White Mountain and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

1st-4th September 2006


White Mountain is just 250 ft short of Mt. Whitney (14,246 ft)		Few animals live in the barren and dry white mountains - we found a marmot


	A research station near the start of the trail	The altitude makes every step near the summit an effort


	The summit cairn	We heard the glider pilot call out to us he was so close


There's a road to the research station at the top, though it was blocked with snow near the top	Sunset over the high sierra from our camp at the start of the trail	Dusty, dusty roads, for miles


Sunrise from the white mountains	The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest clearly showing the tree line and the fallen bristlecone snags	The white mountains are aptly named in this part - they're made of white dolomite


	The bristlecones make bizarre but awesome silhouettes against the blue sky


Ancient Bristlecone pines actually have 'bristle' cones - simple		Young cones start blue


Bristlecones can live over 4000 years	...and the dead 'snags' can lie untouched for another 4000. Some of the oldest remains are 7-8000 years old. Unbelievable	The award winning 'fattest' Bristlecone


	Descending to the Owen's Valley near Bishop	June Lake - beautiful but cold


Sunrise at Mono lake		...is always packed with photographers more serious than us


	Obsidian and Pumice contrast at Panum crater next to Mono lake	Panum crater has views of Mono Lake and the Owen's Valley





One of our favourite Yosemite stops is Pothole dome. Five minutes up and Tuolemne Meadows to yourself	Tenaya Lake in Yosemite

The trip:

A long weekend trip took us to climb White Mountain and visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. The climb was beautiful but strenuous and reached only by a long dusty road. I suffered from the altitude on the way down and Maria saved the day at camp with hot soup.

We spent a morning exploring the incredible 4000 year old Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. The bristlecone pines slowly grow into incredible twisted and gnarled shapes in a high, barren area, yet are the longest living thing on Earth. Incredibly, where there are no bacteria and bugs to decompose them, the dead bristlecone snags can lie on the ground for several thousand years more. It causes you to reflect when visiting these old, old trees.

On the return we camped at June Lake and caught sunset at Panum crater near Mono Lake, part of the youngest mountain chain in the US. Sunrise we shared with a host of photographers at the lake on a clear morning.