Visit to White Mountains and Bristlecone Pine Forest
One of the positive results of ending my pack trip early was the opportunity to spend most of a day in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains above Lone Pine and Bishop.
White Mountains. August 6, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
After grabbing the obligatory Schats breakfast in Bishop I headed down to Lone Pine and then up into the White Mountains, turning left at the road to White Mountain (14,000+) where the University of California operates high altitude research facilities, or so I’ve been told. The road (paved until the Schulman Visitor Center) provides unbelievable views of the Sierra Nevada range across Owens Valley to the west.
After the visitor center the road turns to dirt, gravel, and rocks. Although I saw some people driving parts of this in minivans (!) I was very glad to have a sturdy four wheel drive vehicle for the 12 mile drive out to the furthest bristlecone pine grove at something over 11,000 feet of elevation. I could have driven another 4 miles on this “road” to a locked gate that is higher and closer to White Mountain, but I’d had enough by that point.
Bristlecone Pine Grove. White Mountains. August 6, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
A friend had described the terrain up there as a moonscape and I now see why, though it certainly has a stark beauty of its own. There is no flowing water whatsoever and many sections have only short brush growing. There were a lot of wildflowers in bloom. Oddly enough, I was reminded of areas of Alaska – perhaps due to the plants growing at the edges of existence and the vast spaces on this ridge.
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August 9, 2005 -
Posted by gdanmitchell |
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Visit to White Mountains and Bristlecone Pine Forest
One of the positive results of ending my pack trip early was the opportunity to spend most of a day in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains above Lone Pine and Bishop.
White Mountains. August 6, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
After grabbing the obligatory Schats breakfast in Bishop I headed down to Lone Pine and then up into the White Mountains, turning left at the road to White Mountain (14,000+) where the University of California operates high altitude research facilities, or so I’ve been told. The road (paved until the Schulman Visitor Center) provides unbelievable views of the Sierra Nevada range across Owens Valley to the west.
After the visitor center the road turns to dirt, gravel, and rocks. Although I saw some people driving parts of this in minivans (!) I was very glad to have a sturdy four wheel drive vehicle for the 12 mile drive out to the furthest bristlecone pine grove at something over 11,000 feet of elevation. I could have driven another 4 miles on this “road” to a locked gate that is higher and closer to White Mountain, but I’d had enough by that point.
Bristlecone Pine Grove. White Mountains. August 6, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
A friend had described the terrain up there as a moonscape and I now see why, though it certainly has a stark beauty of its own. There is no flowing water whatsoever and many sections have only short brush growing. There were a lot of wildflowers in bloom. Oddly enough, I was reminded of areas of Alaska – perhaps due to the plants growing at the edges of existence and the vast spaces on this ridge.
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August 9, 2005 - Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary