A Geographer's Scrapbook: My First Visit to the Ancient Bristlecone Pines

Inyo National Forest, Mono and Inyo Counties, California
September 2-4, 2000

This was a Labor Day Weekend trip in my recently new Nissan Xterra. And I chose the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest as my destination since coming close to the oldest single living organism on the world would make the weekend a highlight. I also had dreams of hiking to the top of White Mountain, the third highest peak in California, since I read it was a fairly easy hike for a 14er.

After getting a late start, I ended up at the Grandview Campground as the sun was setting. I hurriedly prepared a sleeping spot in the back of the Xterra and fell asleep. I did not know much about the vehicle's security system, and after scurrying around the back trying to figure out how to get out from the back, the alarm went off for 15 seconds or so before I was able to turn it off (although I had no idea how I did that). Luckily most of the other people in the campground were already awake, and I got more laughs than I did grunts. I spent all day Sunday driving up White Mountain Road:

To visit the Schulman Grove,
To hike the Methuseleh to get close to Methuselah, the oldest tree on earth,
To visit the Patriarch Grove of ancient bristlecone pines,
To reach the UC Barcroft research station, my indicator that I was close to the start of the trail head to White Mountain,
And to view the summit of White Mountain.

Now it was decision time. Do I spend the night at 11,700 feet in elevation near the research station to acclimatize to the high altitude and hike to the top of White Mountain on Monday? Or do I head back home?

I made lots of excuses why I shouldn't stay the night and hike the next day, and I talked myself out of conquering White Mountain. I headed back home, but at least I took the exciting way back home. I drove down narrow dirt Silver Canyon Road, a drop of 6,000 feet in a short nine miles, and arrived on the valley floor north of Bishop just as the sun was setting. Although I made the wrong decision and regret it to this day (as I never did go back to hike White Mountain), it still was a nature-filled 24 hours at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.