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Fall foliage thread


Ginx snewx

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I think you'd be very lucky to achieve a week long peak. Observationally, the best color tends to last for 2-4 days on average. You could be peak on Monday, then well past peak by Saturday/Sunday. It's also somewhat difficult - at this time of year - to achieve an entire 7 day period with light winds overall, due to more frequent, strong FROPAs.

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I brought up the exposure a little more than the previous version on this one but otherwise the processing was the same with no real saturation boost. This was taken near sundown yesterday and outside of the harsh midday light or under cloudy skies the colors really pop.

 

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Some gorgeous colors in the Green Mountain National Forest along National Forest Road 71. I took it north a bit and then turned off it to go east toward the Somerset Reservoir dam just west of where Mt. Snow is. The "town" of Somerset is one of only 5 unincorporated ghost towns (adjacent Glastenbury to the west is unincorporated as well) in Vermont and has a population of 5. It's all off the grid, but there are a number of seasonal cabins and camps along with a couple of permanent homesteaders. Looking north from the dam you can see Stratton in the distance.

 

 

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Eyewall asked a good  question about how long peak averages.  It is so variable.  I have found it all depends on the weather conditions.  Once the leaves turn they obviously start to die and weaken "on the vine".  So if we can get the right timing with light wind, high pressure and no rain (which makes the leaves heavier and fall off)  then we can have a long and better peak.  Every trees timing is different so calm conditions give more of the forest canopy time to all turn at once.  Day after day of windy conditions near peak time  will give us a crappy " peak" as the trees that turn first are stripped.  It also seems that in certain areas with lots of oak trees there maybe almost 2 peaks as the oaks in general turn  later than other trees such as maple.  Just my observations.  Right now in my area of Central NH it seems as though peak was yesterday and today. It probably would have been a bit later this work week but with the fropa coming much of the trees that are in full color today will have a leaf drop within the next 48 hours.  By this weekend with the strong cold front I would guess much of C/NNE will be well past peak. 

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Some gorgeous colors in the Green Mountain National Forest along National Forest Road 71. I took it north a bit and then turned off it to go east toward the Somerset Reservoir dam just west of where Mt. Snow is. The "town" of Somerset is one of only 5 unincorporated ghost towns (adjacent Glastenbury to the west is unincorporated as well) in Vermont and has a population of 5. It's all off the grid, but there are a number of seasonal cabins and camps along with a couple of permanent homesteaders. Looking north from the dam you can see Stratton in the distance.

 

 

Eyewall asked a good  question about how long peak averages.  It is so variable.  I have found it all depends on the weather conditions.  Once the leaves turn they obviously start to die and weaken "on the vine".  So if we can get the right timing with light wind, high pressure and no rain (which makes the leaves heavier and fall off)  then we can have a long and better peak.  Every trees timing is different so calm conditions give more of the forest canopy time to all turn at once.  Day after day of windy conditions near peak time  will give us a crappy " peak" as the trees that turn first are stripped.  It also seems that in certain areas with lots of oak trees there maybe almost 2 peaks as the oaks in general turn  later than other trees such as maple.  Just my observations.  Right now in my area of Central NH it seems as though peak was yesterday and today. It probably would have been a bit later this work week but with the fropa coming much of the trees that are in full color today will have a leaf drop within the next 48 hours.  By this weekend with the strong cold front I would guess much of C/NNE will be well past peak. 

 

 

Definitely a bit muted and a little late around here this year but still some great pockets. The lower valley is oddly about a week ahead of the upper valley. 

 

This is across the street from our house. 

 

 

 

 

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Took a drive in the mountains today :)

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Nice pictures guys--keep them coming.

 

Chris--the color's gang busters if you come up the hill into Shelburne/Colrain and points west.  Take a ride up Coombs Hill and the Patten  (some of the ones I posted earlier are there) and 112 from Shelburne and Colrain Center.  You'll have  full color.

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Bummer for them but I'd be surprised if it wasn't busier than you think. Or are you talking last weekend and not Columbus Day weekend (still in progress).

