reports from recent trip

[Fallleafechidna]

By the time I registered this info has become a bit late in many cases to help perhaps but here it goes (Oct 2,3,4,5):

First part, October 2nd:
St. Johnsbury looked to be an odd mixed of partially turned and shriveled and well past peak already (early). Taking 91 up to Barton was the same story. Nothing like the radioactive insanity of Oct 3-4 here in 2012 (although much more sun). However, two short stretches of maybe 25 and 75 yards, were rich, no hint of drought, not past peak and fully 2012 radioactive, off the charts sugar and red maples, beyond eye popping, but the rest of the St. Johnsbury to Barton stretch along 91 was simply early and shriveled and likely to fall off before ever turning nicely or well past peak (no idea if the peaked trees had been great or not). The two stretches were just as you were starting to descend down towards Barton, those two little patches were nuts.

Sadly the Wheeler Pond, Newark Ponds (always get a kick out of the Vermont copies of other towns, Newark and East Orange NJ are sooooo different from the same towns in VT that is is simply for a NJ native) and Long Pond seemed a combo of shriveled and never to turn well (too dry I guess, same drought that has been slamming the entire Northeast I guess) or already well past peak (in 2012 these ponds, especially Wheeler and even more Long Pond were beyond off the charts, I mean when we came over the rise and saw the bend going down to Long Pond in 2012 on Oct3-4 everyone was just OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG jaws dropping, never seen such a radioactive site in my life! this time it looked like an oak forest in comparison). I guess the peak hit reallly early this year and perhaps some trees just never are to turn well this year.

Crystal Lake was actually at peak though and not too bad.

Much of the area looked either early and shriveled or past peak though, like Newark Rd into 114 which had also been so off the charts in 2012 even a day or two later and the stretch from Island Pond along 114 to just as 114 turns north, the east and north sides of that were insane in 2012, this year it was duller and some past peak, a few scattered gems though still. Oddly heading up 114 north it actually became pretty decent, still peak and the colors not so bad, even including some full peak, well turned flaming red maples. The colors eventually got to be a bit more past peak nearing the Canadian border. The spruce/fir/tamrack swamps along 114 parallel to the Canadian border at top are always cool, smells so awesome, like Christmas. Saw a Ruffed Grouse on 114 there.

[Fallleafechidna]

Oct 3:
91 south to exit 18 from St. Johnsbury, the same mix of past peak and dried out and not turned yet, but man the area is just so scenic, who cares!
Along West Barnett Rd and Peacham Rd a mix of past peak, shrivled and not yet peak and never gonna be peak, and not yet peak but probably will be peak and peak. Definitely a mixed year. But Macks Mtn Rd that someone had mentioned as having looked good on the 2nd, well it looked great on the 3rd! Lots of absolute peak colors and some nice chunks rich and well turned with no shriveling. Good stuff! So beautiful.

Then 2 to Danville then up 15 northwest. Lower 15 out of Danville was a mix of peak and even pre-peak until vaguely around Wolcott where it got maybe past peak and more dried out too. Then down 108 from Jeffersonville. The first part and Smuggler's Notch ski area were a mix of everything, not as OMG as 2012 or 2011, but there were three or four very nice trees at the back end of the Smuggler's Notch village. Otherwise lots of well past peak already or dried out. Oddly heading up in elevation towards the notch the trees became peak and moved AWAY from past peak! The yellows were max peak all the way through the very top of the notch and down some ways the other side, the upper reds were mostly gone and past peak, but every other tree was basically peak and the backlit trees on the west side going up in the evening looked pretty magical to say the least! Glowing yellows with golden evening backlighting! Pretty rich and peak, yellow at max peak, nice, also nice to see some large trees off one part of the notch road, so much of Vermont has clearly suffered from an awful lot of logging relatively recently. I'd say that NJ forests average older age than Vermont overall these days for sure. The Stowe Mtn resort area on the south side of the notch had a couple super nice trees behind some lodges on the east side of 108, but lots of past peak or shriveled not turned.

[Fallleafechidna]

Oct 4 (thankfully the rain didn't become bad today until around nearly 4:30PM, the overcast and rain maybe even helped some colors, although after 4:30 the overcast just became super intense and the rain very hard at times unfortunately but hey at least it stayed away for a while):
91 south to Bradford, same story as OCt 3rd, past peak and so on but sooo scenic.
Then up 25, kind of mixed for leaves, but took one side road and that had some max peak and nicely turned stuff and some good scenery!
Then continued up 25 some of the road is super scenic, some areas early, some past, some dried, some peak. Side looped into East Orange, mix of peak and past peak, nice.
Then up 302 to the east and north, some good colors at times for sure and nearing 232 there were some patches of really rich peak, great stuff! An insane sugar maple and birches at one spot, wow. Up 232, contrary to another report, did not look scraggly to me, not even when we went, a couple days later, it was rich peak for all the yellows! Really nice. And even the reds looked good across Picker Pond.

Then back down 232 and then west on 302 to Montpelier, some areas not yet peak, some past. Then down 89 and wowowowowow, just below Montpelier, 89 was on fire!!!!! Even at 5:00-5:30PM in intense overcast and heavy rain, the leaves were on fire, very rich, not shriveled at all, max peak down to about across from Waitfeld and maybe even Warren, then a bit drier or past peak and then peak again for a bit. The rain and all made it too late to get into Waitfeld or Warren at all unfortunately. It was a bit late anyway then.

[Fallleafechidna]

Oct 5:
Bennington near the college area was actually looking a bit away from peak and maybe a little dry, but I think some of it will still make it to a nice peak. A couple trees were peak though. The entrance to 7 north from Bennington, that long entry ramp had utterly on fire beyond belief max peak trees, then it faded a bit heading up 7, but you could see the hills to east and west quickly became peak and still had all the reds left and some decent stuff along the road up to Manchester exit and also some nice views to say the least, some pretty rich colors along parts of 7. And the hills above Lye Brook and up to Mt. Equinox, were all max peak and had the reds still holding leaves to the very tippy tops of the mountains still. Then back tracked to exit 3 for the Kelly X and WOW man that was amazing, richly turned, not dried at all, great color and amazing in all ways all the way across and over, all max peak and no drying shrivel at all, the far end right before 100 almost had a crazy area of peak flaming color wow too (the other east side stuff seemed all dried out or well past peak in all the other east side areas), the ravine section had nice sized trees and crazy scenery, the top looked rather recently logged or burned over or something, like mostly 40 years or under forest, but it will still wild colors though wow (other than for the spruce/tamarack type bogs which are always green of course hah, but they are cool). Tried the recommended 100 north to Wardsboro than another post had said was peak but it looked like a mix of well past peak and shriveled never gonna turn well for the most part and we gave up and turned around, in fact the whole eastern side of the southern Green Mountains and the peaks to east seemed past peak and/or dried shriveled to me. As alluded to already though, the west side of the southern Green Mountains seemed less shriveled and still at max peak. Then took 100 down to Wilmington, same story mostly past peak or shriveled dried out didn't look richer than the northern parts to me at all. Then took 9 east a bit and the same story, although the Hogback overlook had some great backlit white pines and such on the hills rolling away. Then took 9 west, it seemed a lot of shriveled dried and past peak to me and not max colors and not better than all areas in the north to me, although once over the high points and heading back down the west side it got a bit better for color and some good bits mixed in, even a few with still peak reds and a few spots still early even. The richest colors seemed to me, in the southern part of the state, to be more on the western side of the Green Mountains and 3 or so miles north of Bennington up to at least Manchester and less so right near 9 or south or the eastern side of the Green Mountains (the once exceptions on the middle X over which had crazy peak nearly all the way down even the east side, only fading just before hitting 100).

[Fallleafechidna]

Fall in the Northeast in general:
A VERY early year for the most part. Even parts of NJ are already max peak! On the 6th?!!! My yard area is at least a week early, the town in the valley below is at least half a week early, lots of drying though, sadly might be an unprecedented yet another modest turn. 2010 turned colors beyond belief in the Farny Highlands of NJ, insane. But then 2011 and on it's been the worst turns ever, we never had more than a single poor turn in a row ever and now it may be 4 straight years! So much weird weather these days, just not acting like it used to. This year it was early cold and then unseasonal warmth and all along extreme drought. Up in Sparta area the higher elevations are either turning strongly or max peak, which is crazy early for Oct 6, a week early. Although 23 is a mix of still a ways to go and peak.

Bear Mtn/Harriman NY and even northern 287 in NJ shockingly were already showing strong turning on the way up on Oct 1st!!!!! That is like nearing 2 weeks early! And north of Bear Mtn it was like total peak and realllllly rich color, no drying there (nor much in Bear Mtn/Harriman either), flaming peak, way early, but well turned just about to the Catskills. (seeing this on the way up made me suddenly horribly worried that I had been a bit tricked by the leaf turn charts and that the NEK would be past peak, as it largely so turned out to be, at least the St. Johnsbury and Newark Ponds and other upper elevation ponds). Some maps were claiming peak NEK when it was totally past, they looked like they got that wrong by at least 3 days if not 5. Some other maps seem a bit off in that they showed the southern part of Vermont hitting peak a bit more to the west, when from what I saw the west was hanging on a lot better than the southeast, that side of the Green Mtns down there seemed past while the west was still on.

Overall many areas seem mixed with early past peaks, not yet peak but dried and shriveled and not yet peak but might still make it. Not a holy cow wow for all trees all at once sort of year other than in very specific regions of 1/4 to 1/2 mile hear or there for the most part, although a few regions seemed to have done much better had quite some number of square miles well turned and certainly some super fabulous bits too.

It did not seem true to me that already by the 2nd or 3rd that northern VT was totally done and the only hope was the southernmost parts and MA and southern NY. South southwest of Montepelier appear to be super strong on the 3rd still and even the whole upper Smuggler's Notch area for the yellows and places like Macks road, a few select roads around Peacham, parts of Groton Forest area and such there were some gems of colors in some areas to be found still, even 114 north to Canada for a stretch was solid color. Although there were large chunks of a mix of past peak and dried up certainly.

I have tons of pics from this trip and the 2011 and 2012 trips. Will get around to posting some links. Have some images in wide gamut format too, for those with wide gamut monitors .

[ctyanky]

Wow! I need to read this report later. It looks fantastic! Thanks for your input! I need time to digest it!

[From_the_NEK]

You did miss peak by a few days here in the NEK. The weekend before you arrived was excellent color under bright blue skies. Something we haven't seen here in several years.
You are right that the leaves dried up soon after peaking, dulling the bright colors and pushing the meter into the past peak zone.
I don't follow the published foliage maps. Those things are far too generalized and I'm pretty sure they just use the same map over again every year. In fact I just saw last night on one of the local (Vermont) news reports that the NEK is currently at PEAK!.
I think your best bet for finding current and accurate information is on forums like this one. I typically try to post an update about the conditions every day during foliage season for the central NEK. There are other people on here that move about the state a lot more and provide updates as they go. Next year, I would check in here early and often to see what is going on.