Fall Color Report for the Week of September 22, 2024
This past Thursday I took off early (predawn) and headed over to Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This high elevation site is about 20 miles north of Asheville and about 15 miles south of the entrance to Mt. Mitchell State Park.
There is a parking lot and trailhead just a quarter of mile north of the visitor center where you can start an easy hike up to some rock bunkers that give you panoramic views north and south of the mountains and valleys. I highly recommend this hike, which is not a difficult one.
This is turning out to be an atypical year (aren’t they all, though?) given the course of our summer. We had a hot, dry June, followed by a cool, wet July, followed by a hot, dry August, and then a cool start to September, and now a late season warming. These up and down temperatures and rainfall have stressed some of the trees, particularly the birch, which are yellowing early and dropping lots of leaves. The same for tulip poplars. Many of the red and sugar maples are far along in their color development, primarily in urban areas, but not limited to those areas.
For example, there is considerable color showing up on the hillsides above 3,000’, more so than in previous years. Even in Boone at 3,000’ there is noticeable color now. Will this continue and we end up with an early fall color season? I don’t think so, and the reason is that temperatures have moderated and are now quite warm, and projected to remain this way for the next week or two. Warm temperatures slows down the progression of leaf color, particularly in the maples and black gums.
We had a similar pattern in 2017. In that year we had an early cool fall and the trees started changing early, only to have that interrupted by a two week heatwave that virtually stopped color development in its tracks. Trees that had colored up early began to lose those leaves during the heatwave and the forests reverted back to having all green leaves, at least until a second cold wave moved in, which got the colors going again. Whether that will happen this year will become evident over the next two weeks.
At Craggy Gardens, I saw abundant “greenfall”, which is when trees drop their leaves while still green. I think this occurred because of the wind and rain that moved through the region a few days before. Luckily for us leaf peepers, most of the leaves are still on the trees, so once it gets cool again, we should be in for a good fall color display. I will have to keep a sharp eye on those trees dropping their leaves now, as that could diminish the quality of the display in October.
Up on Craggy, the buckeyes were dropping their leaves while being loaded up with fruits. Seems to be a good year (a mast year) for them. The mountain ash are also having a good year, with abundant orange-red fruits on display. A few late blooming wildflowers, such as goldenrods and asters, adorn the trailsides, and dog hobble, a species of viburnum, has its distinctive colorful leaves in full form now.
Most of the lower forests that you see from the overlooks are still green. The best color can be found along the ridge tops and down a few steep slopes. I’ve seen pictures from Graveyards (which is south of Asheville on the Parkway) posted on the web, and color is well on its way there. This site has a lot of cold air drainage which I think contributes to its early display each year.
From Craggy I traveled north on the Parkway and ascended to the top of Mt. Mitchell (99% of the way by car, the last 1000’ by foot). The skies were becoming cloudy, so most of my views were blocked as you can see from the photos I am posting here. There is a nice 1 mile loop trail that starts near the top and ends up back at the parking lot, which I highly recommend. It’s very easy (although it can be slippery in places). It traverses through a mostly Fraser fir forest, with the occasional red spruce, plus lots of mosses and fungi, and lichens. No great views, but a relaxing and beautiful hike nonetheless.
Next week I’m on to Elk Knob State Park, just north of Boone, NC, for another high elevation hike. Also, for any of you who may be in the High Country next Thursday, September 26th, I’ll be giving a talk titled “Awe and Wonder of Trees and How They Work” at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum at 11 am. Admission is free, so come on out! The museum has a wonderful collection of art on display and is worth a visit!
As always, you can find my reports on The Fall Color Guy facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/FallColorGuy) along with annotated photos from my trips each week.
Ciao!