This short but sweet loop hike has become an autumn ritual for my family. This was our fifth year hiking it as the western larches glowed their autumn gold. We were on a few inches of snow for the entire hike this time, which we were all very excited about. (It’s coming!)
The western larch is different than the alpine larch, which I didn’t know until about five years ago. In our mountains the western larches are generally taller, grow at lower elevations, and turn color later.
My son gets homework now that he’s a second grader, and his assignment for the coming week is to write about a family tradition. He said he plans to write about this hike. When he first did this with us, he was carried in a backpack. Now he’s running down the trail carrying a pack.
