2013 Fall Colors Thread

[OneSpeed]

Maybe I'm being presumptuous here, but I notice we don't have a thread for tracking fall colors. Here are some images from earlier this week.

Opal Creek Trail October 1 (around 2000'):

Jawbone Flats, Opal Creek, October 1 (around 2000'):

Roaring Creek, South Breitenbush Trail, October 2 (around 2,400'):

Foliage on these trails was all over the place but mostly in the early stages. It was also so wet that I needed flippers at Opal Creek more than boots. Here's Opal Pool on October 1, a few minutes after a hailstorm.

[romann]

Maples near the road on S side of Mt. St Helens

[Splintercat]

Colors just getting started up on the Timberline Trail (yesterday)... iPhone pic:



(very wet with ankle-deep slush on the trail starting at the hanging meadows, BTW!)

Thanks for starting the thread, Paul! I made it sticky for awhile.

Tom

[Boozeman]

A different kind of colorful fall foliage from the Boundary Trail on the way to Harry's Ridge on Mt. St. Helens.

[weekend_warrior]

Indian Heaven 9/26/2013

[justpeachy]

The vine maple in the Table Rock Wilderness is FIERY RED right now. Brilliant! These photos were taken about 0.3mi before reaching Pechuck Lookout.






This one is alongside Rooster Rock Road.




On the trail to Table Rock there are at least two open areas with vine maple that I can think of and I bet those are looking pretty nice now too!

[Sitka]

I was hoping to get out and take some fall foliage pics this weekend, but I got called in to work with less than 24 hr notice.

I had to break a promise to my kids. Absolutely crushed all of us.


Beautiful thread! I would be content if Autumn would last all year long!

[pdxgene]

From the loop trail around Clear Lake 10/4&5

[adamschneider]

Geez louise, Gene. HDR much?


Anyway... I went up to the Mt. Margaret backcountry (the Mt. St. Helens blast zone) yesterday. It was my first time there since 2010, which was also a year when the winter/spring snow melted relatively early. I found a pair of photos from almost exactly the same spot, about a mile east of Norway Pass:


Overall, I'd say it's looking pretty similar to three years ago. The huckleberries, which are the star of the show up there, are not yet as red as they're hopefully going to be; but on the bright side, most of the leaves are still on the bushes, so there aren't as many grayish patches as there'll be in a couple of weeks.

There aren't a ton of vine maples up there, but the ones I saw were pretty nice:


NOTE: This photo is looking at an area between 4000' and 5000' elevation. Above 5000', there's a ton of snow, so I think the fall colors in the higher elevations are pretty much kaput for 2013.

[pdxgene]

Geez louise, Gene. HDR much?


Anyway... I went up to the Mt. Margaret backcountry (the Mt. St. Helens blast zone) yesterday. It was my first time there since 2010, which was also a year when the winter/spring snow melted relatively early. I found a pair of photos from almost exactly the same spot, about a mile east of Norway Pass:


Overall, I'd say it's looking pretty similar to three years ago. The huckleberries, which are the star of the show up there, are not yet as red as they're hopefully going to be; but on the bright side, most of the leaves are still on the bushes, so there aren't as many grayish patches as there'll be in a couple of weeks.

There aren't a ton of vine maples up there, but the ones I saw were pretty nice:


NOTE: This photo is looking at an area between 4000' and 5000' elevation. Above 5000', there's a ton of snow, so I think the fall colors in the higher elevations are pretty much kaput for 2013.

Just using a polarizer and taking advantage of the sunlight, other than that those are all autofocus and pretty much unedited right off the camera.