Journal 71: A Walk Among Pinehaven’s Trees – Part 1

Long before Pinehaven had cabin numbers, gravel roads, or mailboxes, the trees were already here rooted into the slopes, lining the creeks, and standing quietly through wind, fire, and snow. In this three-part series, we’ll take a leisurely walk through Pinehaven to meet ten of the trees that shape our forest and discover the unique role each one plays in cabin life.

Pinehaven has always treated its forest as something worth protecting. In earlier days, before mitigation became a necessity, you couldn’t take down a tree on your property without getting a permit first.

To many of us, they are simply “the pines,” “the aspens,” or “the ones that drop cones on the deck.” But each species plays a distinct role in shaping life here, influencing where snow drifts pile up, how wildlife moves through the forest, and how our cabins weather the seasons.

This three-part series isn’t a botany lesson or a field guide. It’s an introduction to the most common neighbors that stand watch around our cabins every day. These trees define Pinehaven’s character, protect its slopes, and tell the long story of this place, one season at a time. We’ll walk through Pinehaven’s forest the same way you would on a quiet afternoon, one tree at a time, noticing what makes each species unique and why it chose this mountain as home.

We’ll start with the trees you see most often around cabins and trails, then move outward to the supporting cast that fills in the slopes, ridges, and creek bottoms. So, let’s talk about the starting lineup: Ponderosa Pine, Quaking Aspen, and Douglas-Fir.

1. Ponderosa Pine

If Pinehaven had an official “town tree,” the Ponderosa Pine would win in a landslide. It is the most common tree in the community and arguably the one cabin owners notice the most. Whether they’re hanging a hammock beneath it or brushing past its massive trunk on the way to stack firewood they are beloved by most. Ponderosa Pines are large evergreen conifers with thick, orange-brown bark that famously smells like vanilla on a warm day. (1 & 2) Many Pinehaven residents discover this by accident, leaning in close and wondering why the forest suddenly smells like dessert.

Look up and you’ll spot the tree’s long needles growing in bundles of three at the ends of its branches, along with egg-shaped cones armed with sharp-tipped scales, which are nature’s way of saying “look, don’t grab.” (3) Ponderosa Pines thrive in dry mountain forests between roughly 6,300 and 9,500 feet in elevation, making Pinehaven prime real estate. They provide food and shelter for Abert’s squirrels, woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, red squirrels, and chipmunks, many of which seem perfectly comfortable treating your deck railings as part of their daily commute.

For cabin owners, Ponderosa Pines are the backbone of Pinehaven’s shade and one of the reasons summer afternoons stay pleasantly cool. They also lend that unmistakable “mountain forest” smell that hits you the moment you roll down the car window. And thanks to their tall, sturdy trunks, they double as climbing towers for local black bears who occasionally scale them not for the view, but to conduct quality control checks on whatever happens to be sizzling on your grill below.

2. Quaking Aspen

Quaking Aspen is the second most common tree on Pinehaven’s forested mountain and quite possibly the most animated. With smooth, pale bark and round, flat leaves that shimmer and quake at the slightest breeze, aspens seem less like trees and more like they’re constantly whispering secrets to one another. (4) Stand still on your deck during a light wind and you’ll hear it: that soft, papery flutter that sounds like applause for simply being outside.

Aspens favor sunny slopes and dependable moisture, which is why you’ll often find them near creeks, meadow edges, and snowmelt-fed hillsides. They also prefer company. Rather than growing as solitary individuals, they spread in tight-knit clusters connected by shared roots, reproducing through underground shoots instead of seeds like most other trees. In other words, what looks like a small grove is often one large, extended family, something Pinehaven cabin owners can appreciate. When autumn arrives, these family networks put on one of Colorado’s greatest shows, turning hillsides brilliant gold and orange. While others plan road trips and book hotels for fall color tours, Pinehaven residents can just step onto the deck with a cup of coffee and enjoy the view. 

