In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog

A Good Year for Redbuds

Redbud, rocks, and the Merced River, Stanislaus NF, CA, USA

Redbud, rocks, and the Merced River (April 2002)

I had a chance to drive up the Merced River Canyon (west of Yosemite along Highway 140) yesterday to check on the flowers. It’s not turning into a good year for poppies in this area. There are scattered patches of poppies in shadier spots, but all the south-facing slopes look very dry. There are very few poppies near the beginning of the Hite’s Cove Trail, on Grandy’s Hill, or any of the other prime poppy locations.

But the redbuds are looking great. Overall, they’re close to their peak now, or maybe just before peak. The redbuds in the western half of the canyon are a little further along, and in prime condition, with most in full bloom, less than 5% leafing out, and maybe 10-20% not quite in full bloom yet. The redbuds in the eastern half of the canyon are not quite at peak yet. I saw one or two leafing out, but maybe 60% were in full bloom, while 40% were still on their way. But there are many vibrant, beautiful specimens throughout the canyon, and it looks like one of the better years for redbuds I’ve seen lately.

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After the Fire

Poppies, lupine, and oaks blooming in an area burned by the 1990 A-Rock Fire, near El Portal, CA

Poppies, lupine, and oaks blooming in an area burned by the 1990 A-Rock Fire, near El Portal, CA (photograph from April 2009)

Yesterday the Rim Fire reached an estimated 237,341 acres in size. That makes it the 4th-largest fire in California since they started keeping records in 1932. It has long since passed the record for the largest fire in the recorded history of the Sierra Nevada. Firefighters continued to make good progress, with containment at 80% as of last night. Even full containment doesn’t mean that the fire is out; it will continue to smolder until the first significant autumn rain or snowfall. But it will mean that firefighters don’t expect the fire to jump their containment lines and spread further.

Since the fire seems to be winding down, it might be a good time to look at some of the long-range consequences of the fire, and put it into perspective in relation to fire management, and the history of fire in this region. I’m not an expert on these matters, but several people who are experts present their views about the causes and consequences of the fire in this New York Times piece. The article includes a striking graph showing the effects of fire suppression during the last 150 years, and links to several other relevant articles. This piece from Wired describes the range of possible outcomes for the burned forest areas, and another article from SFGate covers the reasons why the fire suddenly exploded and burned 90,000 acres in two days.

As I said, I’m not an expert on fire management, but I have seen many fires during my years in and around Yosemite. I have vivid memories of the A-Rock and Steamboat fires of 1990, which closed most of the park for three weeks, and devastated the community of Foresta near the park’s western boundary. My wife Claudia and I lived in Yosemite Valley then, and she was nine months pregnant when the fires started. When she went into labor we had to get special permission to drive through the fire zone to the hospital in Sonora.

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Surprising Wildflowers

Oaks, lupine, and poppies in the Merced River Canyon near El Portal, CA, USA

Oaks, lupine, and poppies in the Merced River Canyon near El Portal, CA, USA



Claudia and I drove up the Merced River Canyon west of Yosemite Sunday afternoon on a scouting mission, looking for wildflowers that were rumored to be blooming. And we did find some flowers – despite our dry winter. The redbuds are coming out all along the canyon; most are just budding, but we found some in full bloom, and the rest should get there within the next week or so.

Redbuds have deep roots, so they’re not affected by drought as much as some other flowers. But the poppies in this area are annuals, and dependent on winter rains, so I was surprised to see quite a few poppies blooming up and down the canyon. The display doesn’t approach last year’s, or the even more spectacular bloom in 2009, but any flowers at all seem like a miracle after our dry winter. And who knows – maybe the show will get better.

Right now the most eye-catching hillside of poppies is about a mile east of Savage’s Trading Post on the opposite side of the river. You can reach the base of this hill by driving to the end of Incline Road and continuing on foot for about a mile down the old railroad bed. But getting up among the poppies requires climbing a very steep hillside. (There are directions to Incline Road in my Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, which most of you probably have, but if not the road is easy to find. Just cross the bridge at Foresta Road, about four miles east of Savage’s, then turn left along the river on Incline Road.)

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