When do autumn colors start?

I'll be in California from Oct 11th-18th and was planning on visiting Yosemite the weekend of the 15th and 16th. Will the autumn colors be starting in Yosemite by that point, or will I still be a few weeks early?

A little early (normally) if you are talking about the Valley. Eastern Sierras above 6800 feet are just about right that time of year (Mcgee Creek pack station, Convict Lake ,June Lake loop, Rock Creek Lake rd., end of the Lundly lake rd., Lee Vining Creek along the power station rd., etc.) Although you never know. The Valley could be very nice (color wise). Check out a web site called "Fall Color in California" hosted by Carol Leigh. A lot of up to date info. The Valley should be starting but usually doesn't peak until the last week in Oct. Operative word is "normally".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2011 04:49PM by mtn man.

Thanks mtn man. That site has exactly the type of info I needed.

Carol Leigh's blog can be found at www.calphoto.com. In the spring the wildflower blooms are posted there.

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parklover
Carol Leigh's blog can be found at www.calphoto.com. In the spring the wildflower blooms are posted there.

She no longer posts the wildflower reports due to all the problems last year (or the year before) with trampling, etc. It had become too popular a source for non photographers.

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hotrod4x5

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parklover
Carol Leigh's blog can be found at www.calphoto.com. In the spring the wildflower blooms are posted there.

She no longer posts the wildflower reports due to all the problems last year (or the year before) with trampling, etc. It had become too popular a source for non photographers.

Yeah, that was a bit of an overblown tempest in a teapot brought on by the hysteria of one, particular person who's observations, shall we say, reflected somewhat less of reality and more of her own self-importance.

If you really care and are passionate about California's wildflowers, it would be extremely disheartening to witness hoards of people trampling over them.

But if you think a California wildflower website is still a worthwhile endeavor, you're free to set one up. Don't know why Carol Leigh ought to be tasked with that job and responsibility. She did it as a service to fellow photographers. She later decided it would be best, in her eyes, not to continue with it. I respect her decision. Maintaining a website like that can take quite of bit of time out of someone's busy schedule, especially if someone is on the road often.

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plawrence
If you really care and are passionate about California's wildflowers, it would be extremely disheartening to witness hoards of people trampling over them.

But if you think a California wildflower website is still a worthwhile endeavor, you're free to set one up. Don't know why Carol Leigh ought to be tasked with that job and responsibility. She did it as a service to fellow photographers. She later decided it would be best, in her eyes, not to continue with it. I respect her decision. Maintaining a website like that can take quite of bit of time out of someone's busy schedule, especially if someone is on the road often.

A. The thing about wildflowers is that they are temporal but always come back.
B. I was at the places at the time that the person (not Carol) claimed the trampling, knocking over fences, etc...was going on. It was nonsense. It was not occurring.

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tanngrisnir3

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plawrence
If you really care and are passionate about California's wildflowers, it would be extremely disheartening to witness hoards of people trampling over them.

But if you think a California wildflower website is still a worthwhile endeavor, you're free to set one up. Don't know why Carol Leigh ought to be tasked with that job and responsibility. She did it as a service to fellow photographers. She later decided it would be best, in her eyes, not to continue with it. I respect her decision. Maintaining a website like that can take quite of bit of time out of someone's busy schedule, especially if someone is on the road often.

A. The thing about wildflowers is that they are temporal but always come back.

Actually, they don't in some areas where there's heavy trampling by foot. Meadows are far more fragile that we think. That's why even in Yosemite, select meadows get cordoned off for restoration, and even unsightly boardwalks are constructed to keep people off some of the meadows around Yosemite Valley.

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B. I was at the places at the time that the person (not Carol) claimed the trampling, knocking over fences, etc...was going on. It was nonsense. It was not occurring.

I doubt that Carol Leigh would have stopped doing the updates based on just one person's eyewitness report. There was a bit of discussion about it in her Yahoo! Group. More than one person, including herself, had made comments about how many prime wildflower fields were being overrun by people actually picnicking on top of wildflowers and people not respecting no trespassing signs. In the Yahoo! Group discussion, Carol stated that she had already been contemplating for several years about ending her California wildflower hotsheet. I don't think it was a rash decision based solely on one person's eyewitness account.

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Uh oh, drama finds a way into everything- even photography blogs.

There are different tree and shrub species that contribute to the California fall color and each one has its own period of color change. There is some overlap with some species but not with others. Also change generally occurs first at higher colder elevations and progresses to lower warmer elevations. The two primary species of interest to photographers are quaking aspen that is primarily along the Eastern Sierra and Pacific dogwood that occurs on western Sierra mid to lower elevation slopes. That is the main species that turns color in Yosemite Valley as there are few aspen. The valley has black oak and bigleaf maple too but they are less impressive. However dogwood and the other two tend to change after your visit, between late October and early November.

