October 2016 140 Where, when, and how to discover the best photography in America Published since 1989 37,57.0836N 119,13.3653W Autumn in the Sierra California s Aspen Groves If you enjoy photographing the colors of autumn, plan your next autumn color exploration for the east side of California s Sierra Nevada. Travel U.S. Route 395 through aspen groves climbing into steep canyons that drop from the Pacific Crest to the edge of the Great Basin Desert. In contrast to the reds of fall in New England, the yellows of the Sierra have a short autumn season, moving from north to south and from higher to lower elevations, influenced by rain, wind, and temperature. Each year these scenes of flaming color framed by ragged mountain peaks can be spectacular. Next fall, head west and climb to elevations of over 10,000 feet to photograph an exciting version of autumn color.
issue 140 - page 2 Some of the best autumn color can be found in the canyons that drop to the east side of the Sierra, the Nevada side of that mountain range. My favorite aspen groves stretch from Lake Tahoe to the Owens Valley and points south. My exploration of autumn color east of the Sierra concentrated on the side canyons along U.S. Route 395 from Topaz Lake to the lakes around Bishop where a large selection of motels and services can be found. The gas station at Topaz Lake on U.S. Route 395 has a long row of Tesla Superchargers with a 30-minute charge to get you to the next charging station. Aspen in the Sierra Five mountain passes cross the Sierra Nevada at elevations of eight-to-ten-thousand feet. From Interstate 80, a multi-lane freeway north of Lake Tahoe to the Sonora Pass, a narrow, steep and twisty route connects the gold town of Sonora and the small mountain town of Bridgeport. Emigrant gold seekers engineered the most direct wagon trail route to the mines. The Sonora Pass was the first route to cross the Sierra in 1859 and is still being used today. All these Sierra passes are now paved and well engineered. The Aspen Trees in most aspen groves are connected, with new trees sprouting from the roots of others. They might be considered a single organism of record-breaking size not as tall as a redwood and much wider. Aspens usually reproduce through root suckering, creating genetically identical trees called clones. One individual aspen clone can cover as many as 100 acres. Although individual aspen trees are shortlived, many clones in the Great Basin Desert are at least 8,000 years old. A few clones have even survived since the last Ice Age. 37,14.7317N 118,35.1685W
issue 140 - page 3 Some aspen groves get their leaves earlier in the spring. Others drop their autumn color later in the fall. These variations usually indicate that there are different clones on a hillside. Each clone s characteristics influence leaf size, bark color, and disease resistance. Heavy snowdrifts crushing young trees cause twisted and curved aspen trunks. Ebbetts Pass The Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Highway is a 61-mile stretch of CA State Highways 4 and 89, between the towns of Arnold in Calaveras County and Markleeville in Alpine County. Markleeville, near the Monitor Pass, has a gas station, a general store and a couple of restaurants. This narrow byway crosses some of the most dramatic Sierra High Country vistas as it winds through aspen groves along the eastern side of the range and majestic stands of Giant Sequoia on the western slopes. Ebbetts Pass, at 8,732 feet is a steep climb with good color scattered along the road. It s narrow in many places and that keeps larger trucks off this route. Carson Pass CA State Route 88, the Carson Pass, typically has the best display of autumn foliage near the summit. A ranger on duty at the visitor Center can help you find the best location for photography in that area. Driving west on State Route 88, you can see a 10,000-foot craggy, volcanic peak called Red Lake Peak. The largest groves of aspens are three miles east of the summit along Red Lake Creek. The large parking area at the summit is for through hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail and day hikers to Red Lake Peak. CA State Route 88 over the Sierra has heavy truck traffic from Jackson, California, to Gardnerville, Nevada. It s not the fastest and not the slowest route over the Sierra. It is scenic. Sorensens Resort, near the junction of CA State Route 88 and 89, is surrounded by a dense grove of aspen worth a stop to photograph the picturesque cabins in the woods and hike the trails. It s twenty minutes south of Lake Tahoe. Monitor Pass The Monitor Pass at 8,314 feet has been one of my favorite places to find aspen color for many years. Before the 1950s, groves closed in tight along both sides of the road.
