For many, Adirondack autumn is all about peak foliage. It’s the Holy Grail for leaf peepers, the cha-ching shot for photographers and videographers.
Empowered by ever more ubiquitous social media, city friends pop in daily to ask, “Have you hit peak fall foliage yet?”
I post photos. I opine. I celebrate leaf piles and compare this season to past seasons…

Autumn in the Adirondacks. Peak or not, it’s simply spectacular in that crisp, Technicolor way that leaves no doubt that I’m alive and alert and thrilled with both.
You see, peak foliage is an elusive metric. The sort of evaluation that can’t accurately be confirmed until it has passed.
“Last weekend—just before the deluge but after the hard frost—that was definitely peak foliage, don’t you think?” Or, “Did you see the leaves on Wednesday afternoon? That was the peak!”
Maybe. Maybe not. Only once the leaves have crisped and blown away, been raked into piles for soft landings or pitched into compost heaps for future gardens, only then will we be able to look back and determine what moment was the precise moment of peak foliage.
Until then, we’ll debate and photograph and “Ooohhh!” and “Aaahhh!” And we’ll enjoy every minute of it…
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