Wyoming Autumn

I am enjoying the change that autumn has brought to my outdoor wanderings. I had missed having seasons in Florida (unless you count humid and less-humid as seasons), and I'm appreciating this opportunity to see the gradual slip into fall, where colors change leaf by leaf and temperatures creep downwards at night. The Wyoming sunshine has made autumn even more beautiful; the aspens seem to almost glow and the blue sky makes a brilliant backdrop.

Some trees even take it all upon themselves to provide the fall colors in one central location. I had to snap a picture of this obliging tree with green, yellow, orange and red all showing at once.

Hiking gains an extra element of excitement when the weather can turn in minutes from sunny and in the 70s to rain and blustery wind or even to sleet and snow. Soon after taking the photo below of a spectacular lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, the clouds rolled in darkly, the temperature dropped and the rain began to fall. By the time I dug out my rain gear and suited up, I could see blue sky over the mountains. Ten minutes later, the sun emerged to warm the day so much I had to take off not only my rain gear, but my jacket as well. To be prepared for such sudden changes, I sometimes feel like I'm carrying most of my closet in my pack!


My attention to the seasonal changes has led me to understand how quickly winter comes in such high elevations. I experienced my first Wyoming snow in the nearby mountains on September 24th! According to the calendar, that was the first day of fall, so snow was a big surprise. I had to break out my old wardrobe of sweaters and jackets and gloves. On my last alpine hike, I wore four layers! I was quite comfortable, but I wonder how many layers I will end up wearing by February.

No snow has fallen in town so far, though the temperature has dipped below freezing on some nights. The birds have mostly gone, the marmots are hibernating, and the kitties are growing thick coats and begging for fattening treats. According to some long-time residents, winter will arrive before the end of the month, and the kids will be trudging through snow drifts on Halloween.

The sun just went down. I need another sweater. And I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea and a fattening treat.