Yosemite Soon to be Awash in Fall Colors

by Tom Stienstra
San Francisco Chronicle - October 9, 2002

The first fall colors are arriving at Yosemite Valley, but the annual big color show is still about two to three weeks off.

Across from Yosemite Chapel, a big maple is already aglow in yellows and some oranges. With the backdrop of the north rim, this is a spectacular scene, yet it is only a start to the arrival of fall at nature's most beautiful showpiece.

As a nonnative, maples are not the best indicator for fall colors in Yosemite. Look instead to the dogwoods, oaks and, in the higher country, aspens, the native species that dominate this awesome landscape.

The dogwoods are showing their first signs of turning color, the oak leaves are a dull tan, but acorns are dropping everywhere. In the sub-alpine region, aspens are also on edge of turning color. Best bet: the week before Halloween.

Other notes from Yosemite and environs:

-- Crazy Indian Summer: It was 81 degrees in Yosemite Valley on Monday. Yet just Thursday, Tioga Pass and Glacier Point Road were temporarily closed (and quickly reopened) by the first snowstorm of the year. The forecast for this week in Yosemite Valley is for a high of 72, low of 40; in other words, perfect.

-- Last call for Half Dome: The cables at Half Dome will be taken down Tuesday, making this weekend and Monday the last chance of the year to make the trip. The cables extend approximately 300 yards up the steep shoulder to the 8,842-foot domed summit.

-- It's the people, stupid: Bear problems are a big story again at Yosemite, up 150 percent this year for bear-caused damage. This comes after a landmark breakthrough in 2001 when bear damage was down 57 percent from 2000.

Why the sudden turnarounds? The reason is visitors were not pressed this past summer to use the bear-proof food lockers at trailheads, campgrounds and parking lots, as they were last year. With visitors again leaving food in cars and at campsites, the bears had a field day with the tourists. The inside story is that the two key employees who orchestrated the crackdown on careless tourists are no longer with the park, hence the return to the bad old days when problems with food-raiding bears are a daily affair.

-- Valley bear count: According to radio-collar tracking, 16 bears are now active in Yosemite Valley.

-- Flips my pancake: Pilots are required to fly at least 2,000 feet above the ground at Yosemite, and to stay well clear of Yosemite Valley. But by skirting the western boundary of the park from a small plane, you still can get breathtaking views of Half Dome, Hetch Hetchy and cobalt-blue Lake Eleanor.

-- Closed for the season: With visitor numbers finally down, and colder temperatures in the high country, several Yosemite campgrounds (outside of Yosemite Valley) have been closed for the season in the past week: Tuolumne Meadows, Tamarack Flat, White Wolf and Wawona Horse Camp. The Wawona Campground is now off the reservation system, and sites will remain available on a first-come, first-served basis until the spring.

-- East Sierra aspens: The best fall colors by far in California are in the canyons of the East Sierra along U.S. 395, from South Tahoe to Mount Whitney. The first yellows are appearing now, and as at Yosemite, the big color show seems about two weeks off.