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.

Larch March

When fall rolls around, I closely monitor all the hiking Facebook pages and websites for the best places to view autumn finery.  Up in Washington state a majority of the posts featured photos of the lovely groves of Western Larch trees.  A unique species of conifer, instead of remaining green throughout winter months, the needles of the larch turn gold and drop in autumn.

 

A few last bits of fall color on Fret Creek Trail

When it comes to large groves of larch trees, Washington has the upper hand over Oregon.  But not having the time to travel to my neighboring state up north, nor a place to stay, I had to rely on getting my larch fix closer to home.  And luckily there's a spot east of Mt Hood that boasts a few stands of these beautiful conifers - the Badger Creek Wilderness.

 

Bridge crossing

 

From past hikes in the area, I remembered the larches began to turn color by mid-October.  So I planned a Friday trip in hopes of catching some golden needles.  My trail of choice was the Fret Creek Trail.  This lovely 2-mile jaunt climbs through a fir forest dominated by huckleberry bushes.  Although in past years the huckleberry leaves were a lovely hue of yellow, today I found most of them way past their prime.  Only a few scraggly bushes still held fading gold leaves.

Oval Lake

Was I too late for the larches?  Trekking past Oval Lake, the only bit of color was a few red huckleberry leaves along its shore.

Lichen-draped trees

 

Reaching the junction with the Divide Trail, I admired the long strands of lichen that draped nearby Douglas Fir trees.  Then, turning south I climbed steeply up the ridge to Palisade Point.

First larch sighting

 

About halfway up my climb, I stopped for a breather and admired the forest scenery spread out below.  And there, amongst the Douglas fir forest were a few larch trees, their golden needles glowing prominently against the deep green.

You gotta look up

So I wasn't too late!  As a matter of fact, judging by the pale green needles mixed in with the gold, it appeared the color transition was just beginning.

Fall brilliance

After taking in a the wide-sweeping views on top of Palisade Point, I followed the Divide Trail further south as it roller-coastered up and down.  I kept my eyes glued upward.  That's where the larches were.

Golden needles

 

Very few of the tall tree's branches were at eye-level.  It would've been easy to miss the golden larch needles had I not kept looking skyward.  As a matter of fact, I later ran into a couple on the trail and mentioned the larches.  Neither one of them had seen any!  I advised them that "you gotta look up."

Spiky needles

The larch trees were scattered about the forest, mostly in groups of 3's and 4's.  There wasn't any huge concentration of them.  And most of the golden-hued branches reached high above my head.

Mt Hood with a UFO-shaped cloud

Still, the trees were beautiful, and it was a thrill to see so many.  I wandered down the Divide Trail until it connected with a gravel road to nearby Flag Point fire lookout.  Having been to the lookout many times, and not in the mood for an uphill road walk, I sat down on a nearby log to take a lunch break.

Larch love

 

Lunch finished, I turned around and retraced my steps back to Palisade Point.  Wanting to get a selfie for my "65 Hikes" blog page, I found one group of larches that happened to have low-hanging, accessible branches.  I had a fun time capturing poses with the tree's spiky golden needles (and just so you know, no larches were harmed in the creation of this image!)

Golden in the sunshine

Back at Palisade Point, the light was better, and I captured this image of the forested ridge over Flag Point with a few spots of gold larch trees mixed in.  If you look real closely, you'll even see the Flag Point fire lookout tower.

Spots of gold on the hillside

Wanting to add a bit more mileage to the day's total I followed the Divide Trail north of Fret Creek to Lookout Point.  It was another thousand feet of climbing in a mile and a half.   Huffing and puffing uphill I thought "why did I choose to do this?"  But upon seeing the fabulous Mt Hood view on Lookoout Mountain's summit I decided it had been worth it.

Mt Hood from Lookout Mountain

 

After taking in the 360 degree panorama of the adjacent wilderness, and chatting with a couple enjoying wine and cheese at the summit, it was time to head back.  The return trip was quick - a steep, but sweet downhill trek following first the Divide Trail and then the Fret Creek Trail. 

Wide open views from Lookout Mountain

Funny thing, driving the Forest Service road from the trailhead back to civilization, I passed by a huge grove of golden larch trees growing right along the road!  I could've had my larch fix without the long hike and climb.  But.....I would've missed the fantastic views of Mt Hood and the scattered larch forests.  And I kind of like to work for my scenery.

A successful larch march on a beautiful sunny fall day!