issue 140 - page 4 Wildfires have changed the terrain. The aspen groves are now larger, spreading for miles to the south. The Monitor Pass road climbs steeply from U.S. Route 395 at a point one mile south of Topaz Lake. Open your car s sunroof to see switchbacks thousands of feet above. The summit covers several miles of fairly level meadows. From a wide parking area on the south side of the road, a rough dirt road heads south into the largest grove where it forks and heads in many directions for a great variety of images. Most of these roads end at campsites where trails climb higher into the groves. The largest grove stretches east to west. A 4x4 is not necessary but will make explorations into remote places like the Monitor Pass easier. Driving over the Monitor Pass, you ll see the best backlight by heading west in the afternoon and east in the morning. The drive to the summit is steep with great views to the south. As you pass over the summit, park and set up a 200-300 telephoto lens in the middle of the road. Sonora Pass The Sonora Pass at 9,624 feet is the second highest pass across the Sierra Range. (Yosemite s Tioga Pass is the highest.) The Sonora Pass connects the Gold Rush town of Sonora at the west end and Bridgeport, California, at the eastern end. The U.S. Marine Mountain Training Center is located near the eastern end of the Sonora Pass. The steep climb starts at the gate on the western edge of the Training Center. Three miles west of U.S. Route 395, a narrow, paved road climbs grades of up to 26% in a series of tight switchbacks to the summit. Along this route are spectacular vistas, many with bright patches of aspen groves in the distance -looking south. 38,18.4353N 119,35.5855W 38,40.5276N 119,37.2798W Halfway to the summit (driving west) is a large granite slab scattered with granite boulders dropped here by melting glaciers when the last ice age retreated. On the other side of this canyon is another grove of aspen. From the right spot with a telephoto lens, you can fill the bottom of your composition with the piles of granite boulders and a yellow hillside in the distance.
issue 140 - page 5 Just before reaching the elevation of 9,624 feet, the narrow road passes a large grove of tall and mature aspen. My images from the edge of the road look downward into the crowns of yellow and red trees at the peak of color on the 38,19.2997N 119,36.6658W first day of October your visit may differ. Beyond the grove to the south is a deep and narrow canyon beneath a sky spotted with clouds. Look closely. Near the bottom of this canyon is the fifty-foot drop of Sardine Falls. At the Sonora Pass summit is a sign with information about the history made in the spot when it became the first successful ox-drawn wagon train route over the Sierra in late summer of 1852. Don t ride your brakes on these steep downgrades. Shift to a lower gear to keep your speed down. Modern disk brakes won t fade like old-style drum brakes, but overheating can warp your rotors and cause an annoying vibration. All these roads over the Sierra connect with U.S. Route 395, the north/south route on the eastern edge of the state. From the west, they all climb slowly for miles to the Pacific Crest Trail and then drop quickly for a few miles down steep and winding routes to the edge of the Great Basin Desert. The largest aspen groves grow on the east side of the range at elevations between 7,000 and 9,000 feet. Most nature photographers refer to U.S. Route 395 as a route between the Alabama Hills and Mono Lake, including the lakes west of Bishop, the ghost town of Bodie and the ancient bristlecone groves in the White Mountains east of Bishop. U.S. Route 395 stretches for over thirteen hundred miles between San Bernardino, California, and the Canadian border, just north of Spokane, Washington. With enough time, it would be possible to photograph aspen groves from Lake Tahoe to the Onion Valley, west of Independence, California. Aspen colors first appear on higher elevations in the north and slowly move south to lower elevations. South to Bodie If you can t get a motel room in Lee Vining, try Bridgeport. It s a quiet little town along U.S. Route 395 with a good selection of motels and restaurants.
issue 140 - page 6 Seven miles south of Bridgeport is the junction with CA State Route 270, the road to Bodie State Historic Park, a great side trip to the West s largest ghost town in a state of arrested decay. Bodie s Along this four-lane highway is a scenic turnout with a panoramic view of aspens circling distant meadows. Cattle are often grazing far below the highway. These groves are most colorful when backlit in the afternoon. This area around Conway Summit became part of the Bureau of Land Management in 1993 to protect its wildlife and scenic value. Virginia Lakes The Virginia Lakes turn off is well marked with a sign near the top of the Conway Summit. The paved road starts to climb just west of the junction. In one mile, the road northern boundary fence has been moved closer to the mine for better photos of the mill. Everything else is unchanged. The gate to Bodie is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. An entry fee is charged. This was my first photo trip to Bodie with a digital camera. I m looking forward to comparing my recent digital images to the identical Bodie scenes I shot years ago on film, both color and black-and-white. Conway Summit At 8,138 feet, the highest spot along U.S. Route 395 and the highest point along any U.S. highway in California is the Conway Summit. 38,5.7648N 119,10.6984W crosses a bridge over Virginia Creek. The light is best in the morning here. Park on either side of the road. Follow the trail uphill for the best aspen groves. On the downstream side of the road is a reflection pond. Three miles farther up the road are a few wide spots with more small aspen groves. An unpaved road parallels the stream and the paved road. It s an access road to campsites for trout fishermen. I found few aspens down there.
issue 140 - page 7 Near the top of the grade the pavement ends and a gravel road continues a few more miles through a forest spotted with private summer cabins. The gravel road ends at Virginia Lake and a parking area. Continue to the left around road s end to a second parking lot. Park and walk a short trail to the southern end of Virginia Lake. Here I found late morning light illuminating an aspen grove in the distance on the edge of the lake and lighting up wind-whipped whitecaps breaking on the rocky beach where a red canoe was tied to a tree. A photograph of this was worth the drive. Lundy Lake This canyon is reached by a sixmile road, climbing through dense groves of aspen. Most of the foliage was still green in early October 38,2.8177N 119,15.7663W with autumn still a few weeks away. At the far end of the lake (a reservoir) is a dramatic view across the lake where yellow aspen groves climb steep canyon walls reaching thousands of feet to granite spires in the clouds. A steep trail connects Saddlebag Lake to Lundy Lake and then to the dirt road at the end of Lundy Lake canyon. Back on U.S. Route 395, south of the Conway Summit, is a panoramic view of Mono Lake. The highway through the town of Lee Vining is squeezed between the lake and the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada. Lee Vining is one of the busier junctions along U.S. Route 395 and is the center of the most popular destinations for photographers along the eastern Sierra. The list includes great views of the tufa towers on Mono Lake, the ghost town of Bodie, the June Lake Loop, Saddle Bag Lake, Lundy Lake, the Virginia Lake area and the eastern entrance to Yosemite. Book well ahead if you want a motel room in Lee Vining for close proximity to aspen color, Mono Lake sunsets, and the ghost town of Bodie. 38,1.6845N 119,14.3542W
issue 140 - page 8 The Tioga Pass CA State Route 120 is Yosemite s eastern entrance. Aspen groves start to appear a few miles up the canyon above Lee Vining. A left-turn onto a dead-end side road marked Poole Power Plant Road winds through more aspen. It s a gravel road following Lee Vining Creek to many Forest Service campgrounds. The road ends at the power station. June Lake Loop Five miles south of Lee Vining on U.S. Route 395 is a sign marking the right turn to the June Lake Loop. Heading south, you ll pass Grant Lake first, then Silver Lake, and then heavily-developed June Lake before returning to U.S. Route 395. It s a sixteen-mile loop. Early October color started at the south end of Grant Lake and followed Rush Creek for three miles to the edge of Silver Lake. The color was perfect along this stretch of road. Close-up details and wideangle vistas were everywhere. Trails from the road led through aspen groves and down to the creek. These trails made by trout fishermen make access easy for anyone with a tripod. The Tioga Pass has some of the most dramatic backgrounds above brilliant aspen colors on the canyon side of the pass, just below the 9,000 foot-elevation sign. If you miss the wide turn-outs on both sides of the road, make a safe U-turn when you see the elevation sign and return to the canyon side and stop at the east end of the parking area. Walk uphill to the closest overlook. Below will be a wide swath of color, from lower left to the upper right of your composition. To the northwest is Tioga Peak in the clouds (cover photo). Hope for a dramatic sky. If you are looking for a photo adventure, these roads will take you there. Mammoth Lakes At Mammoth, a great ski area, most photographers take the shuttle bus to Devil s Postpile National Monument where yellow aspen are seen in early October. From there, walk the easy two-mile trail to a viewpoint below Rainbow Falls. The best rainbows here are photographed around mid-day at this hundred-foot waterfall.
