TheSamba.com :: View topic - Trip Report

Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:45 am

Took this trip to see the ancient bristlecone pine trees in July 2020. It was my first long trip after all the fun stuff was cancelled due to covid.

I wanted to share it because this area in the white mountains is amazing to explore, and if you live anywhere nearby, you really need to check it out. I'd love to hear from anyone who's spent time there.

The first time I tried to see these ancient trees was just after I moved to the bay area, on a roadtrip with some friends up and over the mountains. It was summer and the blue mk2 golf vr6 wanted to overheat on the way there, so we turned around. Since then I've wanted to go back.

I planned to go to a campground near the Merced River, but it was fully booked. The road into Yosemite was reservation-only at this time, so there weren't any real options going forward. I did drive up a steep and mildly sketchy rocky road to check out another spot, but it didn't seem worth it so I decided to backtrack and finally found an alright spot on a reservoir/river to sleep for the night.

Bagby Recreation Area - the water was pretty low. Just one or two other vehicles in the campground, but I saw a nice bunch of eagles and that was cool. This one was in a nearby tree, and at one point there was a group of 4 gathered together on a sandbar in the river. I don't see eagles that often, so this was pretty special.

Next day - up to 108 and through Stanislaus National Forest, which is kind of a hidden gem? Everyone goes to Yosemite obviously, but this area is beautiful too. It was my first time over Sonora Pass. And then on to Mono Lake and 395S.

Driving west on 168 I didn't recognize it until around this point. Then it gets pretty damn steep and twisty for a while.

This night I stayed up a few dirt roads near a radio tower building or something. Really nice view of the valley. The campgrounds were closed and there were 'no-camping' signs posted on white mountain rd. beyond this point.

Next morning I continued on white mountain road, to Patriarch Grove.

I drove out to the end of white mountain rd. until it was gated and then turned around. Maybe two dozen vehicles parked up there and people hiking, or maybe going to the research center? Elevation was pretty high at 11000 ft? Something like that. Really amazing spot.

There are so many roads to explore. This one wasn't supposed to be too bad from what I read, but being by myself in a 2wd and with the road being narrow, I played it safe and camped nearby. It's amazing that these trees thrive in this environment. Just on the other side of the ridge was another group of bristlecones.

Next morning I took a different route back to the visitor center and did the loop hike. I totally missed that on the way in. Everything about this area is amazing.

Back up 395, past Mono, camped up near sonora pass. Then back to the city.

Aaaaaand. we're back.

Coit tower from the right lane of the bay bridge.

I can't wait to see those trees again. They're so wind swept and gnarly compared to the giant sequoias, but every bit as powerful.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:55 am

Thanks for the pics. Beautiful area there. I was at mono lake in 1997 with some Canadian ladies I picked up at The Oregon Country Fair. They had a bag of American $20s and I had the van. I really enjoyed one of those gals. She had beautiful eyes and a very friendly disposition. Imagine my surprise when she climbed into the van to cuddle late one evening. We frolicked naked in the creeks and ran naked down the beach. Alas I lost my opportunity to court a beautiful Canadian honey when I dropped them off at The Place in Flagstaff two weeks later. Poor decision on my part. I spent the rest of the summer tending to plants in a very hot and stuffy warehouse south of Phoenix.

Is that the current state of traffic out side the bay area? Thats traffic like I havent seen in years (last time in the bay I guess).

Glad you got out into nature. Its important to feed the soul and netflix isnt gonna cut it....but its nice to have it in the van on cold rainy nights. But nothing like a cute Canadian girl.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:27 am

Thanks! Great photos.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:44 am

Thanks for sharing your trip and inspiring me to get down there to see the Bristlecones.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:08 am

the contrast of the open space and then the traffic... great trip and some amazing pictures!

Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:47 am

=D>
Outstanding! I absolutely love that part of California and we really want to go back and explore 395 a lot more.
The pictures are fantastic and it looks like you found some great camp sites.
nate

Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:56 am

I visited the White Mtns and the Bristlecones back in the 80s.
I imagine the 1-3000+ yr old trees look just about the same now.
Beautiful wild lands.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:11 am

Beautiful!! We were through that area on 395 in the fall of 1981. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, great people and the trees were truly humbling.

Thank you.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:09 am

Hate to be the Debbie Downer here, but I'm not sure posting great reviews of isolated camping spots is such a good idea. The Samba has limited reach, but post on FB and elsewhere, and these places are going to turn into new Yosemites. If you've been around long enough, you've seen this happen.

Not dissing the OP here, and I appreciate the beautiful photographs. Just reiterating what we all know about the Internet. You share your excitement about some wonderful spot, and two years later it isn't so wonderful anymore.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:15 am

Great trip. I think you can ride your bike to the top of White Mtn. to the research station. I'm putting a bike together to do that this summer.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:28 am

Really enjoyed your post and photos. Thanks.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:19 am

thanks all, it was a great solo trip.

