{"id":97679,"date":"2018-09-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/searching-for-the-golden-larch-tree-high-in-the-northwest\/"},"modified":"2018-09-22T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T11:00:00","slug":"searching-for-the-golden-larch-tree-high-in-the-northwest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/searching-for-the-golden-larch-tree-high-in-the-northwest\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for the golden larch tree high in the Northwest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/p>\n
You can spot the gold of the larch trees high on the eastern and northern Cascades in Washington.<\/p>\n
But to really see them, to feel their softness and breathe in their scent, you must hike. Up. And up some more.<\/p>\n
The western larch grow from 1,600 to 7,000 feet, and the alpine larch can be found above 5,200 feet in the north Cascades and above 6,000 feet a bit to the south.<\/p>\n
It was worth it, despite our overly ambitious journey that included a rainy drive from Seattle over Stevens Pass to the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Lake Chelan, a late start on the trail and unexpected snowfall.<\/p>\n
Amy McMillin stops to feel the incredibly soft needles of a larch tree along the Crater Lakes trail in north-central Washington in October 2017. The western larch grow up to nearly 200 feet in height; the alpine larch averages 40 to 50 feet tall.<\/span>Sue McMillin\/Special to the Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The larch tree is a deciduous conifer \u2013 it looks like an evergreen in the summer and it has cones, but its needles turn yellow and fall off in autumn. The western larch grows on the east side of the Cascades from Oregon to southern British Columbia, Canada, as well as in the mountains of northeast Washington and Oregon, northern Idaho and western Montana. The alpine larch grows at higher elevations in the northern Cascades and northern Rockies of North America.<\/p>\n
There are other varieties as well \u2013 for example, the Siberian larch in Russia and the tamarack or American larch in the northern Midwest and eastern U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n
The Pacific Northwest, of course, is a wonder of color in the fall. But to include a larch hike adds another dimension.<\/p>\n
Several hiking options<\/div>\n
Tom Hinckley, professor emeritus at the University of Washington\u2019s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, has this to say about the experience: \u201cRegarding fall colors: Western larch is spectacular; however, subalpine is out of this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said in an email that he also likes to view the larches in the spring, with the \u201csoft green color of its foliage against the very dark green of the evergreen conifers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recommends several hikes off State Highway 20 (Heather-Maple Pass Loop, Cutthroat Pass and Kangaroo Pass) and in the Enchantments in the Alpine Lake Wilderness (Esmeralda Basin, Ingall\u2019s Lake and Long\u2019s Pass) to see the alpine larch. In the Enchantments, about 15 miles southwest of Leavenworth, you can see both varieties.<\/p>\n
Amy McMillin\/Special to the Herald<br><br>Larch trees dot the mountainsides along the Crater Lakes trail<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
How to tell them apart? Western larch needles are three-sided and the cones are on short stalks, while alpine larch needles are four-sided and the cones are nearly stalkless, according to the Northwest Conifers website<\/a>.<\/p>\n