Walking in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
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We were awake early, but it was still dark and quite cool. The day doesn’t lighten up until the sun clears the tops of the nearby hills and peaks surrounding the campground. We dozed back off and didn’t rise and shine until about 0800. We sat in our camp chairs nursing our coffee with the sun warming our backs. Lovely!
We gassed up as we passed through Bishop ($4.06/gallon) and retraced our route 17 miles back to Big Pine for our planned visit to say hello to Methusaleh, the 4,857-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), and her family in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. From the highway, we turned onto CA-168 for ~13 miles, then onto White Mountain Road for another 10 miles to the Schulman Grove Visitor Center.
White Mountain Road is a scenic drive on a narrow, serpentine, paved forest service road that climbs from an altitude of ~4,000’ (1219m) in Big Pine to 9846’ (3001m) at the Visitor Center.
We stopped at the Grandview Campground (altitude 8600’/2621m) en route to check it out. From a vantage point at the campground, we were able to see Deep Spring Lake in the distance. According to an info sign at the vista, Deep Springs Lake is a playa, i.e., a seasonal salt lake that generally dries in the summer to produce a salt pan, with surface water replenished in late spring with flows from nearby springs and snowmelt.
Deep Spring Lake in the distance
Further up the road was the Sierra View Vista Point, which provided an opportunity to stretch our legs and take a short walk on a well-trodden gravel path. At an altitude of 9300’ (2835m), the point overlooks the Long Valley Caldera, and we could see for miles.
A dirt path led to a vista point
From the point, we could see for miles across the Long Valley Caldera
We finally arrived at the Schulman Grove Visitor Center, named for Dr. Edmund Schulman who, in 1953, discovered that the bristlecone pines in the White Mountains were over 4,000 years old, making them some of the oldest living organisms on Earth. His research brought worldwide attention to the ancient trees and influenced the study of dendrochronology. Dendrochronology, a new vocabulary word for us, about which David will discuss further in an upcoming blog.
The Visitor Center has lots of interesting information and exhibits, a gift shop with books and souvenirs, as well as trail maps. We watched an excellent 19-minute short film which focused on the historical importance of the ancient forest.
The center is open 9 am - 5 pm daily in the summer only (May-October) and closed for the winter. Admission is $3/pp (max $6/car). Kids under 18 are free. There is no charge with an interagency pass. The center is currently staffed by Sierra Forever employees, since sadly, most forest service rangers have been let go.
With a copy of the trail map in hand as well as an AllTrails map loaded on our phone, we headed out to the Methusaleh Trail, a 4.5 mile loop which would take us to the general vicinity of the gnarly old guy’s neighborhood. The forest service has not specifically pointed out Methusaleh’s exact location for fear that vandals will opt to chop him down or take a chunk of him home for a souvenir. Sad commentary, but true.
Due to their harsh environment (high altitude, extreme temps, harsh winds, short growing season, poor soil), bristlecone pines grow very slowly. Some years it’s as little as 1/100th of an inch and sometimes, during particularly stressful periods, they stop growing in height and concentrate on expanding the diameter of their trunks. Just outside the Visitor Center we spotted some bristlecone seedlings. These tiny little guys might grow to be Methusalehs in a few millennia.
The Green flag indicates a seedling that germinated prior to 2015.
It’s hard to comprehend the age of some of these Great Basin Bristlecone Pines. They were here and growing before Cleopatra ruled Egypt and the pyramids were built (~2600-2700BCE), before the wheel was invented (~3500BCE), before the beginning of the Bronze Age (~3300BCE), before the Chinese began building their famous wall (~770 - 476 BCE). They are considered the oldest living individual organisms on the planet.
When we left Bishop, the temperature was near 100F/37.7C. Here at the trailhead at 10,453’/3186m, the temp was a pleasant 78F/25.5C, although the altitude did have us breathing a bit harder than usual. The trail is considered moderate with an elevation gain of ~900’/274m. With all the ups and downs following the terrain, however, we gained and lost that elevation several times on the trail.
The sheer number of bristlecone pines was amazing. They spread as far as we could see up and down the hillsides. They are tall and straight when they’re hundreds of years ago, but when they reach old age (for them 3000-4000 years old), they become bent and gnarly.
Bent and gnarly, but beautiful art in nature
Bristlecone pines spread over the mountainsides
Benches are placed at strategic spots along the trail offering a rest and superb vista points.
A golden-mantled squirrel collecting seeds for winter… or lunch.
The trail is a typical mountain path, packed dirt, roots, and rocks in some areas, and about 18 inches (.46m) wide. Mile markers noted our progress as we walked.
A fellow hiker we met on the trail pointed out the female bristlecones (larger and purplish in color ) from the male ones (small and reddish/orange), which was interesting. The male cones produce pollen, which is dispersed in the wind. The female cones produce ovules that develop into winged seeds once fertilized. The female cones also have the bristles on their cone scales for which the tree was named. “Sap on female bristlecone pine cones is a natural, protective resin secreted by the tree to heal wounds, which are often caused by insects feeding on the developing cones. This glistening, sticky substance is part of the cone's protective mechanism, although it can also signal insect damage.”
Did we actually see Methusaleh? Who knows, but we were in the neighborhood.
When we reached the 4-mile marker and headed the 1/2 mile back to the Visitor Center, we had mixed emotions. As always, concluding a hike provided a feeling of accomplishment. On the other hand, walking among these venerable millennials (and I don’t mean Gen Ys), we felt we’d experienced something extremely special, and we wanted to return to experience it again. Or maybe take another hike at Great Basin National Park and visit more bristlecone pines?
The trip back to the campground was a long, 1-1/2 hour ride. We were tired and very glad that dinner was all ready… leftover chicken and salad. We were back into Blanche and dreaming dreams by camper’s midnight… 9PM.
Where to next? Join us for a trip to the moon!