Those of us spending time in the eastern Sierra this time of year as we chase aspen color (and other subjects) need to pay a bit more careful attention to the changing weather, for photographic reasons and for safety reasons! October is a transitional season in the Sierra, and it can be warm and sunny one day and winter-like and snowy on the next.
Right now there are some question marks in the forecast for the upcoming weekend. I think we are still a bit too far away to get a truly precise forecast, but it does seem likely that the eastern Sierra will feel some effects from a passing weather system by late Saturday or on Sunday.
Some resources for those tracking the weather include:
The MammothWeather.com Dweeb Report. This is a private site that is really useful, especially if you learn to read between the lines a bit. To paraphrase (and read between those lines…) it is getting very cold in the eastern Sierra right now, will warm a bit later this week, and then “something” is passing through during the weekend.
For slightly geekier (as opposed to dweebier?) weather trackers, the California Forecast Discussion page at the NWS often gives some good hints about how the weather may develop. Currently the sum of the reports here suggests that a) it is going to get colder this weekend, b) a front is going to pass through, c) there is some chance of light snow in the eastern Sierra starting Saturday night, and d) there could be some windy conditions.
The NWS Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon 7-Day Forecast covers a good chunk of the higher portion of the range in short form. Current forecast suggests cloudiness from Saturday evening through Sunday with some chance of precip.
What does it all mean to aspen hunters? A few thoughts cross my mind:
If you want reliable sun light in the very early morning hours this weekend, Saturday will be your day. Get up early and be in place before the sun rises.
There is some potential for interesting cloud formations and effects as the front approaches (if we get lucky, perhaps close to sunset on Saturday?) and then clears (later in the day on Sunday?).
There is a good chance that you’ll be shooting in at least some cloudy conditions. This can be a good thing! Photographing the aspens up close in cloud-diffused light can provide some wonderful saturated colors, though you’ll probably want to do some color adjustments in post. (The light will tend to be a bit blue.)
Think of light snow as a positive thing for photographs. There are tons of aspen photographs – but not nearly so many that combine the colorful leaves with a fresh dusting of snow.
Dress warmly. If you plan to camp be prepared for wet and cold, and probably give yourself a bit more time to get set up and so forth. Consider camping at a lower elevation if you aren’t prepared for the cold. Think about how you’ll manage your gear as you continue to shoot in cold and damp.
Watch out for difficult driving conditions. While a dusting of snow is not usually a major problem, falling snow and dark conditions can make things more difficult – and while you may not find this challenging, keep in mind that quite a few other drivers may not be as secure about this as you are. Also, even a little snow can temporarily close some Sierra passes – the NPS is notorious for closing down Tioga Pass for tiny bits of snow.
Wind may be an issue – in several ways. It is not uncommon for a front with strong winds to suddenly bring down some of the most colorful leaves. If you have a higher elevation grove in mind, go Saturday! The wind can also compound the problem of light diminished by clouds – the leaves may be moving a lot. Look for more sheltered areas, wait for a pause in the wind, increase ISO and use a faster shutter speed… or embrace the blur and make it part of your shots. And don’t forget that wind increases the effect of the cold.
Although I was in Yosemite this past weekend when the program started (yes, doing photography), between making photographs and working on them after returning I have yet to see any of the Ken Burns National Park series on PBS. However… I see now that you can watch them online for a limited time.
It looks like the Calphoto Fall Color in California page is back up and running with lots of updates. This has been one of the best California fall color sites for several years, and if you visit right now you’ll see lots of useful reports.
Although my main weekend photographic activity involved a short pack trip into the Cathedral Lakes in Yosemite (more later on that), I did manage a quick Sunday afternoon visit to some aspens in the Tioga Pass, Lee Vining, Conway Summit area. With that in mind, here is a short report on what I saw.
Tioga Pass – As you head east over Tioga Pass you begin to enter the “aspen zone” of the eastern Sierra. (There are aspens west of the crest, but very few in this area and fewer still along the road.) There are some specimens turning colors in roughly the Ellery Lake area, but the first really colorful trees are near the far end of the section of the road the traverses the headwall of Lee Vining Canyon. These are small trees, but some are quite colorful right now – with other still-green trees promising a bit more color yet to come. From this area I could also see more aspens (and other fall foliage) on higher ridges above the canyon.
Lee Vining Canyon – A bit later the large aspen groves down in Lee Vining Canyon will usually put on quite a show – and many of the trees growing in this lower elevation protected area are quite large. However, yesterday there was very little color down in the canyon. I could see a very few trees starting to turn, but that was about it.
Lundy Canyon – I did not enter Lundy Canyon on this trip since I had another goal in mind – so what I can report is based entirely on what I could see while driving by on highway 395. High on the ridges above Lundy Canyon there are some very colorful groves of trees. There appeared to also be some down closer to the entrance of the canyon. (I’ll post more concrete information about Lundy as soon as I can find it. Typically Lundy Canyon peaks a bit later than some of the other areas.)
Conway Summit – The huge groves of aspens right below the highway to the north of Conway Summit are barely starting to turn colors. I saw a very small number of yellow trees right near the road but the vast majority of the trees here still appear to be green. This bodes well for conditions in a week or so. However, the long view toward Dunderberg Meadow from here shows that the higher trees are changing and colors there may be peaking. (I could not investigate these upper groves more closely since the car I was driving is not equipped for travel on rough gravel roads.) South of Conway Summit there are some large and not very accessible groves that are turning colors quite dramatically, but it is next to impossible to find a place to pull over and photograph them.
Virginia Lake – The road to Virginia Lake leaves right from Conway Summit. Based on my visits in previous seasons, the trees along this road, especially up higher, tend to be among earliest to show color and then drop their leaves. I have arrived too late more than once! Yesterday, however, there were many trees showing very good color even along the upper sections of the road. There are also still a good number of green trees, so this show is probably not quite over. The first groves you come to shortly after leaving Conway Summit are currently at different stages of color. There is a parking area along the right side of the road in this area, and the trees parallel to the turnout on the right as you ascend are almost entirely green. However, across the road and just a bit further up there is a large and colorful grove where I photographed. Although there are still green trees here, there are also a few trees that have lost quite a few leaves. Another grove a bit higher alongside a creek at an obvious bend in the road is starting to look quite colorful, though the number of green trees suggests that there is still some good color to come.
UPDATE: For first time visitors to my site arriving via this page… I have posted several other notes on aspen hunting during the 2009 season:
