Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote that “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house." I get it, Nate. 

There’s nothing I look forward to quite as much as fall. It’s sweater weather. It’s apple picking. It’s campfires and smores. It’s pumpkin spiced lattes. And it is, without a doubt, the most beautiful season. 

And what makes the fall so damn beautiful? The colors. Beginning in late September, green forests become a menagerie of colors. In Pennsylvania, every hill, every mountain, and every forest is alight with the most spectacular yellows, oranges and reds. 

I plan my fall weekends months in advance. Cramming in as many trips and hikes as I can to see such wonderful scenery. But planning those trips can be tricky. You always want to plan a big hiking weekend or leaf peeping trip at what’s called “peak season” – which is when the leaves look their best and brightest. A week early and you’ll see something nice, but not incredible. A week late and you’ll see empty trees and dead leaves. 

But who makes those forecasts? Who in Pennsylvania knows when and where the leaves will be changing at any given time across hundreds of miles of varied terrain? 

On this episode, I speak with Ryan Reed - a natural resource program specialist with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. 

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Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis