Liftoff for fall colors in Eastern Sierra
It’s “cattywampus” out there, said the state’s fall colors wizard, John Poimiroo.
“This is a weird year for fall colors,” Poimiroo said. “It’s going to continue weird for a while, and this is why: The groves are on their own clocks, and the reason why, I can’t explain.”
Just 10 days ago, the aspens in the canyons of the Eastern Sierra were 90 percent green, a month behind schedule in some locations. This past week, nature flipped the switch with vast groves of aspen, maples, cottonwoods, willows and dogwoods turning yellow, orange and crimson.
What we have is liftoff this week, with peak color forecast for the third week of October in the canyons and lakes of the Eastern Sierra, Poimiroo said. Others areas at lower elevations across California will then follow, such as in November in the Bay Area for the maples, fruit trees and other hardwoods.
Poimiroo publishes the website CaliforniaFallColor.com with a team of contributors who report to him across the state. He is also a longtime Chronicle field scout, a former director of state tourism and has worked in Yosemite National Park and been involved with philanthropy work for veterans.
In semi-retirement, he is now free to track a passion for fall colors and, in turn, create a free network for people to post their discoveries, photos and stories.
I told him it seems as though it’s been weird across California in the past month.
“Absolutely,” he responded, “weirdest I’ve ever seem.”
“What we’re seeing is that the groves are on their own clocks,” Poimiroo said. “Nobody knows why. Was it the eclipse? Record snow and rain last year? Record heat in August? Nobody knows. In New England, I’ve been told the colors are late there, too.”
One of the best ways to track fall colors is to start in the high canyons of the Eastern Sierra because that is where the colors peak first. You can then follow the color transition as the annual phenomenon descends in elevation through November. Eastern Sierra
The best fall colors right now are up McGee Creek Canyon out of Toms Place near Crowley Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon out
of Bishop, and Convict Lake south of Mammoth Lakes. Poimiroo hiked up McGee Canyon last weekend to see it for himself.
McGee Canyon: “McGee is fabulous, a mix of cottonwood, aspen, and as you get higher, near the end of trail, you walk into a valley where below it is a sea of chartreuse yellow,” he said. It will only get better in the next two weeks, he added. Convict Lake: The slopes above Convict Lake were 90 percent green just 10 days ago, and then started to change color Sunday with willows, maples and aspens. Poimiroo estimated the groves were at 25 percent color and would peak Oct. 1825. Bishop Creek Canyon: Up the canyon, there are groves of aspens near the Forest Service campgrounds, and at North Lake as well. “The stands are all
are going to peak at their own times,” Poimiroo said. “At North Lake over the weekend, some of the trees were past peak, some were green. Everything is on their own clock. We’re finding this everywhere.” Near, far
Central Sierra: Hope Valley along Highway 88, about an hour south of Lake Tahoe, is often good for fall colors. Poimiroo found some color amid late greens last weekend at the old wood cabin, a local landmark officially called the Red Creek Cabin. Yosemite: The entrance to Yosemite Valley, in the riparian area along the Merced River, is like most areas late in turning color. Mount Shasta: On Monday, it was about 60 percent green; by Tuesday it was 60 percent color. The maples, dogwoods and
willows are starting to fill out in yellows and oranges, and the bracken ferns have turned golden. The aspens are now showing the first signs of turning, always spectacular. A trip into the Trinity Divide above Castle Crags last weekend found full color, yellow to crimson, in areas above 6,000 feet. Southern California: Mount San Jacinto, with access from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, is already peaking, Poimiroo said. Redwood Empire: Maples, dogwood and poison oak are coming into the full spectrum of colors, best perhaps at the El Meadow Cabins, located near Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
Bay Area: The biggest swath of fall colors comes in early November in the downtown Palo Alto area, where there was a massive tree planting program, with lots of maples, 75 years ago. In controlled micro-habitats, there can be good color at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and Tilden Botanical Garden in the Berkeley hills. Elsewhere, there can be pockets of color, often muted, and most residents have their favorites. One is the hike along Alameda Creek in Sunol Regional Wilderness, another is at Redwood Regional Park, from the Redwood Road entrance to the picnic area.
For updates: California Fall Color, www.californiafallcolor.com. Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoor writer. He will help open the new location of the Commonwealth Club at 110 The Embarcadero, across from the ferry building, with a benefit show “Bears to Big foot” free to all students at 6 p.m. Thursday. Tickets: www.com monwealthclub.org. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.