We were going to backpack to Cooney, but then did a last minute hike somewhere else first so had to turn this into a day hike. With 18 miles and 3000' of elevation, it definitely makes for a longer day, but with how many people were backpacking, we didn't feel like we missed out on much.
The larches are awesome, but the majority of them are at the end of their life for the season. There are some stragglers still a little green and holding on to their needles. You can see the current conditions of the larches in this video https://youtu.be/e5y_9O0aKo8
You're able to see larches in the distance right away when you start hiking, then you get a nice mix of fall colors as you weave through the woods. About 6 miles in, you start to enter larch country, and every step after that takes you deeper into the orange wonderland.
The lake is nice, and it looks like there is a pretty easy access up to the ridge if you want to check out what is over the mountains. There's surprisingly quite a few campsites in this area.
Overall this is probably in my top 3 areas for seeing larches!
Comments
kellalyn on Cooney Lake
GORGEOUS photos! Thanks for the great trip report. Dying to know your other 2 of your top three fav 😍 Carne has been an annual tradition of ours for the past 4 years, looking for more places to explore for larches!
Posted by:
kellalyn on Oct 25, 2021 10:16 PM