Fall foliage is beginning to burst in all of its golden-orange glory in the San Juans.
As of this week, 30 percent of the cottonwoods, oakbrush and aspens along the Dolores River up to Rico are changing colors.
Around Mancos, 20 percent of the trees are turning. Molas Pass is at 40 percent.
Peak viewing period will be in the coming two weeks, according to the San Juan National Forest.
Annie Belaska, of High Ground Coffee Shack in Rico, reports nice conditions for fall colors.
“This is the time to come on up. It is really beautiful right now with the sun shining brightly making the green, yellow and orange really vivid,” she said.
The Ryman Creek Trail is especially nice for fall colors. Also, the Priest Gulch Trail meanders through shimmering aspen forests creating a luminescent, colorful aura seen only in fall.
The aspens in Silverton and on Red Mountain Pass are at a 75 percent fall foliage, according to the San Juan National Forest 2014 Fall Color Report. The report recommends making it to the Silverton area this week to catch the transition just before the leaves completely turn.
Rose Raab, the interim director for the Silverton-area Chamber of Commerce, said one of her favorite places to look for leaves changing is the Million Dollar Highway.
The scenic route from Silverton to Ouray on U.S. Highway 550 is referred to as the Million Dollar Highway and brings tourists from across the country. U.S. 550 runs from Bernalillo, N.M., to Montrose.
Officials were worried that Sunday’s and Monday’s heavy storms were going to spoil the leaf-changing in the high country.
“We are pretty much at peak,” she said regarding the foliage. “We were getting worried with the rain and the weather, but everything is holding steady.”
As far as predicting how long the leaves will be at their peak, Raab said officials leave it up to Mother Nature and don’t make predictions.
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is also promoting its annual Fall Photographers train ride. Unlike the standard trips, the train will allow passengers to get off at a pre-determined location to take photographs. The train will run Saturday and Sunday.
If you are seeking an activity a little closer to home, fear not.
Aspens in the Durango and Purgatory area are at about 10 percent foliage, but the oak brush on Missionary Ridge is at 50 percent, the website said.
The San Juan National Forest website also recommends hitting the high country this week for optimal viewing. Slightly lower areas will reach a peak by the first week of October.
The more technical aspects are explained by Forest Service scientists. Color changes are primarily regulated by the calender as nights become longer, triggering biochemical processes in the leaf.
Carotenoids produce yellow, orange and brown colors, while chlorophyll gives leaves a basic green color.
The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling. Temperature and moisture are the main influences.
A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf, but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions — lots of sugar and light — spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments, which tint reds, purples, and crimson. Because carotenoids are always present in leaves, the yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant from year to year.
The amount of moisture in the soil also affects autumn colors. Like the weather, soil moisture varies greatly from year to year. The countless combinations of these two highly variable factors assure that no two autumns can be exactly alike. A late spring, or a severe summer drought, can delay the onset of fall color by a few weeks. A warm period during fall will also lower the intensity of autumn colors. A warm wet spring, favorable summer weather, and warm sunny fall days with cool nights should produce the most brilliant autumn colors.
But it can all be ruined with one storm.
“Get up here before the high winds hit,” Belaska said. “I’ve seen it happen. One windstorm, and its all gone.”
