Journal 74: What’s Your Favorite Mountain Tree? (survey)

Over the past three posts, we’ve taken a slow walk through the Pinehaven forest starting near the cabins, moving across sunny slopes and shaded draws, and climbing into the colder, snow-heavy parts of the mountain. Along the way, we met ten very different trees, each shaped by the land, the weather, and the long seasons they endure. Now it's time to tell us YOUR favorite. 

This short poll invites you to vote for your favorite mountain tree of Pinehaven. We want to hear about the trees that catch your eye, shades your cabin, holds the snow, feeds the wildlife, or simply feels like home.

The Contenders

Here’s a quick reminder of the trees you met along the way:

1. Ponderosa Pine – The tall, open-canopied signature tree of Pinehaven’s sunnier slopes, built to live long lives shaped by fire, wind, and space.
2. Quaking Aspen – A social tree that spreads by roots rather than seeds, turning whole hillsides gold each fall and reminding us the forest is often connected underground.
3. Douglas Fir – A dependable evergreen of mixed forests, offering shade, shelter, and structure across a wide range of Pinehaven elevations.
4. White Fir – A cool-site specialist with soft needles and upright cones, thriving in shaded slopes and snow-holding pockets of the forest.
5. Gambel Oak – A flexible mountain resident that grows as shrub or tree, supporting wildlife, stabilizing slopes, and stubbornly holding its ground.
6. Pinyon Pine – A drought-adapted tree of lower, drier slopes whose nutritious seeds sustain birds, wildlife, and people alike.
7. Engelmann Spruce – A high-elevation evergreen with dense branches built to manage deep snow and long, cold winters.
8. Rocky Mountain Juniper – A tough, slow-growing evergreen that tolerates thin soils, wind, and sun where few other trees can survive.
9. Colorado Blue Spruce – A striking, blue-needled tree of moist sites and stream corridors, prized for both beauty and resilience.
10. Subalpine Fir – A narrow, spire-shaped tree of the upper forest, perfectly designed to shed heavy snow and endure harsh mountain conditions at high altitudes.

Take the Quick Survey

Take a moment to cast your vote at this link.  Then come back to this page see the live results or vote again anytime, whether the seasons change your mind or a different tree catches your attention on your next walk through Pinehaven.(1)

 Cast Your Vote For Your Favorit Tree

Review the Live Survey Results

The latest survey results will appear automatically below each time someone completes the survey and clicks the “DONE” button. To see all responses, click inside the Survey Monkey window and then use your mouse to scroll up or down. 

Thank you for reading, walking, and listening to the forest with us. 

Gene and Rhonda Roncone
Curators of the Cabin in the Pines History Blog. 

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1. Author’s note: In preparing this article, the author used AI-assisted tools for research support, proofreading, fact-checking, and stylistic refinement. The narrative, analysis, and historical interpretations are the author’s own, and responsibility for accuracy rests solely with the author. The blog’s research methodology statement is available at: https://cabininthepinescuchara.blogspot.com/2019/03/methodology-sources-and-use-of-research.html