issue 140 - page 9 Alaska Airlines flies from Los Angeles (LAX) to the Mammoth Airport (MMH) with regularlyscheduled flights year-round. Reno is the closest large airport with major airlines and scheduled fights. If you fly into Las Vegas, pick up a rental car and head north on U.S. Route 95 with stops in Death Valley and the Alabama Hills. An early snowfall on the high Sierra is a regular event in October. Snow can close the five mountain passes across the Sierra. Use Las Vegas as the beginning and end of your autumn color trip and you can avoid getting snowed in. Bishop Lakes There are some great aspen groves in the Sierra Nevada Range west of Bishop, the largest community on U.S. Route 395. When driving through town, watch for the sign at the corner of U.S. Route 395 and W. Line Street, also known as CA State Route 168. On the southeast corner at this junction is the Mountain Light Gallery, showing Galen and Barbara Rowell s Photography. Stop, park in the back, and visit the gallery to enjoy Galen s images huge prints including many of the Bishop Lakes in autumn colors. You ll be inspired to get back on the road into the high country and try your luck with the local aspen groves. Pull out of the gallery s parking lot, turn left and drive straight through the intersection. In a few miles, CA State Route 168 climbs gradually as the twists and tight corners lead higher into the clouds. When I visit this area, I first drive to the end of this road to start my photography. Then I stop at all the promising locations on my way back to Bishop. Sabrina Lake is at the top of CA State Route 168. Here I parked and walked down the stream. My favorite photos were taken around the bridge below the lake. There is a wide pond above the bridge and a great variety of aspen colors climbing the slopes to the south. Three miles to the west, just over a long line of peaks above Sabrina Lake, is the boundary of Kings Canyon National Park. No road crosses the Sierra to the south of Yosemite. Sabrina Lake was named for the wife of the first general manager of the Nevada California Power Company, which dammed the lake in 1907 to hold back spring run-off and provide electric power to the eastern Sierra. Headed downhill, a sign on CA State Route 168 marks the left turn onto the road to North Lake. It s a short and exciting road, not steep but narrow with a long vertical drop at the edge. Across the far shore of North Lake, I found a panoramic
issue 140 - page 10 swipe of aspen color reflecting in the lake. A strong wind blowing over the Sierra peaks made photography almost impossible. The quaking aspen trees were a blur of color. A light snow began to fall sideways. The far side of North Lake was barely visible. Back on CA State Route 168, heading downhill toward the side road leading to South Lake, I spotted some good color around a fishing pond at a sign marking a right turn into the Intake 2 Campground. After parking and hiking several trails on the near side of the lake with mixed results, I drove back to the campground entrance at the restrooms and turned south onto a paved road. The first parking spot, a short distance up the hill on the left side of this road, was marked with a sign warning that there was No Overnight Parking Permitted. I packed my gear down the only trail leading into the largest and most colorful aspen grove. A hundred feet downhill, the trail crossed a very sturdy wooden bridge over the stream and veered left around the grove. The color was perfect; I must have arrived at its peak. All the lakes in this area were created with dams to provide electricity to the mines in the Bishop area and beyond. Deep in these woods, I found old remains of cabins brick chimneys and stone foundations that have survived many fires in the past hundred years. Aspens are one of the first type of tree to grow back after a forest fire. They are short lived and shade young evergreens while they get a head start on their way to a very long life with some luck. After filling several more compact flash cards, I found the way back to my 4-Runner and packed my gear for a drive to South Lake. A sign marking the right turn to South Lake is easy to miss along the long, fast, downhill straightaway toward Bishop. Aspen groves start near the junction and line the dead-end road, nonstop, all the way to South Lake. This was the best year for autumn color I had ever seen in this canyon. Large, wide parking areas along this road are located near the best fishing holes and have space for large pickups, campers, and RVs.
