Washington Cascades || Larch Madness in the North Cascade Sawtooths

Seasons work a little differently in Washington state, where the 4 seasons are 1) Winter, 2) Volcano Ski, 3) Summer, and 4) Larch! Along with the volcano ski season, larch season is the most glorious. And that's why this video is so long - it's hard to cut footage of the golden larches!

In this 2-day adventure, we explore West Oval Lake, Courtney Peak, Star Peak, and Star Lake deep in the North Cascades' Sawtooth subrange, with ZERO other people around.

The larch is a deciduous conifer found east of the crest of Washington's North Cascades mountain range. For ~2 weeks at the tail end of September & first half of October, the larches turn a vibrant golden color, made especially more brilliant on sunny days when the sun's rays reflect off the thin larch needles. This trigger's Larch Madness, an obsessive drive for Washingtonians to go see such beauty during this tiny window. However, for some reason, they stick to the same 4 places, leaving plenty of untouched wilderness for those seeking greater solitude.

0:11 - Eagle Creek Trailhead
1:50 - First Larches
2:35 - Arriving at West Oval Lake
4:14 - Day 2
5:43 - Hitting the Trail
8:36 - Star Lake Larch Grove
9:33 - Courtney Peak Summit
13:00 - Star Lake
14:55 - Star Peak Summit
15:09 - Tour of North Cascades Peaks (w/ brief glimpse of Lake Chelan at 15:51)
18:24 - Star Lake swim
20:09 - Larch Madness 101
22:52 - West Oval Lake return
23:10 - West Oval Lake swim
23:45 - Hike out