small trees can produce intense color, especially when many of them carpet the mountainside. As a side note, I was exceptionally lucky to visit this place on this particular day. By the next morning smoke from a wildfire along the Owens River had socked in the whole eastern Sierra, and the view from this spot would have been, well, no view at all!
Flowers and new grass at the beginning of the “green season” in the Sierra Nevada foothills
Today I went for a hike — not in the Sierra Nevada foothills but in a place where some of the same seasonal cycles are found. The hike took me up to a ridge, where I followed a trail along its crest. It was hot and dry, and the hills were covered by brittle, brown grasses. That’s how summer works in much of California. People who come here from the east or the north are often taken aback by what looks like a dead and dry landscape, and they may not be able to see the beauty in it.
But it isn’t that way all year. In fact, during winter, when many of those green-in-summer places are freezing or buried under snow, much of California erupts into what I call the “impossibly green season.” Believe it or not, this photograph was made in February in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Snow was still falling in the higher mountains, and it would continue to do so for several more months. But here in the low hills along the western edge of the range, winter rains had resurrected the grasslands and caused the wildflowers to bloom
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
