There’s something magical about the fall. The hot and hazy days of summer are sliding into memory, and the quiet blanket of winter snow has yet to cover the landscape. Autumn is the forgotten season in between. Yet it’s the perfect time to experience the Sierras and June Lake.
As the mornings get cooler and the days begin to grow shorter, fall is a fine time for quiet reflection. To be still in the Sierras is to sit in wonder of this stunning place. Surrounded by 12,000’ peaks, and nestled against the great forests of eastern California, it’s a place of contrast. It’s a place we can get lost in the landscape, he sheer scale of the mountains rekindling a childlike sense of wonder.
It’s also a place of colour—a rainbow of orange and red, amid the evergreens and the towering, stone gray backdrop of the Sierras. ‘Fall colours’ aren’t the exclusive domain of the eastern seaboard. No, up here in the Sierras, the colours gratefully give back the light the sun pours down all summer long. It’s a photographer’s paradise! (And as every amateur photographer knows, it’s much easier to capture a great shot when you’ve got a great subject!)
Stepping out of the Chalet on a cool fall morning, zipping a warm fleece jacket to the top, the quiet is the first thing you’ll notice. When you stop to listen, beneath the soft breeze and the whispering treetops, you’ll hear the underbrush rustle as one of a thousand creatures gets ready for their winter sleep. With the summer crowds returned home for school and work, it’s the best time of year to see an elusive marmot, a full and sleepy bear, or a majestic golden eagle.
Standing at the edge of June Lake, with the Sierras towering above you, you can’t help but feel reconnected to the wildness. Whether it’s a new adventure, a personal retreat to reflect and renew, or an opportunity to connect with your husband or wife, or your friends, there are few places on earth so beautiful, inspiring and easy to reach as the eastern Sierras in the fall. If you can picture yourself here, we’d love to have you as our guest at Yosemite Gateway Chalet!
