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Plan your own Golden Larch Hike
By Struan Robertson
As there will be no sanctioned larch hike this season, you have the opportunity to gather your family and friends and take them out for your own golden larch hike before the wind and frost strip the last needles and leaves for another season.
Take the necessary COVID-19 precautions of course, but a walk in the woods may just be a good tonic at this time. You will want to choose your hike location, but if you choose to start at the Kimberley Nordic Centre, three very different routes will be suggested to you.
Participants from previous years’ larch hikes will be there at 9 a.m. to suggest three different routes for you and to hand out maps.
The Centennial-Spruce hike is 2.5km and mostly flat. The Larch Loops hike is five-km return but lets you climb to 1385m. The third suggestion is to hike a mostly flat, nine-km return hike, past the Nordic trails into the Nature Park, to enjoy the colours at Dipper Lake.
OPTIONAL
We have two Larch species in this area.
In the lower valleys where we live, we are surrounded by the tall, stately Western Larch and at this time of year they are at their golden best, interspersed with the different green shades of the pines and firs. The various willows, aspens and shrubs add to the colour mix with their yellow and red fall hues. Away up in the mountains, the Alpine or Lyle’s Larch have almost finished showing off their brilliant golden shades on their twisted branches. Up there they are already covered with a dusting of snow.
Both of our Larch species shed their colourful needles in the fall and leave us with a golden carpet to hike on before the frost arrives.
Gather your family and the friends you have in your ‘bubble,’ take the sensible COVID-19 precautions, bring your refreshments, a bear spray, and plan to be out there for a while chasing the colours. Bring your dog if you have control and can ensure he will not bother other walkers. Be responsible for yourselves, come with suitable clothing for the weather and be prepared to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors in fall.
Photos submitted
