Western Larches of Mt. Hood

In my quest to photograph the fall colors of NW Oregon, there's one tree species that always rises to the top of the list.  Described as a unique coniferous variety, in autumn its needles turn a lovely hue of yellow and drop to the forest floor.  Come early October, people in the Pacific NW become obsessed with seeing the stunning golden larch.

My friends are all smiles!

This "larch madness" is more prevalent in neighboring Washington state, where larches are much more plentiful.  Home to both the Western larch and the more showy subapline larch, people flock to trails featuring forests full of these golden beauties.  I can always tell when larches there are peaking - my Facebook feed is crammed with breathtaking photos.

Golden goodness

Someday I'll make it up to Washington to see the larch show for myself.  But in the meantime, the eastern slopes of Mt. Hood put on a performance of their own - and it's a much shorter drive.

Larch trees everywhere!

The forests directly east of Mt. Hood are home to the Western larch tree.  In the past, I've hiked the Divide Trail (see my post from this hike and also this post from 2020) to Flag Point Lookout where there's a scattered bunch of larches.  But two years ago I stumbled upon a nice grove on the slopes of nearby Five Mile Butte.  At the time, the trees were just beginning their autumn transition, so I made a mental note to return later in October for peak color.  However, life got in the way, and it took me two more years to fulfill that promise.

This one was practically glowing

But one sunny Saturday in late October, the planets finally aligned.  I invited my hiking buddies Debbie and Barry to join me on a larch reconnaissance mission.  My objective was a trek on the Eightmile Loop trail to hopefully catch the Western larches in their fall finery.

A baby larch

Parking at the Eightmile Campground day use area, my friends and I shouldered our backpacks and headed up the steep, switchback-y trail that would take us to the top of Fivemile Butte.  It didn't take long before we began to notice the golden conifers standing out prominently from the forest's green firs.

Mixed in with the firs

Climbing higher, I came upon dozens of bright yellow trees surrounding the trail.  We'd hit the larches at their peak!  I was so excited!  Forward progress ground to a screeching halt as my camera came out, and lots of photography ensued.  Good thing my friends are so patient and understanding of my hobby.

This entire hillside was golden

Western larch is the only species of larch trees found in Oregon.  It's among the largest of the larches, able to grow up to 200 feet high with trunk widths as wide as 5 feet in diameter.  It has a narrow, tapered shape that allows closely-spaced groves of these trees to thrive.  Larch trees can survive extreme cold and hot, dry summers.

More yellow needles

I slowly inched up the trail, taking dozens of photographs as I went.  The amount of larches increased in number until the forest was nearly dominated by their golden needles.

Sun breaking through

I noticed lots of short larch trees just starting to rise from the forest floor.  If all these baby larches survive, it won't take long for a nice forest to develop here.  It will be interesting to visit this trail in the coming years and see the changes.

Happy hikers

Debbie and Barry are avid birders, so while I was busy taking photographs of the larch trees, they were scanning the forest for birds.  Not seeing any recent reports from this area, Debbie decided she'd compile a list of feathered friends she spotted for the ebird website.

I loved the close-ups

Upward my friends and I climbed, me clicking my camera shutter profusely, and Debbie and Barry listening for bird calls.

We hit peak color

The brilliant yellow needles of the larches practically glowed in the late morning sunshine.

My friends looking for birds

Towards the top of our climb, the number larches began to decline, and the forest opened up to views looking north.  At one point, I spotted Mt. Adam's white summit framed between the trees.

A tiny bit of red

Reaching the top of our climb, we took a side trail to the Fivemile Butte Fire Lookout.  Not only did I love visiting fire lookouts, the amazing view from its base made a nice lunch spot.

Mt. Adams was our lunchtime view

We walked to an open area a short distance from the lookout.  My friends and I sat in the sunshine, filled our bellies, and enjoyed a fine view of the forest below and Mt. Adams front and center.  The warm temperatures and blue skies were much appreciated!

Five Mile Butte lookout

Finished with lunch, we wandered back to check out the fire tower and take a few photos.  While exploring the area, a mountain biker happened by.  He pointed towards the entrance road and told us there was a great view of Mt. Hood not far down the road.

Excellent Mt Hood view on the lookout road

Well of course we had to check it out!  True to his word, the biker was right.  About a quarter mile away from the fire lookout Mt. Hood rose prominently above the trees.  A few scattered larches stood out amongst the green.  An amazing view - many more photos were taken.

Fire lookout peek-a-boo

Then we retraced our steps back to the lookout and rejoined the Eightmile trail to complete our loop. 

Larch trees speckled throughout the forest

Our trail contoured along an open ridge, giving us nice views of the forest below.  The green Douglas fir forest was speckled with yellow from the turning larch needles.  A beautiful sight!

Nice views on top of Five Mile Butte

The rest of the trail didn't have nearly as many larches, so my camera mostly stayed in its bag for the remainder of the hike.  (I'd taken more than enough the first mile and a half!)  But one area had a huge concentration of mushrooms, so I tried my hand at a bit of macro photography, capturing some colorful fungi on the forest floor.

Mushrooms in the forest

Debbie was able to identify a grand total of 10 different bird species for her list.  The highlight was hearing a woodpecker's familiar tap-tapping, and being able to spot a hairy woodpecker high on one of the nearby trees.

Debbie poses on a log bridge

On the drive home down windy Forest Service road 44, I admired the brilliant larch trees lining its roadway.  I came around a bend, and there was Mt. Hood framed by some of these golden beauties.  Such a beautiful scene, I immediately pulled over and snapped a few parting shots.  A great end to what had been an amazing day!

Mt Hood view on the way home

After missing the peak larch color two years ago, I was thrilled to hit both the height of the larch seasonal change, and do it on a sunny day.