I’ve been determined this year to show you what our fall foliage looks like from up above the treetops. My first try on Hewe’s Hill in Swanzey wasn’t entirely successful because of the limited viewing range and the bright sunshine that day, so last week I decided to try Pitcher Mountain in Stoddard. There are 360 degree views from the top of this mountain, so I reasoned that it would be possible to take photos without the sun shining directly at the camera.
It was partly cloudy and windy that day and most of the trees seemed to still have plenty of leaves on them.
This young maple was certainly colorful.
About halfway up the trail you come to a large meadow where long horned and long haired Scottish Highland cattle are kept. At least some of the time, anyway; I’ve climbed this mountain many times now and have never seen an animal in this meadow.
A little more climbing brings you to the old ranger cabin. The fire tower on this mountain is manned when the fire danger is high, but I don’t think the ranger station is used any longer.
It’s hard to miss the fire tower. In April of 1940 27,000 acres of forest burned, including all of the trees on this summit and the old wooden fire tower that once stood here. It was the most destructive fire in the region’s history and burned the summit right down to the bare granite. The tower seen in this photo replaced the original that was built here in 1915.
It’s a good thing that the tower is well anchored. The wind felt like it was blowing at gale force up here on this day, and I had to use it as a wind break.
Large colonies of common gold speck lichen (Candelariella vitellina) cover the exposed granite. They were fruiting so they must be very happy up here.
Pitcher Mountain is famous for its native high bush blueberry bushes which cover many acres, and people come from all over to pick them. They are also one of our most colorful native shrubs.
Mount Monadnock’s outline was barely visible off to the south due to the weather conditions, but by fiddling around with the camera’s controls I was able to get a shot of it. I’m not sure why the meadow and trees in the foreground look so dimly lit, but I kind of like it.
Almost every time I’ve climbed Pitcher Mountain it has been sunny when I started out and then clouds rolled in as soon as I reached the summit. This day was no different, but a little patience paid off and every time the sun broke through I snapped a photo. It was so beautiful, I didn’t mind waiting.
As I sat waiting for the clouds to part I watched this crow struggling to not be blown out of the sky. The wind was fierce and I too struggled with keeping the camera steady on its monopod.
I sat on the side of the fire tower away from the wind and waited for some sunshine to illuminate this, the nearest hill. I had to laugh at my luck because once or twice all of the surrounding landscape in any direction was in full sunshine except this hill and the mountain I sat on. When the sun finally illuminated the hill, it was beautiful as I knew it would be. I was surprised that so many trees were bare though.
There were some nice colors up close, too. I think we’re seeing the red of oak, orange maple, and yellow beech in this shot.
This was taken when the sun was shining just about everywhere except the mountain I sat on. It’s a good example of how the light, and lack of it, can impact foliage colors. I’m not sure why the few evergreens in the foreground appear so dark.
Though the photos don’t really do them justice the colors seen from the mountaintop and the way the light played on the distant hills were breathtakingly beautiful, and at times I felt like I was inside a painting by Monet or Renoir. There is simply nothing that compares with being on a mountaintop, especially at this time of year.
Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve; they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion. ~Anatoli Boukreev
Thanks for stopping in.
Breathtakingly beautiful.
It was!
Beautiful colors! I would love to see all of those hardwoods in their fall colors!
I would too, but their colors come staggered and some trees are bald when others have just started changing. Right now beeches and oaks are stealing the show.
Beautiful! I had no idea how hard it is to get good foliage shots from a distance. I was stuck on a mountain top with just my phone last week. Pictures do not do justice to being there. Yours are pretty close, though!
Thanks Jocelyn. It’s a lot harder than I thought too! I hope you weren’t really “stuck” on that mountaintop.
I love the view over the meadow to the mountains in the distance.
Thanks, I like that one too, even if I don’t know why the foreground is so dark.
such beautiful pictures!
Thank you, I’m glad you liked them!
You were able to get some awesome images of the fall colors, along with the lichen!
Tom touched on your exposure questions in his comment about your camera metering settings. Most people who purchase a camera shoot photos of their kids, friends, and family, so cameras are programmed to render flesh tones properly. Throw a wide range of colors and lighting variations, and the camera’s software can’t handle it. Making it worse is the fact that the sensor can’t deal with the variation between light and dark in your images, so the camera tries to do the best it can.
I’ve learned to deal with the metering problems by changing metering modes to fit the situation, but I don’t know if your camera has the same modes. That’s also why I’ve been trying the HDR software, to make up for what the sensor can’t handle. However, you and your camera did much better than most at capturing the scenes! There are advantages to compact digital cameras as you are finding out.
Thanks Jerry. I don’t know if I can change metering modes on this camera either. I’ve never tried it, but I’ll look into it and see what happens when I do. I agree that sometimes we ask cameras to do more than they were designed to do!
Really beautiful views from the top of your mountain. Thank-you for sharing your climb.
You’re welcome Clare, and thank you.
Reblogged this on Therapeutic Misadventures and commented:
A fellow blogger who takes the time to create excellence in his posts. The quote at the end sums up life in my little world!
Thanks for the re-blog!
Thank you, Allen. It seems everyone is posting “instant” pictures of the foliage this year. Your post is stellar. I have yet to climb Pitcher Mountain. Not much of a climber, actually. Prefer to get there on horseback. But this is an extraordinary look at the brief season we have just witnessed. I wonder if that was a crow or, my personal favorite and neighbor, a raven? Your patience has paid off with this one. Lovely!!
Thank you Martha. You might want to try Pitcher Mountain sometime. Most of the climb is actually done by car and the hike to the summit only takes about 15 minutes. The foliage was really beautiful from up there so it was worth it. I didn’t get a good enough look at the bird to know if it was a crow or a raven but it was big and black, and was having a hard time in that wind.
Well worth the climb and the wait. Your camera metering setting might cause the darkness of the foreground conifers.
Thank you, I thought so. I’m sure you’re right about the metering settings. Things in the distance were all but invisible so I’d change the settings, give it a try, and then change them again until I could see the far off hills, all the while ignoring the foreground.
You will have to set your mind to extensive fiddling about with a photo editor.
I tried that on some of these and it helped a bit, I thought.
Oh my goodness, these are really beautiful views, thank you for making another trip and sharing your journey. That was sad to read to of such a destructive fire.
You’re welcome, and thank you Julie. I’ve heard that it was quite a fire but the forest has recovered so well that you wouldn’t even know that there had been one.
Very nice to share this with you. Where I am is very flat and the colours of autumn not so remarkable. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. I still envy your mild winters.
Wonderful quote from Boukreev. He spoke for many.
That’s true!
Reblogged this on Granite State Walker and commented:
Wonderful post & photos from Pitcher Mountain, from New Hampshire Garden Solutions – a fine blog to follow. Enjoy.
Thank you for the re-blog Ellen. I’m glad you enjoyed the climb.
I love your impressionist views of the autumn colors, especially the way the mountains in the distance appear in varying shades of blue and gray, and how the colors fade in and out.
Thanks Mike. That’s why I climb. It’s really the only way to see things like this, and it’s always worth the effort.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
Thank you Agnes.
You’re very welcome, Allen. Wishing you a beautiful weekend. Namaste
One of those gorgeous walks, the scenery of colorful foliage and eagle soaring is perfect. The blueness of the distant mountains almost resemble the smokey mountains down South.
Thank you Mary. That’s actually a crow, but it did soar like an eagle. I’ve seen photos of the smokey mountains and they are very blue. I’ve never been able to find out what causes it though. Atmospheric conditions, I imagine.
That’s it exactly, the mist from all the humidity and the trees breathing. A gorgeous scene, but not too different than what I saw from your beautiful scene.
Very nice photos. I like the one with the crow; it’s fun to watch them soar from a mountain top. I look forward to hiking Temple Mountain today!
Thank you Paula. It looks like you’ve finally got a good day for it after a week of rain!
Reblogged this on Writing Out Loud and commented:
Who better portrays where I live than NH Garden Solutions!
Thanks for the re-blog and kind words, Bob.
Breathtaking colours. Love the Boukreev quotation too. 🙂
Thanks Ben. I like that quote too. It fits my attitude.
Yes. I think I shall send it on to a man who comes to our poetry group meetings and is a great climber and walker and, coincidently, is if anything more than a photographer than a poet. Not that that means he is not a fine poet too. Here is an example, which you may recall.
Thank you Ben. I do remember that poem and remember immediately thinking that it was written by someone who knew the woods. I hope he enjoys this post, and I wish he had a blog of his own.
I don’t think he is a great internet user. In fact of all the folk in our writing group I seem to be the only one who maintains a site of their own.
I can understand that, especially if they hope to be published one day. If I didn’t have to use it for work I think I’d probably spend much less time than I do on it.
one word: MAGNIFIQUE! ❤ I also like Monet or Renoir… you're right: photos don’t really show the true gorgeous colors of an Indian summer…
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my very best and have a serene weekend! cheers and sunny thoughts, Mélanie
Thank you Melanie. I hope you’ve had some great fall colors where you are. Have a great weekend!
Looks like it was a perfect day for a climb! With all of the wind and rain we’ve had these last few days, there probably won’t be much foliage left now. Great pictures!
Thanks, it was a great day Laura, but you’re right-the leaves are falling fast.
Thank you for climbing that mountain to show us the lovely scenery in which you live. The autumn colours were most striking. As so often I wish I could walk there with you to see for myself.
You’re welcome Susan. I wish you could visit this area and see it for yourself too.