Journal 73: A Walk Among Pinehaven’s Trees – Part 3

 If you keep walking uphill past the last sunny decks and familiar pines of Pinehaven, the forest quietly changes and the trees that take over are built for snow, silence, and survival. That’s where our walk through the forest takes us today. 

As this series has unfolded, we’ve been walking steadily upward through Pinehaven’s forest. We started near the cabins and sunny slopes, then moved into cooler draws and mixed stands where familiar trees quietly give way to tougher neighbors. In earlier posts, we met the trees most cabin owners recognize first: the social Ponderosa Pines, shimmering Aspen groves, dependable Douglas-firs, and the mid-elevation companions that shape everyday life in Pinehaven.

In Part 3, that walk continues higher into colder air, deeper snow, and places where winter lingers long after the valley below has decided it’s done. These are the trees that define the edges of Pinehaven’s forest, the ones that don’t flinch when storms stack up and spring takes its time arriving.

We’ll meet the Engelmann Spruce, a high-country specialist that seems most at home when snow refuses to leave; the Rocky Mountain Juniper, a stubborn survivor that thrives where soils are thin and conditions are harsh; the unmistakable Colorado Blue Spruce, as iconic as it is beautiful along creeks and cabin edges; and finally the Subalpine Fir, the quiet guardian of the high forest, holding the line just below tree line itself.

Together, these four trees tell the story of Pinehaven’s upper elevation, resilience, adaptation, and the quiet work happening above and beyond the places we visit most often. Lace up your boots and keep walking. The forest is about to get colder, quieter, and even more interesting.

7. Engelmann Spruce

The Engelmann Spruce is a high-elevation conifer native to the Rocky Mountains and one of the signature trees of Colorado’s high country forests. If you’ve ever wondered which trees seem most comfortable when winter refuses to leave, this is one of them. Around Pinehaven and the upper elevations surrounding Cuchara, Engelmann Spruce quietly claims the colder slopes and deeper snow, content to let the weather “bring it on!” (1)  

It is a tall, narrow evergreen with a straight trunk and a spire-shaped crown. This tree looks like it was designed to shed snow rather than collect it. Its bark is thin, scaly, and reddish-brown, often flaking off in small plates as the tree ages. The needles are short, stiff, and four-sided, usually blue-green to silvery in color, and they grow singly around the twig, giving the branches a bristly feel. Its cones hang downward from the branches and mature from purplish tones to light brown, with thin, papery scales that flutter to the ground like forest confetti once they dry. (2)  

In the Cuchara area, Engelmann Spruce is most commonly found between 8,000 and 11,500 feet, thriving in cold, snowy environments with short growing seasons. It prefers moist, well-drained soils and often shows up on north-facing slopes, in mountain valleys, and near high-elevation streams. It thrives in places where snow tends to linger long after cabin owners are ready for spring.

For local wildlife, Engelmann Spruce functions like a year-round apartment complex. It provides critical cover and nesting sites for birds such as chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and owls, while its seeds feed squirrels, chipmunks, and other small mammals. Larger animals, including elk, mule deer, and snowshoe hare, use these trees for shelter, especially during winter months, when surviving the cold matters more than scenic views. (3)  

For Pinehaven residents, this quiet custodian plays an unseen but essential role. Engelmann Spruce captures and holds deep snowpack, releasing it slowly to feed streams well into summer. Its dense canopy helps stabilize soils, reduce erosion, and moderate mountain climates. It does the behind-the-scenes work that keeps creeks flowing and hillsides in place long after the snow melts.(4)    

8. Rocky Mountain Juniper

The Rocky Mountain Juniper is an evergreen conifer that rarely bothers with looking “proper.” It often shows up as a bushy, pyramidal tree, or just as often as a large, stubborn shrub that seems perfectly content to stay low and spread out. Its bark is thin and shreddy, gray-brown in color, and its dense, scale-like foliage ranges from blue-green to gray-green. The overlapping scales give the branches a soft, fine texture that looks almost feathery up close. (5) In protected spots, the tree can reach 20 to 50 feet tall, but in rocky, wind-scoured terrain it usually stays shorter and multi-stemmed, as if it decided early on not to fight the mountain any harder than necessary.

