Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Larches, what's the big attraction?
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Chief Joseph
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 12:17 pm 
I mean really, they are trees that turn yellow once a year. Is it the rarity, is it the fact they they look cool and are very photogenic? Or is it because they are yellow and blondes have more fun? Maybe it's like the purple weed? Isn't any better than the green stuff, just looks cooler and is harder to find? I just think people are weird who are obsessed-excited about yellow trees, I find it to be most befuddling. confused.gif

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tigermn
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 12:30 pm 
Personally I like all the fall colors, the yellow larches just one piece of the pie. I actually prefer more of the reds and oranges in other foliage. Get them all together as was the case at Easy Pass a couple of weekends ago and you have it all. I think the larches are interesting in that they are the only tree I know of that one would think is an evergreen that actually isn't. Needles vs leaves. And you get an interesting mix of yellow and green (with the other trees that are evergreens and stay green). Get the right sun on them and the light up pretty nice. Having said that while it is cool it isn't so cool that I care too much to torture myself in the crowds anymore at say Ingalls Lake on a weekend. I've been down that road enough I think. I'll get my fill at less crowded locations or go at non popular peak times (if possible).

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graffiti
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 12:30 pm 
I've got plenty of trees that turn yellow on my property. They eventually turn into leaves that are yellow and brown all over my lawn and driveway. I'm all yellowed out.

And the meek shall inherit the Earth...um...if that's ok with you.
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joker
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 12:48 pm 
tigermn wrote:
I actually prefer more of the reds and oranges in other foliage.
Ditto. The "deciduous conifer" aspect of larches is cool, but I don't go out of my way to time trips to see them at their peak of monotone yellow. OTOH, one thing I miss about New England is the flaming mountainsides at peak foliage in a really good foliage year, with a saturated mix of multiple yellows, reds, and oranges on the birch and maple trees. Out here, I'm more motivated to get into sub-alpine and alpine hillsides filled with bright red huckleberry contrasted with things like yellow mountain ash etc. than I am to go fight for parking spots at notorious larch locations. Sounds like I should check out Easy Pass at peak color sometime.

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GaliWalker
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 1:08 pm 
For me the attraction of a larch tree in fall robes isn't the yellow color on its own, but the juxtaposition of this yellow color against a stark rocky background, or its reflection in an alpine lake. You guys don't know how much I miss experiencing this, now that I'm over on the eastern coast. Thankfully, I do get to experience the equally enjoyable show from the local hardwoods. By the way, if I was to see larches in the eastern mountains, or hardwoods in the high country in the northwest, at the expense of the other, I'm pretty sure I'd feel shortchanged.

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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gb
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 1:20 pm 
In my book the coolest trees are Lyall's larches and Bristlecone pines, in that order. Larches are amazing not only for their beauty and the way they light up mountain ridges and basins but for their "choice" of habitat. They grow where other trees do not - they are not shade tolerant. The often attain the greatest age and the most artistic forms on high, north and east facing (primarily), rocky, morainal ridges. The growth form is also fascinating because, when young they grow upright like most trees, but when they reach a certain (don't ask me which) age the growth form favors lateral growth and thickening of branches; ultimately resulting in a bonsai-like form. That observation is actually a way to roughly date the trees. The trees can reach an age of over 700 years, with the very oldest over one thousand years - now how cool is that? There are very few great larches throughout the range of their habitat. My personal guess is perhaps around a couple thousand with diameters greater than 3'. I just spent two weeks in Larch landia and saw just two trees that large in the Canadian Rockies (I know of other locations I did not visit this time). In fact, in some areas trees greater than 26-28" DBH are very rare. There are really two sizes of Lyall's larches, those greater than around (roughly) two feet in diameter and those smaller than generally (depending on habitat) about 12". The oldest and grandest larches pre-date the coldest period of the Little Ice Ages, the youngest germinated after the climate had warmed somewhat. How the record Lyall's larch at Larch Lakes got to be 95" DBH and the one below Carne 101" DBH is a very good question. I know of no other Lyall's larches that exceed around 60" in diameter, though I've looked extensively. They are to me the Holy Grail of the celebration of fall color.

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DIYSteve
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 1:49 pm 
To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, if you gotta ask you'll never know. Ditto re gb's comments about Lyall's Larch aka Subalpine Larch. I really love the eerie sharp angles of Lyall's Larch limbs. And they grow in such cool places. My two favorite mountain trees are Lyall's Larch and Mountain Hemlock, for different reasons. Western Larch are nice but way down my list.

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Cyclopath
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 2:55 pm 
I grew up in New England. The place celebrates itself for its fall color. I've seen billions of maples with colorful leaves. They became kind of old hat. Now, one of the world's only deciduous conifers is another story, I didn't even think there was such a thing, I thought a tree could be one or the other but never both. After all the run of the mill fall color, larches look different. Dramatic. When the sun hits them just right, it's magic. They grow in the most wonderful places, only in the high country with silver wood and rock gardens and views in every direction. Younger trees look like characters in a Dr Seuss book while the older ones ... I'm not sure how to describe them exactly. To see one in person, you usually have to work for it. (There are exceptions.) I've always thought the winter view at Artist Point was better than the summer view, even if it's just because you have to earn it. Same thing with larches, I enjoy seeing something I have to work for more than I enjoy seeing something right on the side of the road.

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Schenk
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 3:13 pm 
Man...visual stimulation is one of the main reasons I go to the mountains. And also, but not limited to: - The sounds - The smells - The solitude - The "feel" of mountain air in your lungs and on your skin - The chance to see something dramatic happen - to challenge my self and expand my limits - to put things in perspective Larches? Their golden needles are as beautiful on the ground as on the tree. Without larches how would you ever get the chance to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"? (OK, that is my "trip") Chief Joseph...what are some of reasons you go to the mountains?

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cartman
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 3:19 pm 
Schenk wrote:
visual stimulation is one of the main reasons I go to the mountains.
ditto.gif up.gif up.gif THIS is WHY. Only aspens are superior to my eyes.

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DIYSteve
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 3:32 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
I grew up in New England. * * * Now, one of the world's only deciduous conifers is another story, I didn't even think there was such a thing
You didn't see Eastern Tamarack in NE? That species is very similar to Western Larch, so similar that I can't tell them apart. Lyall's Larch is quite different. +1 to your comment that some Lyall's look like they came out of a Dr. Seuss book.

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RichP
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 3:34 pm 
I go see larches because it reminds me of this

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 3:47 pm 
When we were in the east people from eastern cities rather than locals went nuts during leafing season. Rural roads were jammed, hotels doubled their prices, and restarunts were SRO. To be honest the scene was spectacular with orange sugar maples, red red maples, and a few yellow trees with whole hillsides colored. Here most of the deciduous trees turn yellow or brown. I think the larches are the northwest equivalent. Of course it doesn't hurt that the season is ending and we are looking at 6 months of gray and mud frown.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Backpacker Joe
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 4:22 pm 
Gosh CJ, if it was anyone else I'd say, "if you have to ask, you wouldnt understand!" But since it IS you Ill just say this. They're larches dude! Duh!

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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gb
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 4:25 pm 
Do you believe in magic? Apparently, I’m not the only one. I was going to take the day off and read a book after a storm but awoke with new snow on the Lake Louise ski area and the prospect of soon to come sunshine. I hiked Larch Valley along with 500 of my best friends. For me it worked out OK. To meet the requirement of groups of 4, I joined a mid-40’s father and his two beautiful young 20’s age daughters - perfect larch models! http://www.thecragandcanyon.ca/2012/09/24/crowds-force-closure-of-moraine-lake-road-over-the-weekend

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