Report from this weekend in the NEK

[ctyanky]

Carol! This is one amazing report! Loved your narrative and photos! Things are going to be great up there and I'm so looking forward to spending a week with you tooling around! This gives everyone hope that the foliage will rebound after this hard freeze tonight and the NEK is going to be awesome. See you a week from tomorrow in the late morning. Are you going up Sunday then, a week from today? Hugs, CT (I should say Louise, if that's who I am this trip! )

[From_the_NEK]

Great report Carol. I concur with all of it. The widespread frost last should set up near peak or peak in some areas by this coming weekend. It looks like you and CT are going to have great conditions next week.

[ctyanky]

Geez Louise Carol (oh, that's me.... ). Do I have time to bring in my luggage at least? And put my stuffed moose on my bed pillow?

Tim: I hope you can join Thelma and Louise on part of their journey! It would be great to meet you and I know you would have fun! Can you manage to slip away for a bit? I brought my magazine where you got the spread and was hoping for an autograph!

[From_the_NEK]

Geez Louise Carol (oh, that's me.... ). Do I have time to bring in my luggage at least? And put my stuffed moose on my bed pillow?

Tim: I hope you can join Thelma and Louise on part of their journey! It would be great to meet you and I know you would have fun! Can you manage to slip away for a bit? I brought my magazine where you got the spread and was hoping for an autograph!

I'm looking into taking all or at least part of next Wednesday off to wander around taking photos. If you two are out chasing color I'd love to meet up if you are in the area.

[Utah Baker]

Thanks for the pictures Carol, looking good! Have a wonderful time you two, sooo looking forward to your reports. And pictures,pictures, pictures!!!

[ctyanky]

Hey Janice, I'm really sorry I will miss you again this year! Carol has quite a schedule for me for the week. I'm exhausted just listening to her. She is letting me lounge one morning only to get on the road at 9 for breakfast. I'm so grateful! I love watching her in her element, shooting away! We are going to Dog Mountain in St. J's before I leave and I'm very excited as I have never been there. Other than that we are tooling about the back roads here, there and everywhere in the NEK. Thelma and Louise are in for quite a week and we will post daily on our excursions. Stay tuned!

Tim: We are in Killington on Wednesday. Carol will fill you in on the schedule when she pops in here. I just know I'm going on the Killington Gondola if weather permits. The last three years it either rained, was fogged in or closed for construction! I have only 2 lift rids left out of 8 in my bucket list and I truly want this to happen!

[ctyanky]

Leaving at 5:30????? I thought we were getting "up" at 5:30. The roosters are not even up yet then! Oh dear. I hope you have breakfast treats, coffee and a pillow waiting for me in the car and the heated seats going. (I have a blanket packed). I'm not sure how far you will get in helping me become a changed woman, but I'll try. Just poke me when the sun rises.

[ctyanky]

Is this the day we are going to hear the call of the loons at May Pond? I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone. Meaning, one 5:30 rising may be all I can take!

[Kerry29]

FWIW, I saw two different pairs of loons today, one duo this morning in the splash pool below Smalls Falls, about 15 miles south of Rangeley, Maine, and the other this afternoon at Sandy River Pond. If the AM pairing called out it was inaudible given the noise from the falls, but the two at SRP absolutely let out their mournful call, multiple times. It was quite an idyllic experience. It's not the first time I've seen loons, but it was the first time I've heard their call.

[ctyanky]

Hi Kerry! I just got goosebumps reading that you heard their mournful call. I hope the experience works out for me as well! Glad you got to hear them for the first time.

[Utah Baker]

CT &. Carol, I too am sorry things didn't work this year for a meet up. I'd love to spend some time with Carol and camera and glean some knowledge! One week from Saturday for me! But I better focus and get me butt out the door to work. Ugh! Go Thelma & Louise!!!! (Someday you must come to Utah and see where it was filmed!)

[Fallleafechidna]

Hmm darn the reds already look pretty far along at Wheeler on the 25th already so maybe the best spots in the NEK aren't really much behind at all despite all the talk about how I heard it's so far behind to plan for 1/2 to a week late this year?

I'm afraid now that by next Tuesday it would be way late for the top spots like Wheeler Pond and such.

It's always way better to be a day or two early than even one day to late. The reds just turn to nothing if you are even on day late.
I'd rather have the wild reds and red-oranges and few light greens semi-turned than zero green but all the best colors already muted at the best places.

I know a couple years ago there were posts about how NEK was just near peak and would be perfect in a couple days and we got there in a couple days and all the best places were clearly past peak and totally muted away.

Unfortunately sounds like out and out constant rain on Monday I guess. A bit ironic that after severe drought and zero rain, truly terrible down in NJ, as soon as the leaves come.... first rain in months.

I remember in 2014 people said it was very slow and all the maps looked slow so then we get to Wheeler on Oct 2nd and it was all well past peak and shrivelled up already, just a few of the yellow trees left and even those a bit past.

What was beyond belief was 2012 though, hit that area Oct 2 2012 and it was utterly perfect peak and maybe the best turned year ever! (on way aroun dback on the 5th it was utterly gone though and all fallen and dried up, so it happens fast once peak hits).

Wondering how timing is compared to 2012 and 2014 and also what leaf color is like, ultra insane like 2012, average, muted?

[Fallleafechidna]

any updates from anyone who was in the general Wheeler Pond area today? Near, past peak? Below avg, avg, way above average foliage year?

[harley0711]

Hello to everyone - been looking here and decided to join. This is our third trip to VT and NW for the colors - I am a retired Firefighter - wife and I again are driving from Calif to your area - right now in Buffalo and will be spending the night (Wednesday 10/05) in Burlington, VT and then driving east towards 100 and start are way south. I will be reading here and looking for places and advice on where to go. 2009 was our first time in VT and it was Great - came back in 2013 - good but not as good as 2009 - both about the same times - first part of Oct. anyone that would be willing to talk to me and maybe give me some locations - up to the min - call me on my Cell at 209-606-9190 - would love to talk to you. Willing to drive where needed. Last time we rode up to and over to NH and to a place called Robies cabins

http://www.robiescabins.com/

pretty far north in NW -

been marking my 'old school paper map' on advice given here... Now if 'God' will just hold the color until Weds and the following few days, lol

2009 trip