Rocky Mountain Juniper thrives on rocky soils, bluffs, and canyon sides, often appearing at lower elevations and stretching upward to around 9,000 feet. If a spot looks too dry, too exposed, or too forgotten by the weathered forecast, there’s a good chance a juniper will be growing there anyway. (6)  

For wildlife, Rocky Mountain Juniper is a winter grocery store and storm shelter rolled into one. Its nutritious berry-cones are eagerly eaten by birds such as cedar waxwings, robins, bluebirds, Townsend’s solitaires, wild turkeys, and grouse. When snow deepens and food becomes scarce, smaller mammals, like mice, voles, rabbits, foxes, and coyotes stop by for the berries. Many animals take advantage of the dense branches as protection from wind and weather, turning the juniper into a year-round refuge. (7)  

Around Pinehaven cabins, Rocky Mountain Junipers quietly pull double duty. They provide natural privacy screening and wind protection while staying green all year with no raking required. Many residents appreciate their familiar juniper scent and that once established, they do not require watering. 

9. Colorado Blue Spruce

If Colorado’s trees were a car lot, the Colorado Blue Spruce would be the one that knows it looks good and parks right up front where everyone can admire it. This tall evergreen is famous for its striking blue-green color and crisp, symmetrical shape. Its needles are stiff, sharp (ask anyone who’s brushed past one in shorts), and about an inch long, coated with a bluish wax that gives the tree its signature glow. The cones are slender and cylindrical, measuring about 2–4 inches long, with flexible, papery scales that fall apart neatly when they hit the ground. (8) It’s no accident that when people picture the “perfect Christmas tree,” they’re usually picturing a Blue Spruce.

Blue Spruce prefers moist, well-drained habitats, especially along mountain streams and valley bottoms. In the Cuchara area, they are often found growing naturally along the Cucharas River, near Bend Creek in Pinehaven, and anywhere groundwater stays close to the surface. (9)    In Colorado, the species grows from roughly 6,700 up to 11,500 feet in elevation, giving it a wide but moisture-dependent range. (10)  

For wildlife, Blue Spruce functions like a well-designed shelter with a stocked pantry. Its dense, low-hanging branches provide excellent cover and nesting sites for birds such as robins, magpies, and other songbirds. (11) Many birds, including chickadees, nuthatches, and crossbills, as well as small mammals rely on the seeds from its cones for food. (12) During winter, the thick foliage and persistent cones offer both nutrition and thermal cover when conditions turn harsh. Larger mammals such as deer and elk may browse young shoots or use spruce groves as hiding cover during summer and fall. (13)  

Around Pinehaven and Cuchara, Blue Spruces are often planted near cabins as ornamental trees or natural privacy screens, and for good reason. They stay green year-round, buffer strong winds, and can even trap drifting snow, acting as a natural snow fence. Because Blue Spruce is fire-sensitive, keeping it in irrigated areas around homes helps maintain a green, defensible strip while still enjoying one of the most iconic and admired trees in Colorado’s forest lineup.

10. Subalpine Fir

If Ponderosa Pine is the social, sun-loving tree that likes to hang out near cabins, the Subalpine Fir is the introvert of the forest. It is perfectly content in the cold, the quiet, and the shade, holding the line at high elevations just below where trees finally decide they’ve had enough. It is one of the defining species of Colorado’s high-elevation forests, especially in the zone surrounding Cuchara and the upper reaches of Pinehaven. (14)  

Subalpine Fir is easy to spot once you know what to look for. Its narrow, spire-shaped crown gives it a sharply pointed, almost steeple-like silhouette, as if it were designed specifically to shrug off heavy snow. The needles are short, flat, and blunt-tipped, dark green on top with two white stomatal lines underneath, and they curve upward along the twig, giving the branches a soft, brushed appearance. Its upright, barrel-shaped cones stand on the upper branches and quietly fall apart in place rather than dropping to the ground, leaving no cones to trip over on the trail. (15)  

