I like opportunities to stand face to face with living history and be humbled and amazed, so when Justin’s mom and step-dad suggested spending the day at Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, it didn’t take too much effort to convince me that it would be a neat place to visit. At nearly 5,000 years old, these are the oldest trees on Earth.
The coffee mug I bought in the gift shop describes them more eloquently than I ever could: “Standing as ancient sentinels high atop the White Mountains of the Inyo National Forest, the Great Basin Bristlecone Pines rank as the oldest trees in the world. Living for thousands of years, these gnarled, twisted ancients have achieved immense scientific and cultural importance by providing the wood that helped to recalibrate the radiocarbon dating process.”
When the pyramids were built in ancient Egypt, these trees growing in California were already two thousand years old. With that piece of trivia and my mind sufficiently blown, we set off on a hike through history.
At just over four miles, the Methuselah Trail is not for the faint of heart. Situated at an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level, the first challenge is catching and keeping your breath. Then there’s the fact that it’s not exactly a wide or paved walkway – it’s just a narrow, dirt path winding up and down the steep hills through the mountains. And then there’s the creatures you might encounter… poisonous spiders, snakes, scorpions and maybe even some bears. Taking all of this into consideration, we still decided to take the trek and I’m so glad we did because it was worth every grueling minute!
Several species of pine trees grow in the forest, and the Bristlecone is named for it’s spiky pine cones.
We made frequent stops to catch our breath and set up the tripod for photos.
Somewhere along the trail sits Methuselah – it’s not just the oldest tree in the forest, it’s believed to be the oldest living thing on planet Earth. To protect it from vandalism, Methuselah is unmarked in the forest, but we felt this tree was a strong contender for the title.
Unlike the California redwoods, the Bristlecone Pines don’t grow very tall, but what they lack in height, they make up for with incredible texture and fascinating patterns in their wood.
I loved the way the sunlight filtered the trees, so I had to have a shot of us in this spot.
At the last place where we stopped to rest, we pulled out the tripod for a group shot. Here’s Justin, myself, Bill (Justin’s step-dad) and Joann (Justin’s mom) just before we completed the trail. See that cane Joann has? It’s actually a walking stick intended to make noise when it strikes the ground and scare away rattlesnakes. We didn’t see any on our hike, so I guess it worked!
tresamusantephoto.com 