Autumn Hike to Blue Lake Trail during Larch Madness!
Ah October – warm cozy blankets, hot cocoa, pumpkin everything, larches…Larch what? What the heck is that? We never knew what one was until we moved to the Pacific Northwest. People would ask “is that a bird…some kind of animal”?” Well in fact – it is a tree! A tree?! What’s so special about a tree, we have plenty of those in the evergreen state! Well let me tell you. It is a very special one because during a quick window in the fall (October – November) these trees turn from their normal green needle color to a vibrant, beautiful yellow color. The window is so short because these trees are deciduous trees (even though they look like evergreens) and their needles fall off just like the leaves fall off of all other deciduous trees in the Autumn. They also are so special because they only grow in certain places (mountainous areas) but don’t like to compete with other large evergreens. One place in Washington where you can find lots of them is the North Cascades National Park. I recommend you search for Larches early October before the snow hits the Cascades. We didn’t get to hike to see them until late October (since I was down with a sinus infection for the first two weeks of October, ew I know). But it was VERY magical to see them in the snow, and just to see them for the first time ever in general!
Kevin was in San Francisco for a design conference, but I was lucky enough to have my best friend in town (she had been in Seattle the past few months travel nursing) so I grabbed her for a girls weekend and we headed out 3 hours Northeast to the beautiful North Cascades. The 3 hour drive alone is so worth it. Any drive out here that intimidates you for being 3-4 hours really shouldn’t. It turns into the most beautiful road trip ever, every time! And once you get into North Cascades National Park FORGETTA BOUT IT! So. Dang. Beautiful. Tall majestic mountains, cascading waterfalls, the bluest lakes.
On your way to the trail, definitely stop over to Diablo Lake – the bluest reservoir I’ve ever seen. There’s a lookout you can stop on along highway 20. And even better when it’s mid-October and not the summer because we were the only ones there! Besides a guy cooking a corn dog over his grill sippin’ on a beer (true story). Anyways stop there and take in the beautiful scenic views of Diablo Lake and the North Cascades and then continue your drive (~40 min from Diablo) to Blue Lake Trail.
Blue Lake Trail starts off through a dense evergreen forest. Since it got snowy once we drove up into the mountains for this hike, it turned out to be a snowy winter wonderland. Be sure to bring your micro spikes in case it gets icy. As your hiking, you’ll start to see the little yellow larch trees up in the distance tucked away in the mountains. As you hike your way up maybe 1/2 mile to a mile on the trail, you’ll finally come face to face with a magical yellow larch tree. I was more in love than I thought I would be. Their bright yellow soft needles, and the way some of them grew crooked and dr.suess like. They were truly the most magical and whimsical little trees. I think the contrast of the white snow and bright yellow trees was truly incredible, and maybe we actually lucked out that we got to witness them in the snow! Hike through a larch wonderland until you get up to a beautiful alpine lake called Blue Lake. Since it was snowy and cloudy, the lake was still beautiful but more clear than blue. In the sun and the summertime the color of the water is described as a milky blue color. The lake is surrounded by towering, jagged mountains, and more larch trees. We sat by the lake, enjoyed some snacks, and listened to the babbling creek beside it. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to catch some wildlife, or have a bird randomly land on your hand! Can’t wait to come back and hike this one again in the summer so I can jump into the icy blue lake, and again in the autumn to catch the magical yellow larches yet again.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/blue-lake
