“WHAT??
Has that boy been dippin in the Cooking Sherry again?
It’s not even Labor Day yet!!”

I figure that’s what you’re asking after reading that title, but it’s true. I went on a drive today and what I saw was pretty interesting. The Eastern Sierra from June Lake to Bishop Creek already has smatterings of yellow color in the aspens and there is more to come in the not to distant future. I have pictures to prove it too.

So I guess I’ll start up on the June Lake Loop since that’s where I saw the first signs of Fall today. Coming into Grant Lake I was surprised to find that the aspens on the hill side were very pale green, not the deep green of summer. Then I started noticing the yellow in the groves. As I got to the inlet of the lake I started seeing groups of yellow trees and I was pretty much floored. As I continued along the loop I saw more groves that were starting to change. All the way around the loop it was the same. Here are a couple of pictures from up there.

I decided to see if this was a local thing going on at June or if it was happening in other areas too. So I drove up to Rock Creek Lake and saw the same thing up there, only there wasn’t as much going on. Up near the lake the trees had that soon to change look to them. Something interesting though, last year I took a picture of a grove of aspens on the hill beside the lake. I posted the pic on the site and said it was the first color of the season. Well that same grove is changing right now and it’s two or threes weeks sooner than last year!

Next I drove up Bishop Creek and guess what? Same thing happening there. The trees on the hill behind Intake II have yellow in them and are very pale green. There is a little yellow on the hill above Aspendell and Cardinal Village. On the east shore of Sabrina there is a good sized area of yellow and up canyon from the lake there is yellow. In fact there is an orange tree up there that was glowing in the late afternoon sun.

At North Lake the aspens are all still deep green, but the willows by the pack station are beginning to change and the grass in the meadow is already brown.

Now for the South Fork. The area of the canyon above the Table Mtn Campground, where the canyon widens and the aspens cover the canyon sides has the most yellow I saw today. I was totally surprised and somewhat shocked. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Now all of you photographers out there don’t start getting all fidgety and running up here yet. The trees that are changing are only about %1 of the trees out there. Most of the aspens are still very green and aren’t going to be changing anytime soon. But here’s the thing, it’s a good two to three weeks early for the ones that have started.

So why is this happening? Here’s my theory. The trees and groves I saw that are changing are all growing on the dry hillsides. They are all the short, stunted trees that grow in amongst the sagebrush and on the rocky soils. None of the big trees that grow in the wet meadows and along the streams are even thinking of changing yet. They all still have very dark green summer leaves.

I think that these hillside groves aren’t necessarily changing from the seasonal change, but because they’re thirsty. With our extremely dry winter followed by a very warm and dry summer these guys are saying enough is enough and they’re heading into their winter sleep a little early this year. That’s my thinking anyway.

So what’s this mean for our fall color season? I’m not sure, it’s still to early to tell. So please don’t start emailing me asking me to predict when the colors will peak, ’cause I don’t know. This year will be very interesting. One things for sure, when the rest of the trees change, all of these trees changing now will be bare.

I’ll keep you guys posted on what I see. It looks like it’s time for me to run up Bishop Creek at least one a week now. And I sure hate to have to do that ;-)