issue 140 - page 11 Small, two-car-wide parking spots are found near the best photo spots. It can be a rough scramble through the sagebrush down to the stream. Some aspen groves only need a short telephoto lens from the edge of the road and others need a long walk through the brush with a wideangle lens to photograph a cascade surrounded by yellow leaves. 37,11.1104N 118,33.5113W Along the gravel road that follows Bishop creek are many access points if you are looking for compositions with streams running through aspen groves. Quiet ponds provide yellow reflections. While setting up my camera on the edge of the pond, a large, black luxury sedan raised a dust cloud passing the pond with the passenger standing in the sunroof capturing a smartphone video of seasonal color. Unlike New England autumn color, which is mostly red maples, here in the Sierra Nevada most aspen leaves are yellow, with a soft shade of red scattered in with all the yellow leaves (something to look for when searching for aspens in the fall). I found my red/orange leaves on the edge of South Lake. It s a reservoir with low water levels in the fall. Walking the dry shoreline helped me find some new images, such as close-ups of colorful leaves. Every autumn is different because of changing weather conditions. A dry summer or an early cold snap will speed up the color change or push it off to the middle of October. A few days of strong winds can remove all the leaves, and a few days of snow can turn all the yellow leaves to brown or black. When all the aspens have dropped their leaves, cottonwoods start to turn color in the Owens Valley. Most of the tallest trees along U.S. Route 395 are cottonwoods. The peak of cottonwood autumn color typically arrives from mid-to-late October. Have a great trip 37,13.0705N 118,33.9825W
The Bristlecone Pine Forest Drive twenty miles south of Bishop on U.S. Route 395 to Big Pine. Head northeast from Big Pine on CA State Route 168 and turn left into the wellmarked entrance station to Bristlecone Pine Forest. Continue north to the Schulman Grove and the Visitor Center. Three trails begin at the parking lot of the Visitor Center. Take the Discovery Trail, a one-mile loop. The most dramatic trees are at the midpoint along the loop you can walk either way. The east side of the loop has a great variety of ancient gnarled and weathered pines. This trail has several benches where you can sit and catch your breath. The GPS unit on my camera read a 10,276-foot elevation at the top of this loop trail. The west side of the loop trail has no switchbacks. It has a great view of the highest peaks along of the Sierra. 37,23.3719N 118,10.895W My life-long career in photography began at San Jose State University in 1957. After college, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, serving as a photographer and darkroom technician. In Germany, my skills and experience with equipment and lab work were developed and polished. I took the opportunity to photograph the beauty of nature in the Black Forest. Returning to California in 1965, I produced industrial and military training films for Raytheon Electronics and began showing my color nature prints. From 1969 through 1981, my photography was exhibited and sold in West Coast galleries. During the early 1980 s, I taught color darkroom workshops, then expanded to include field trips. Former customers, who had purchased my framed photographs, wanted to learn photography. My Pacific Image Photography Workshops offered adventures to the Pacific Coast, the Southwest deserts, national parks, Hawaii, New England, Canada, England, and the South Pacific. The workshops evolved into writing and sharing my adventures with others. Photograph America Newsletter provides information on where, when, and how to discover the best nature photography in North America. Photograph America Newsletter is published quarterly (four issues/year) by Robert Hitchman assisted by technical associate/wife, Katherine Post Office Box 86, Novato, CA 94948-0086 1-415-898-9677 www.photographamerica.com All contents of this newsletter copyright 1989-2016 Robert Hitchman Please don t make copies for your friends. This is a violation of Federal copyright laws. This newsletter survives on subscriptions.