Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

Schulman Grove

Richard Rathe, June 2025 (Plants)

We recently visited the Bristlecone Pines within Inyo National Forest in the White Mountains of Eastern California. While there we took a five hour hike on the Methuselah Trail amongst some of the oldest trees in the world!

Old Guys on a Hillside
Old Guys on a Hillside

This forest consists of a steep scree slope with almost no ground cover. The trees are roughly spaced about fifty feet apart. It is a remarkable ecological niche for a tree species. Many of these trees are thousands of years old!

Nothing But Bristlecones!
Nothing But Bristlecones!
On the Trail at 10,000 Feet
On the Trail at 10,000 Feet
About Bristlecone Pines
About Bristlecone Pines
Uphill Panorama
Uphill Panorama

Down in the small valleys there were more normal looking trees (more water, less stress?). This is a particularly nice example. Notice how it has the droopy look of a weeping willow.

<q>Young</q> Bristlecone
Young Bristlecone

I've been teaching myself how to use a slit scan camera and it gave some interesting results.

Slit Scan Abstraction
Slit Scan Abstraction

It appears we hit the transition between early spring and summer wildflowers, including lots of Indian Paintbrush (a reliable favorite).

Unknown Tubular Flower & Paintbrush
Unknown Tubular Flower & Paintbrush

I was surprised to see Equisetum (Horsetail) above 10,000 feet!

Paintbrush & Equisetum
Paintbrush & Equisetum
More Alpine Flowers
More Alpine Flowers


External Links
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Bristlecone_Pine_Forest

This is a slide!