Again on the theme of trying to catch the eastern Sierra aspens at their peak, I saw an interesting post today that suggests that some of the trees are beginning to change colors in a significant way. Photographic evidence is included, in the form on a photo in the post and links to additional photos. It looks like the North Lake, South Lake, and Sabrina Basin areas are actually coming into form.

This is only a hunch, but I’m wondering if the peak is going to come a bit on the early side this year – partly due to the stress of a much drier than usual summer and partly due to the cold front that came through last week.

For my part, I may try to get to the Monitor Pass area on a one-day blitz sometime this weekend. The top of Monitor has one of the largest and most accessible aspen stands around, and I’ve often found that it has reached its peak a bit earlier than some of the other aspen locations.