It happens like clockwork every year around this time. Somebody spots an aspen grove changing colors somewhere in Colorado and then loudly proclaims on the internet that fall is coming early. Photographers from all over the country chime in to the forum in a panic, fearing that their year long trip planning or vacations have now gone awry In my experience, while there are sometimes small changes in peak fall color, especially due to weather, the timing is fairly predictable and consistent year in and year out. So let me just be perfectly clear. I don’t want to be that person proclaiming fall in Colorado is coming early this year, but I can say signs of autumn are quickly starting to appear in Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Everywhere you look, the subtle signs of autumn approaching are becoming less subtle. Temperatures are certainly starting to noticeably cool. The alpine tundra has turned red and orange in Rocky Mountain National Park along with some of the ground cover in the lower elevations. Even a few aspen tree’s and maybe a grove here or there in the park has started turning from green to yellow, red and orange. The Elk rut has really ramped up in the last week and the sound of Elk bugling in the morning is now nearly as common as chirping birds. As for subtlety in change, last Friday, Longs Peak received a healthy dusting of snow on it’s summit while many of elevations of the park above 11,000 ft received enough of a dusting today that Trail Ridge Road was closed overnight.
As I write this, the National Weather Service is predicting a cold front from the north that will bring snow again to Rocky Mountain National Park Thursday night into Friday night. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the snow coats the peaks but leaves the aspen trees still in good shape once the storm moves out. Because as we all know, fall color and snow capped mountains look pretty darn good.