Aspens may also be the most wildlife-friendly tree in the Rockies. Their soft wood and natural tendency to form cavities make them prime real estate for woodpeckers, flickers, and other cavity-nesting birds. (5) In winter, their bark and twigs provide an important food source for elk and deer, while their leaves support more than a hundred species of caterpillars and other insects. These are essential links in the mountain food chain. Ecologically, aspen can also serve as natural firebreaks. Their live, moisture-rich foliage doesn’t burn as readily, and fires that do move through aspen groves tend to stay low and less intense, offering one more quiet way these trees help look out for your cabin. (6)   

3. Douglas Fir

The Douglas-fir is a bit of an imposter and one of those longtime neighbors who isn’t quite what the name suggests. Despite the label, it’s not a true fir at all, but an evergreen conifer with its own personality. When young, it grows tall and narrow with a spire-like crown, then relaxes into a more rounded shape with age. Its soft, flat needles are about an inch long, grow singly along the twig, and range from yellowish- to blue-green. Crush one between your fingers and you’ll notice a pleasantly sweet scent, like nature’s own air freshener. (7)  

The bark tells a similar coming-of-age story: thin and gray on young trees, but thick, corky, and deeply furrowed reddish-brown on mature ones.  Around Cuchara, it often grows in moist, rocky soils on shaded slopes or canyon bottoms. Its cones, about 1½ to 3 inches long, hang downward and feature distinctive three-pronged bracts that resemble tiny mouse “tails.” Those cones feed chipmunks, deer mice, and many birds, including chickadees, nuthatches, crossbills, juncos, and Clark’s nutcrackers. The trees also provide valuable cover and thermal shelter for deer and elk, especially on south-facing winter ranges.

In Pinehaven, Douglas-firs quietly do a lot of heavy lifting. They stabilize steep, rocky soils with their roots, and increase forest diversity from canopy to understory. That layered structure helps slow wind and creates natural privacy screens between cabins. Like sentinels, they make Pinehaven feel more sheltered, complete, and safe. 

Standing Watch Together

Taken together, Ponderosa Pine, Quaking Aspen, and Douglas Firs form the backbone of Pinehaven’s forest. They shape the light and shade around our cabins, decide where snow lingers and where it drifts away, shelter wildlife both large and small, and quietly influence how wind, fire, and weather move across the mountain. These are the trees most of us learn to recognize first. Usually its by name, sometimes by smell, sound, or the way they leave needles, leaves, or cones exactly where we just finished sweeping.

But Pinehaven’s forest doesn’t stop there.

Beyond these familiar sentinels are other species that fill in the gaps, mark the transitions, and tell us when the forest is changing. These trees thrive in different soils, elevations, and exposures, and that bring their own textures, colors, and surprises to the landscape. In Part 2, we’ll meet three of those quieter but no less important neighbors: White Fir, Gambel Oak, and Pinyon Pine reveal how Pinehaven’s forest shifts from cool north-facing slopes to sun-baked ridges and drier edges, and how each plays a role in holding this mountain together.

Until then, the next time you step onto your deck, take a moment to look up, look around, and notice which of these trees are standing watch over your cabin today.(8)

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Footnotes

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

1.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Know Your Trees: Ponderosa Pine,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, May 2024, https://www.fws.gov/story/2024-05/know-your-trees-ponderosa-pine

2.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” Colorado State University, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/

3.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” Colorado State University, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/

4.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” Colorado State University, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/.

5.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Know Your Trees: Aspen,” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, April 2024, https://www.fws.gov/story/2024-04/know-your-trees-aspen

6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Know Your Trees: Aspen,” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, April 2024, https://www.fws.gov/story/2024-04/know-your-trees-aspen

7.  Colorado State Forest Service, “Colorado’s Major Tree Species,” Colorado State University, accessed December 14, 2025, https://csfs.colostate.edu/forests-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/.

8. 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