Bristlecone

By far the most demanding expedition I’ve made to date has been to see the Bristlecone Pines in the White Mountains of Southern California.

These trees are said to be the oldest living monoclonal organisms on Earth. They thrive in the most harsh environments. Whether the one pictured above is alive or not I could not say, but I do know that spending time with these incredible life forms makes it very hard to tell the difference.

Our rented Chevy Malibu, pictured above, did get us there and back.

However it took us a full hour to drive the 12 miles on the rocky dirt road that separates The Grove of the Patriarchs from the Methuselah Forest. I strongly recommend an SUV to anyone considering the trip.

The Bristlecones are named, I surmise for the characteristic large hanging cones and the thick green bristle fir from which the sprout.

I made a first attempt.

My wife, the painter Linnea Paskow, made watercolors.

I found a striking stand. What looks like dead wood is not certainly so, as you can see with this interwoven grouping. Remember that these trees can live up to 5000 years.

Overwhelmed, I made a second attempt. Whenyou touch these plants, you can feel the resilience in the rock-like hardness of their surfaces.

A product of the harsh, rugged environments in which they thrive.

And from which the views are unsrupassed.