It’s a sunny October day and we’re here to visit Gus — reportedly the tallest larch tree in the world. Sunlight filters through the changing larch trees, while already-fallen needles cover the path like a forested yellow brick road. I walk with my friend Holli Holmes.
“This is like the part that I really love, is just feeling like we're walking on the golden pathway,” said Holmes
My orange and white dog nearly blends into the colorful scene. It’s quiet except for the noise of his panting, punctuated by the squawks of ravens overhead.
At 163 feet tall, Gus is two feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.
I read a plaque at the bottom of the tree.
“If you look closely at this largest of all western larches, you'll see the scars of its long life. At the base of the tree are telltale signs of fire. This giant survived at least 40 fires that burned through Girard Grove about every 24 years,” it said.
A small opening in the trunk reveals scratches, and burn scars from Gus’s 1,000 year history.
Now, just a few hundred yards from the road that winds around Seeley Lake, it’s hard to imagine how much this landscape has changed over the life of this tree. Gus, and his neighbors will continue to drop their needle-leaves for the next few weeks before the golden ground turns white with snow.
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