You would do better to catch the end of the aspen change in the lower Inyo and Mono County areas like June Lake or Lundy Canyon. Your visit may be late for mid and higher elevation aspen groves in the Eastern Sierra but the lower level groves may be prime.

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http://www.davidsenesac.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2011 03:18PM by DavidSenesac.

As for the discussions two springs ago on wildflower trampling, I was active in several of those and have been a old user and contributor on her site before it became popular. I'll make a brief summary here.

Not many years ago before the Internet became well used, there were actually only small numbers of mainly hard core photographers and CNPS enthusiasts, like this person that traveled around during spring seeking wildflower blooms. Prior to that the only real place in California where the general public really flocked to wildflowers was the Antelope Valley State Poppy Reserve. With the Internet and the explosion of digital cameras earlier this decade, that all changed and her site became the focus of large numbers of new seekers. Some places like Shell Creek in San Luis Obispo County in just a few years went from peak weekends with maybe a dozen people all day to hundreds. And that in some places indeed caused problems including trespassing and trampling especially for the many new seekers that didn't have a clue as to what the status quos were on behavior.

When the noted discussions began, some board members began ranting about the trampling as though ANY trampling was to be condemned. But that was non-sense as some limited trampling had always occurred. Like they were trying to make everything fit into a black and white ethic. Reality is there are many different situations with each requiring a considerate ethical approach to what is reasonable. It is true in less dense wildflower areas one can avoid stepping on plants but there is a reason seekers go to dense areas. In many places enthusiasts historically have visited, it is virtually impossible not to make at least some use paths through wildflower areas or else one is stuck to trails and roadsides. And in places where one sets up to take pictures, often little bomb holes result. In places like Carrizo Plain or Antelope Valley wildflowers are far too dense. But that doesn't mean anything goes in walking about in such areas. I could write a few pages worth of what reasonable considerate ettiquette when out in such fields though this is not the place to do so.

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http://www.davidsenesac.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2011 01:14PM by DavidSenesac.

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DavidSenesac
I could write a few pages worth of what reasonable considerate ettiquette when out in such fields though this is not the place to do so.

I've done a little wildflower photography and think this would be a great place to find at least a short highlight list of reasonable etiquette. Or at least on the General Discussion Forum.

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DavidSenesac
As for the discussions two springs ago on wildflower trampling, I was active in several of those and have been a old user and contributor on her site before it became popular. I'll make a brief summary here.

Not many years ago before the Internet became well used, there were actually only small numbers of mainly hard core photographers and CNPS enthusiasts, like this person that traveled around during spring seeking wildflower blooms. Prior to that the only real place in California where the general public really flocked to wildflowers was the Antelope Valley State Poppy Reserve. With the Internet and the explosion of digital cameras earlier this decade, that all changed and her site became the focus of large numbers of new seekers. Some places like Shell Creek in San Luis Obispo County in just a few years went from peak weekends with maybe a dozen people all day to hundreds. And that in some places indeed caused problems including trespassing and trampling especially for the many new seekers that didn't have a clue as to what the status quos were on behavior.

When the noted discussions began, some board members began ranting about the trampling as though ANY trampling was to be condemned. But that was non-sense as some limited trampling had always occurred. Like they were trying to make everything fit into a black and white ethic. Reality is there are many different situations with each requiring a considerate ethical approach to what is reasonable. It is true in less dense wildflower areas one can avoid stepping on plants but there is a reason seekers go to dense areas. In many places enthusiasts historically have visited, it is virtually impossible not to make at least some use paths through wildflower areas or else one is stuck to trails and roadsides. And in places where one sets up to take pictures, often little bomb holes result. In places like Carrizo Plain or Antelope Valley wildflowers are far too dense. But that doesn't mean anything goes in walking about in such areas. I could write a few pages worth of what reasonable considerate ettiquette when out in such fields though this is not the place to do so.

That, and there was one, particular individual (who will remain unnamed) who complained the most about things that clearly weren't happened who just happened (what are the chances?) to start up her own page, very similar to Carol's, immediately after Carol closed hers down. Methinks there was a particular self-interest in said complaining.

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DavidSenesac
There are different tree and shrub species that contribute to the California fall color and each one has its own period of color change. There is some overlap with some species but not with others. Also change generally occurs first at higher colder elevations and progresses to lower warmer elevations. The two primary species of interest to photographers are quaking aspen that is primarily along the Eastern Sierra and Pacific dogwood that occurs on western Sierra mid to lower elevation slopes. That is the main species that turns color in Yosemite Valley as there are few aspen. The valley has black oak and bigleaf maple too but they are less impressive. However dogwood and the other two tend to change after your visit, between late October and early November.

You would do better to catch the end of the aspen change in the lower Inyo and Mono County areas like June Lake or Lundy Canyon. Your visit may be late for mid and higher elevation aspen groves in the Eastern Sierra but the lower level groves may be prime.

This is very helpful. Thank you, David