Shoulder Season Send Off

It’s no secret that I love chasing the fall colors and Alpine Larches in the Cascades. Larch hikes have exploded in popularity, but probably most aficionados don’t even know that there is a second type of local larch – the Western Larch. They grow at lower elevations, change color later, and occupy a distinct region in the central and southern Cascades, along with many areas out to Montana. After missing most of the Alpine Larch season this year due to travel, work, and bad weather, I set my sights on the under appreciated Western Larch.

It is much more difficult to know where to find the Western Larch, since they don’t grow in such specific locations, mingling with other species. However, they cover vast regions of forests east of the crest. Wyatt and I knew the 410 corridor east of Rainier was a good spot, so we planned a point to point route along Fifes Ridge.

We dropped my bike at the west end of route and drove 9 miles further down the road to the Indian Flat trailhead. The trail is a motor bike trail, so it was in good shape.

There was considerable smoke from the smoldering fire near Bumping Lake, but it got better as we headed up and westward.

The trail climbed slowly along the low angle ridge, but there were adequate viewpoints over the valley and beautiful Ponderosas and Western Larches to keep it interesting. As we got higher, we got some stunning views over the American River Valley. The larches across the valley were still greenish yellow, but they popped out of the forest with their distinct color.

The Western Larches are not typically clustered or as scenic as Alpine Larches, but they can be impressively tall – over 100 feet.

The trail generally follows the edge of a long cliff band above the American River. The Fifes peaks are all part of an eroded volcano from 20 million years ago. It has produced some beautiful spires and vantages high above the valley. The rock is often volcanic conglomerate, with smaller rocks stuck inside of what looks like hardened mud.

We took a brief detour the eastern highpoint of Fifes Ridge. From there, we entered the massive burn scar of the 2017 Norse Peak Fire. Because this fire destroyed essentially everything, it is still very easy to walk through. A few baby conifers are starting to pop up, but it is mostly barren. The scarred trees were beautiful.

We were able to pick up the old trail as we got closer to the saddle, as it appeared someone had been cutting logs and trying to repair the trail. The trail continued all the way down to an open meadow in Falls Creek, exactly where we wanted to head!

Here, we found our first water source of the day. The meadow seemed particularly odd, with giant house sized boulders and baby conifers. Looking up, a giant swath of burned forest had been taken out. We theorized that, in the aftermath of the 2017 fire, the land was destabilized and a large landslide cleared out this meadow. 2015 imagery confirms that this meadow did not exist!

The hardest part of our route was the next climb beneath the Fifes Peaks. This was the only section where there was significant downed trees to go around. Even in the forest, there was evidence of massive erosion after the fire. In some places, most of the soil was stripped.

Around 5700 ft, we traversed right beneath some giant volcanic cliffs. After this, we were into much easier terrain.

As peakbaggers always do, Wyatt wanted to bag the high point in all the Fife Peaks, so we ascended directly up towards it. For the first time all day, it really started to rain. When we reached the ridge, I decided to hide in a volcanic cave while Wyatt tagged the true summit.

Once Wyatt returned, we continued through cold rain and wind along the annoying ridge line and up one last climb. When we finally reached the trail, I was relieved to be leaving the weather up high.

As I jogged down the trail, the rain let up and we got some beautiful views down the valley. Like the initial trail, this one followed the edge of a dramatic ridge line above the American River. After some annoying weather, it was a beautiful way to end the run.

The descent trail was in a good shape, passing through the elder larch trees that survived the burn, along with the baby ones that were taking hold beneath. I guess one benefit of the Western Larch is that you get to see them all the way back to the road!

While the rain held off for my bike shuttle, I got thoroughly soaked from the wet road.

I had low expectations going in, but this route was a great shoulder season activity! The trails impressed me with wonderful position over the valley, the volcanic rock had interesting features, and the Western Larches added a touch of color, even if they were not quite at their peak. Now that we see the potential, we are looking forward to more Western Larch exploration in future years!

Notes:

• Our route was 20 miles and 7.5k ft gain. It took us about 8 hours. The bike shuttle was 9 miles and mostly slight downhill.
• The burn zone was surprisingly easy to walk through because there has been little regrowth. This will change at some point, however.
• In addition to the meadow where we got water, Falls Creek had running water in places, although it also went underground in other spots.
• I would not do this route in the summer because of the lack of shade and water.