 

I am talking about October 11th. I was at Killington around 11:30am and it was possible to park very close to the K-1 gondola, which did not have any line.

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The colors in the Pemi valley were variable on Sunday, probably at peak in Franconia notch. Exit 32 was backed up 1 mile on the highway, complete parking lot on the Kanc. From Flume and Liberty summits it was clear that the Pemi side foliage was more vibrant than the 1-93 side.

Beautiful day to be out.

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The colors in the Pemi valley were variable on Sunday, probably at peak in Franconia notch. Exit 32 was backed up 1 mile on the highway, complete parking lot on the Kanc. From Flume and Liberty summits it was clear that the Pemi side foliage was more vibrant than the 1-93 side.

Beautiful day to be out.

 

One of the longest traffic jams I've been in was on the Kanc during peak color in 1990 - took 2 hr to go 7 miles, and the 1st mile took 26 minutes as we repeatedly leapfrogged with several pedestrians.  Fortunately it was all coasting downhill, we were in no hurry, and the wx was open-windows warm.  Never found out the cause, though I'm pretty sure it was the exodus from Loon after the leaf-peeper lifts closed.

 

 

It also seems that in certain areas with lots of oak trees there maybe almost 2 peaks as the oaks in general turn  later than other trees such as maple.  Just my observations.

 

When we lived in Ft. Kent we'd get the same double peak from aspen, which would turn 7-10 days later than the maples.

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tamarack, it was the busiest I have seen...a strong case for NOT driving the Kanc and choosing a further north tour from Littleton to Lancaster to Rte 2, or a real country road tour like Tripoli rd. into Waterville Valley to Sandwich Notch Rd. I can't imagine what N Conway looked like!

 

Good advice, but those "real country roads" tend to be winding (adds to their charm) and inevitably I seem to wind up behind some leaf-peeper going about 25, with no place to pass.

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The Pass on the Kanc was looking way past peak above 2500 Sunday morning.  . As we were getting on 93 South at 10:30 oh the poor people on 93 N waiting to get off. 

 

I heard on Friday night and Saturday there was up to a 45 minute wait to get off I-89 and onto RT 100 North at Waterbury/Stowe exit. 

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I took a drive over to Ski sundown and then Mohawk yesterday afternoon. Foliage conditions where mixed with the Oak Tree's being 99% green and the Maple, American Aspen, Beech, Birch and other non Oak being near peak.

 

Ski Sundown is still nearly 75% green:

 

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Mohawk Mountain has about 60% foliage color change:

 

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I drove up to the top of Mohawk Mountain at 1,687' and even there the Oaks are still green:

 

View to Mt Greylock:

 

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Some amazing photos in here. The NYC forum doesn't have a foliage thread, so I thought I'd post here. These are taken by my cell phone, in the local area (Monmouth County). We don't have the impressive mountains to display the colors like Vermont, but some of the early trees are gorgeous.

 

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Here are some more from this morning from the Waterbury Reservoir and off Rt. 2 in the Winooski Valley. I would say above 1,000-1,500 ft is now going past peak. Peak color is also advancing into Hinesburg and the CPV. The last shot was from the Long Trail Bridge with the sun on the edge of a cloud bank lighting the hillside beautifully.

 

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Some amazing photos in here. The NYC forum doesn't have a foliage thread, so I thought I'd post here. These are taken by my cell phone, in the local area (Monmouth County). We don't have the impressive mountains to display the colors like Vermont, but some of the early trees are gorgeous.

 

 

 

Nice.  I love those more macro photos of the leaves and branches.  A different fall foliage style of photo to the classic landscape.

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Here are some more from this morning from the Waterbury Reservoir and off Rt. 2 in the Winooski Valley. I would say above 1,000-1,500 ft is now going past peak. Peak color is also advancing into Hinesburg and the CPV. The last shot was from the Long Trail Bridge with the sun on the edge of a cloud bank lighting the hillside beautifully.

 

 

Awesome photos as always, though I disagree with this.  I think past peak is still more like 2,500ft and higher.  Of course it changes by the day, but the photography is still great up through 2,500ft at least in the Bolton-Mansfield stretch.

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