Well... yeah. I thought that was clear by now. But it's not just me. The whole Northwest goes mad in October. It's called Larch Madness and it's a thing. (Probably worth a google.) It's all about the larch, a self-contradictory tree in the conifer family that loses its needles. Not only do they lose their needles in the autumn, the needles turn golden yellow for a few weeks before they fall.

If you're an adventurer in the Northwest you know you need to see the larches. Even better if you can see them on a crisp, bluebird day. Even better than better if you get to do it with people you like. We got lucky and nailed it this year.

Our trip began way too early on a Sunday at the end of October. The snows hadn't yet started to fall in earnest, but east of the mountains it was cold enough to turn the larches. Reports flooded social media about epic visits to The Enchantments and The Teanaway, but these were bigger adventures than we were up for. Instead, we chose a less ambitious destination near Wenatchee.

As we neared the trailhead we could see pops of gold among the green trees on the mountainside. Parked, there was little indication this would be a larchy area. In fact, it was more than a mile before we saw many larches at all. However, once we found them they became the main attraction.

It sounds silly to refer to a yellow tree with such reverence, but whether they were all alone or clustered together they were impressive. In summer, when their needles a green, it's not that easy to pick them out among the other trees. In fact, the last time we were in this area they were all but invisible.

With the sun hitting them and the dark blue sky behind the larches stood out like the special tree they are. We were a little late so there were piles of yellow needles at the foot of most trees. In the windward ends of lakes there were great mats of gold.

Since it was autumn it was a little chilly and the lakes were partially frozen. This just made it more fun to throw rocks across the surface to make laser sounds or to see who could hit a target on the ice. We lounged in the sun wrapped in wool and down before heading back to the car just a short way down the hill.

Now we can point to the pictures and say we saw the larches. We have been cured of madness this year, but it's an annual affliction and there are other larches to see. In the Canadian Rockies there are huge forests of larches and of course there are the Enchantments. Needless to say, this won't be our last season of Larch Madness.

Oh. And an official apology to Monty Python.