In this part of southern Colorado, Subalpine Fir typically grows between 9,000 and 11,500 feet, thriving in cold climates with long winters, deep snowpack, and short growing seasons. It favors moist, well-drained soils and is most often found on north-facing slopes, shaded valleys, and high mountain basins and in the places where snow lingers and spring shows up late. For wildlife, these trees are critical winter shelter. Dense branches protect birds such as chickadees, nuthatches, crossbills, and owls, while small mammals like including squirrels, voles, and snowshoe hares use the trees for cover from predators and brutal weather. Larger animals like elk and mule deer rely on spruce-fir forests for thermal cover when deep snow makes survival more challenging. (16)  

Beyond its role as a refuge, Subalpine Fir is a quiet workhorse for the high country. It helps retain snowpack and regulate slow snowmelt that feeds mountain streams well into summer, stabilizes thin soils on steep slopes, and reduces erosion. Together with Engelmann Spruce, Subalpine Fir forests store significant carbon, support a wide range of species, and help shape the calm, resilient character of Colorado’s high-elevation landscapes. These places feel a lot farther from the noise of the world, even when they’re just a short walk above Pinehaven. (17)  

Learning to Listen

As this walk through Pinehaven’s trees comes to a close, it’s worth pausing to notice what these forests quietly give back to those who live among them. Knowing the trees helps cabin owners read the land, know why snow lingers in one spot, why a creek runs longer in summer, or why a slope stays shaded and cool. It also helps us care for our properties more wisely, from windbreaks and privacy to fire awareness and water protection. And finally, it deepens the simple pleasure of being here: a walk becomes more than a walk when you recognize the trees as long-time residents, doing their steady work season after season, shaping the place we’re fortunate enough to call Pinehaven.(18)

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Footnotes

Parenthetical numbers in the text (e.g., 5) correspond to the sequentially numbered citations listed below.

1.  R. R. Alexander and W. D. Shepperd, “Engelmann Spruce,” Silvics of North America, USDA Forest Service, https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/engelmann-spruce

2.  USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) Plant Guide,” https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pien.pdf.

3.  USDA Forest Service, “Fire Effects Information System: Picea engelmannii,” https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/piceng/all.html.

4.  USDA NRCS, “Engelmann Spruce Plant Guide,” https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pien.pdf.

5.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” accessed December 15, 2025, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/.

6.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” accessed December 15, 2025, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/.

7.  Nebraska Forest Service, “Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum),” accessed December 15, 2025, https://nfs.unl.edu/juniper-rocky-mountain/.

8.  Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens),” Gardenia.net, accessed December 15, 2025, https://www.gardenia.net/plant/picea-pungens-colorado-blue-spruce. and “Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens),” PlantFacts, Ohio State University, accessed December 15, 2025, https://plantfacts.osu.edu/tmi/Plantlist/pi_ngens.html

9.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” accessed December 15, 2025, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/.

10.  Gilbert H. Fechner, “Blue Spruce (Picea pungens),” Silvics of North America, U.S. Forest Service, accessed December 15, 2025, https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/blue-spruce.

11.  Huron–Clinton Metroparks, “Wild Wednesday: Colorado Blue Spruce,” accessed December 15, 2025, https://www.metroparks.com/wild-wednesday-colorado-blue-spruce/.

12.  Nebraska Forest Service, “Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens),” accessed December 15, 2025, https://nfs.unl.edu/spruce-colorado-blue/.

13.  Nebraska Forest Service, “Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens),” accessed December 15, 2025, https://nfs.unl.edu/spruce-colorado-blue/.

14.  R. R. Alexander, “Subalpine Fir,” Silvics of North America, USDA Forest Service, https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/subalpine-fir.

15.  USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) Plant Guide,” https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_abla.pdf.

16.  USDA Forest Service, “Fire Effects Information System: Abies lasiocarpa,” https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/abilas/all.html.

17.  USDA NRCS, “Subalpine Fir Plant Guide,” https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_abla.pdf.

18. 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