Circling the Sierra Nevada: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

This is close to where the road got too steep and shady, with deeper snow. I had been dragging the undercarriage of my AWD minivan on the center berm of snow left by a couple of previous pickup trucks already. I had already been through a couple of interesting I have no-brakes moments on snow-covered descents when the anti-lock system kicked in, so the prospect of trying to also plow snow uphill though wind-blown snow drifts in low traction conditions didn’t seem like a very wise move. I miss my SUV.

It’s amazing to me that bristlecone pines not only live over 4500 years, but they do so in harsh conditions at 10,000 to 12,000 feet. After one Winter of wind-driven ice storms I’d be lobbying hard to get transplanted to a nice Bonsai garden someplace warmer!

It’s fascinating to see a scrap of living tree, huddled downwind of its own gnarled carcass. It seems like a strange recipe for outliving every other living thing on the planet.