Back in Bayrischzell

Last weekend we went tree hunting.

European Larch (Larix dedidua)

There were no rules or actual objectives when we started off our hike in Bayrischzell (skied here in the winter). Greg had just won 40 cents off bets with Ayelet, grabbed his borrowed tree guide book, and we started our hike up the Wendelstein King-Maximilan Way.

The path was quite empty, once again reinforcing our idea that Germans tend to get a late start on Sundays. We did see many people on our way down, but on our way up this mountain in the Alps all we ran into were wildflowers, trees, and piles of animal crap. We decided that the trail doubled as a path to get the animals to mountain pastures in the spring.

Beech (Fagus sylvatica) - looks like elephant skin

As we hiked up the hill, Ayelet and I were happy to focus on the many different species of trees along the way. We realized that many of the trees we saw have some very ornate expressions in the spring. We settled on identifying 3 for the afternoon. You probably think, "That is not too many," but it is a start. For our readers, I will even call it a challenge for you to identify more trees (or species) in your local habitat. Let me know what you find and have happy spring!

Norway Spruce (Picea abies)