Exploring Eastern Sierras, California: Quaking Aspens
Every year for three colorful weeks we are treated to the color changing show of the aspens. Each year I mark it on my calendar. You can only predict when they will be in their full glory so I try to be mindful of the weather and check local sites updating their "color watch."
When the timing seems right we wind up and over the Sonora Pass and point and yelp at every golden patch.
As the leaves make their final show there is a crispy rustling sound. Is this why they're called quaking? When in a grove there is a fresh scent, it's hard to find the right words. Imagine the perfect scent for laundry detergent. Did you know every tree in a grove is connected?
We pick up a color map at the town frosty. It boasts it's color second to only the East Coast. The location I set my sights on is the page from a calendar in a coffee shop. I navigate by forest service road to the far off golden glow.
Wandering through a groove is to be watched by many black eyes. Next time look closely, the white bark tells stories: the arbolglyph doodles of bored sheepherders past.
Very nice, jealous I missed that trip. Here's an aspen arborgylph I found while working with the Forest Service, dated 1913.
That's exactly the kind of photo I needed for this post!
Awesome , loved the photos. Totally its all about timing , looks like you went at peak time. I have not been to Sierras during my few years of stay in Cali. Seen more of Plums Country during fall. All you tags on your past is my interest too !
Thank you! I was just checking out your page! Looks like your back in Canada now? If you ever come back our way the Easter Sierras are such a treat!
Thank you for checking. Yeah I moved to Canada last year. Yeah sure California is my favorite place in US. I have done a bit of exploration on my motorcycle there. Once I had done 395 all the way up to Yosemite , but haven't explored Sierra much. I would love to come back and see more !
lol I love seeing that van out and about. That, and Lunchbox!
Thanks Adam! I do too since it soooo long to become roadworthy. One day I'm going to have to do Lunchbox post.
Awesome post and awesome photos ;)
Thank you! Thanks for reading!
Great colors and scenery! What a beautiful place!
The quaking aspen is my favorite tree. At my childhood home, we had a very small field covered with them.
I can still remember spending time under them with my late mother, and I can surely still hear them rustle in the wind.
Thank you for the great photos, and for triggering some fantastic memories.
Thank you Tim! I was flipping through the photos on my phone (actually after reading one of your posts with the great fall colors) and thought I'd share. I already had fall on my mind because of you! I do love that rustling sound, it's quiet and comforting and a little eery at the same time. Do you remember the smell? I couldn't describe it.
Ha!
The smell..well, thats a tough one to put into words. Fresh, crisp, clean is what comes to mind. Not sure how else to say it. I’m going to have to google the aspen and see how others describe it. It is not a scent that is encountered often in nature. At least for me, it is not.
yes! this is awesome! i been doing some traveling too but off road at the same time. the term is call overlanding, where its not about the destination but rather the journey. i been taking a couple photos along the way too. i just made a post on it not long ago.
Hello! Yes overlanding is my favorite. I'm actually in the process of planning an overland trip to Mexico. I've found the more I drive around the more I want to drive around haha.
Right me too. i just love road trips and camping