Natural History Wanderings

There were two new fall foliage reports for the Sierras yesterday on Calphoto.

I hit bishop canyon on friday and rock creek, june lake loop, lundy canyon, conway summit and virgina lakes yesterday. Standouts in my opinion are lundy canyon and conway summit …lots of reds and oranges. Rock creek and bishop were decent with pockets of really nice color but mostly yellows. June lake had some yellows and golds but still a decent amount of green.

• The colors are pretty much done on the West side of 108, all the way past the 9000 ft level on the Eastern side of the Sonora Pass.
• The Forest Route 77 on 108, has a great splash of color, right at the front. Unlike last year though, no colors near the meadow – its all gone.
• Across from the Route, and where 108 turns, there are a bunch of greens looking very promising.
• There is quite a bit of color on the dirt road by the Horse Pack Station. The Leavitt Meadows are good now, but probably done.
• On 395, there are a lot of Yellows South of 108, but some Green here and there, looking promising.
• Going further South on 395, I don’t have a clear marker, past one of the passes, where the 4 lane road turns to two, you will see both sides surrounding the freeway clear. On the East/left hand side, there is one spot with amazing reds, yellows and greens, which will need a 400mm lens and some timing/framing for good shots.
• North of the turn off to Virginia lakes, there is an “okay” mix of greens and yellows with some red. The riparian plantation is also reddish, and seems quite good.
• Past the Virginia Lakes turn off, on the West slopes by 395, there is a very good splash of yellow, with a small amount of green, which shows some promise.

Go to Calphoto to see more reports.