This week we continue enjoying the Sierra Nevada’s dramatic east side, with a special side trip from Big Pine to the White Mountains and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.At least in California, a destination rarely feels more distant than this—socially and otherwise.
These grizzled old-timers, Great Basin Bristlecone Pines, are the oldest known individual trees in the world. Methuselah, named after the oldest human in the Bible, at last report was still the oldest known bristlecone pine here, at least 4,852 years old.
“Old,” though, looks different for individual versus clonal trees. Some clones, genetically identical colonies of trees, have been alive much, much longer than bristlecone pines, though individuals are fairly young. They may propagate themselves sequentially—through time—by root sprouts, for example.
Consider the 47,000 quaking aspen trees in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest which make up a clone named Pando, covering 106 acres and estimated by some to be 80,000 years old. That’s old.
But back to the grizzled oldsters of Inyo National Forest. These bristlecone pine survivors—along with the old limber pines that also grow here, and look similar seem to thrive on hardship. These remarkable trees aren’t bothered by high elevations, pulverized rock for soil, summer drought and heat, or brutally cold winters.
Mature bristlecone pines, colorful naked wood twisted into tortured shapes, look something like living driftwood. How do these surreal living sculptures produce pine needles still, and cones with fertile seeds?
These mysterious ancients are also known as the trees that rewrote history. Starting in the 1950s Edmund Schulman of the University of Arizona began tree-ring studies of these particular bristlecones. But conflicts between his data and the results of carbon-14 dating techniques led to his universal C-14 testing corrections. Those changes shook up world history timelines and theories—eliminating, for example, the idea of Greek and Roman cultural diffusion to explain the astronomy of Stonehenge and other remarkable aspects of early European society.
Visiting California’s bristlecone pines is at least an all-day trip—one usually not possible after November, when snowy roads close. Plan ahead, and do not plan to rely on your cell phone. Leave Big Pine with a full gas tank and bring water—there isn’t any here—and food, good walking shoes, hat, and other sun protection plus warm clothing. Even in summer it’s cool at higher elevations, and the weather can change fast. Get going early, too, so you’ll be able to explore both the Schulman Grove and Patriarch Grove farther north. You’ll be hiking at high elevations—above 10,000 feet—and you’ll feel it, so give yourself time to take it easy.
In summer, camp at primitive Grandview Campground on the way to Schulman Grove, to acclimate to the high altitude—and for some spectacular stargazing, come nightfall.
For dispersed camping—not possible here, but OK elsewhere in Inyo—emergency fire restrictions are still in effect after the disastrous summer 2020 wildfires. No fires allowed—even propane or gas stoves and lighting—except in developed areas and campgrounds.
Up the Road Encourages Responsible, Safe Travel
Here are previous Up the Road episodes that explore why we should travel, how to do it responsibly, and how to travel responsibly now, in the shadow of COVID-19. Not everyone should be traveling now, of course, depending on your potential vulnerability to the deadliest effects of this new virus. But everyone who does travel needs to do so responsibly, to prevent viral spread. Take a listen:
- Up the Road: Why Travel?
- Up the Road: Why Travel in Northern California
- Up the Road: How to Travel
- Up the Road: Why Local Travel Matters
- Up the Road: Travel That’s Not About You
- Up the Road: Heading Up the Road Again—Responsibly
- Up the Road: 2020 Travel Strategy
- Up the Road: More on Responsible Travel 2020
