I'm Stove Up All I Can Deal With At 60... Imagine Being 4700!!!

A few days back... before we moved camp into the luxury of the BLM camp at Tuttle Creek we made a run up to the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine forest east of Big Pine.

Ain't it curious that not only is the Biggest organism on earth a Tree (an Aspen Grove) but the Oldest is also a tree... I think they call that one, at over 4700 years old, Methuselah (though they keep which one it is a secret)...

The end result is a picture... heeeeeeeeeeeavy post! ;)

We turned the truck east onto 168 at Big Pine and I immediately started regretting not being on the bike... we had to take the truck because we were combining the run with a re-supply trip to Bishop.

... and the Raider can only haul so much in her saddlebags!

Up hwy 168 maybe 8 or 9 miles, after rolling over some beautiful winding road... and through a narrow, one lane cleft that we narrowly missed hitting at the same time as a semi load of hay...

... We made another turn to the north toward 11,278' Blanco Mtn. , the Ancient Bristle cone pine forest itself and... Grandview Campground.

*Grandview Campground*

Now here's a sweet camp... the above pano is looking down through the wide sage meadow that runs through the center of the camp. It only has two drawbacks. For this time of year, being over 8000' it is COOL in the evenings! ;) and... the road to get to it, though paved recommends that rigs over 25' NOT travel there...

... SO... though there's room IN the campground for our 30' fiver... getting it there could be an adventure! :) Those of you with rigs that don't cross the center line on tight switchbacks and plenty of furnace propane in your tanks will LOVE it!

After you pass this camp the scenery only improves...

*A view point along the way to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest*

*360 degree panorama from the view point... *

*High above Bishop, California*

*The Far Blue Horizon... ALWAYS pulls me on...*

Back in the truck and higher up the mountain... we came to a gate...

They had it closed and locked... because of the snow... Uh... SNOW??? Do you SEE any Snow???

*Forest Road closed for ... Snow???*

Ah well... I guess ALL the Feds are under orders to maximize the claims of distress from the sequester... ;)

Truth be known... the locked gate was likely a blessing. It turns a lot of folks back ;) not stove up ol' disabled vets!

The walk from the gate up to the visitor center is about 2 miles one way... starting at likely somewhere around 9500' and I expect gaining to at least hard on 10,000. Along the way there are no pullouts to make photographs...

... so the fact that we were walking it in the sunshine... or mostly sunshine... allowed me to make some pictures I'd not have gotten, had the gate been open. :)

*A few of the first Bristlecones*

 

This one cracked me up... you're where you can only WALK... so... don't walk to fast. Watch your step! ... or... You might go striding OUT OF CONTROL on the ice and snow... THAT AIN'T THERE! :)

This lil' 2 mile high altitude hike fit us pretty well... Heidi needed to stop and catch her wind some little bit... which fit into my picture framing pretty well. ;)

Our normal 1 mph... due to my constant; "ooh ooh there's one!" and stopping to struggle and strain to compose a photograph speeded up to bout 1 point 5 miles per hour on the nice wide paved road!

Finally after an hour and a bit of huffing into the ever thinning air we topped a ridge, the road turned down and 1/4 mile later we dropped into the visitor center...

*Approaching the Bristlecone Pine forest Visitor Center*

A few of the Ancient Bristlecones stood along the road as we passed.

The visitor center stands amidst what is called the Schulman grove. It was named after the professor fella who was the one to discover, in this grove the trees that were 4000 years and older.

Including one that topped 4700 years! ... Oh my aching Freakin' Back!

There was nothing to tell us how high we were... but the effort at breathing required as we pumped up the mountain told us we were some little bit above the waves of the Pacific!

Quite a change from the 200 and something below sea level in Death Valley!

We thought it made for perfect timing to take advantage of the wide deck at the empty and closed visitor center...

...to take a breather and some lunch...

While we got warmed up climbing the mountain...

...in that high thin air we cooled out fast sitting in the breeze.

Soooo... after our sandwiches, oranges and chips... we shouldered our rucks and made the one mile loop...

... that leads out from the parking lot and took us through the Schulman Grove...

 There's the 1 mile to the left... or the 4 mile that goes off to the right...

... since we had another 2 miles to get back to the truck... at 10,000 feet +- we opted for the 1 miler

Your mileage may vary... :)

Sometimes it's a bit tough to tell the difference 'tween the living and the dead... I'm pretty sure this one is no youngster... it sure isn't willing to give up the ghost very easily...

*Clouds moved in and chilled our walk*

We came out of the grove past our pik nik lunch spot and headed back down the mountain at a little quicker pace as the day cooled out a good bit when the overcast moved in...

Whew! I may have to go back to making slide show presentations of the tours... might be an easier route.

Anyhoo... The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest near Bishop and Big Pine in California is a spot for a sweet walk in the sunshine to hang a jewel in your travels...

See Ya on the Road somwhere...
Brian