Aspens, Green and Yellow. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 1, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Transitional early autumn aspen color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

These tall aspen trees with their straight trunks are not the most common sight in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where smaller and more twisted trees are more the rule. But in protected and well-watered locations the trees can grow straight and tall. I photographed these at the beginning of what most would consider the prime aspen color season in this region, the first two or three weeks of October. The color starts up high (often even earlier than this) among small, high elevation trees and then works its way down into the canyons and out into the drier lands east of the Sierra. At this spot, though not within the view of the camera, there was an entire hillside covered in bright yellow small trees, but among these larger trees the show was just beginning.

This demonstrates something that Sierra aspen-chasers eventually learn, namely that if the trees in one spot are not ideal we can simply look higher or lower, north or south, and we’ll probably find trees in good condition. Although I did not make it back after this visit during the 2016 aspen color season, I’m quite sure that those who came to this spot a week or two after I was there found that some of the yellow trees had lost their leaves and that the trees that are green in this photograph were brightly colored.

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.
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