A must for us was to see these trees (Pinus longaeva) the oldest known living trees on earth. Here in the White Mountains, the ancient trees have survived more than 40 centuries.

At 10,000 feet, it was only 59° vs the 81° in Bishop. Perfect exploring weather.



These "old age" gnarled Bristlecones command complete attention, for there is a definite emotional impact up on meeting a 4,000+ year-old tree. The aged tree's tenacity to maintain life is impressive. While most of its wood is dead, growth barely continues through a thin ribbon of bark.
To wander among these ancients was a true unforgettable experience.
Each Bristlecone pine, from young seedling to ancient relic, has an individual character. Young trees are densely clad with glistening, soft, needle-covered branches that sway like foxtails in the wind. With their bristled cones dripping pine scented resin on a warm afternoon, they exude all the freshness of youth.

"While on the roughest ledges of crumbling limestone are lowly old giants, five or six feet in diameter that have braved the storms of more than a thousand years. But whether old or young, sheltered or exposed to the wildest gales, this tree is ever found to be irrepressibly and extravagantly picturesque, offering a richer and more varied series of forms to the artist than any other species I have yet seen."—John Muir
Exceptional...