AZ Landshaper, I think there was a big wreck on the freeway, and that was somewhere near Tracy near hwy 5. I was so glad not to be stuck over there...

Californio, I get what you're saying, but trip report threads like this usually sink to the second or third page and then disappear and this group is relatively small. I was vague about the spots, but I removed the link to the GPS route. (If anyone is curious, PM me). Unless you mean not mentioning the bristlecones at all, in which case, I dunno. Sharing trip reports isn't much fun if you gotta be all secretive.

Igeo, yeah! that's what I'd like to do next time. What kind of bike are you building?

Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:27 am

erste wrote: Igeo, yeah! that's what I'd like to do next time. What kind of bike are you building?

It's a Surly Krampus but needs a monster granny low gear. Maybe we should meet there next summer.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:15 am

Igeo, that would be fun. keep in touch! my karate monkey is a single speed so no crazy climbing, but last year I started looking into what it would take to make it a 1x11 or 1x12.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:54 am

Great report, just what I needed on a cold January day. We were supposed to go that area last summer en route to Yosemite but the whole thing got canceled. Maybe sometime soon.

There's a grove of Bristlecones high up on the Mount Evans road in Colorado. Very unique-looking trees and I agree, it's incredible that they can and have survived for so long in such a stark environment.

Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:11 pm

Thanks for your report & pics. I know I've been up there, I just can't remember when!

Dan

Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:42 pm

Nice photos! I don’t know about you but I was thrilled to drive out to Patriarch Grove in my Westy. So happy that we made it comfortably down the gravels road to 11K feet elevation. The views are incredible and the landscape remarkable.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:31 pm

shadetreemech wrote: Thanks for your report & pics. I know I've been up there, I just can't remember when!
thank you! always enjoy your write ups.

peffleyjeanne wrote: Nice photos! I don’t know about you but I was thrilled to drive out to Patriarch Grove in my Westy. So happy that we made it comfortably down the gravels road to 11K feet elevation. The views are incredible and the landscape remarkable.
Your westy is so clean! I never saw the elevation sign. I have an altimeter app and checked it at the end of the road. I was really surprised it was so high, I think because it's a gradual ascent over a lot of miles when the pavement ends.

joetiger wrote: There's a grove of Bristlecones high up on the Mount Evans road in Colorado. Very unique-looking trees and I agree, it's incredible that they can and have survived for so long in such a stark environment.
Joe, I had no idea these trees were in Colorado! That's great.
http://mountevans.com/Mount-Evans-Plants-BristleconePines.HTML
This link had some cool facts about them, listed below. And this link has a lot more info: http://www.sonic.net/bristlecone/

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine wrote:
Survival strategies:
Needles can live twenty to thirty years thus adding new foliage to that already on the tree, takes little energy. The long-lived needles provide a stable photosynthetic capacity to sustain the tree over years of severe stress.

Another strategy for surviving is the gradual dieback of bark and the tissue that conducts water (xylem) when the tree is damaged because of fire, lightning, drought or damaging storms. This reduction of tissue that the crown has to supply with nutrients, balances the effect of any damage sustained. The surviving parts remain quite healthy. As an example, "Pine Alpha" at over 4000 years, is nearly four feet in diameter, yet has only a ten inch strip of living bark to support it.

Invasions from bacteria, fungus or insects that prey upon most plants are unknown to the bristlecone due to their dense, highly resinous wood. The dry air common in the sub-alpine region can kill by desiccation , but also helps preserve the trees from rotting.

Bristlecones can remain standing for hundreds of years after death. They fall because the supporting roots finally decay or are undermined by erosion.

The oldest bristlecones live in the most exposed sites, with a considerable amount of space between each tree. The longevity of the bristlecone needles and the inability of other plants to grow in the dolomite soil make for little leaf litter or ground cover. This distance in between, combined with the lack of ground cover, is how a tree can sustain a lightning strike, catch fire, and not have the fire spread to surrounding trees.

Even the oldest trees have the ability to produce cones with viable seeds.

Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:12 pm

There are indeed many, many bristlecones in Colorado. They are a different species (Pinus aristata) than the ones in the Great Basin (P. longaeva). The Great Basin species is the longer-lived of the two, although both species can live a very, very long time.

I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate to have a couple of field sites for work that are among these trees. They are beautiful and sacred beings and not to be abused or trifled with in any way. There are quite a few anecdotes of humans damaging or even cutting down old bristlecones, and the human suffering various consequences, up to and including premature death. I've seen a mild example of this:

One of my field sites is located adjacent to a state communications facility at Kenosha Pass, southwest of Denver. One day while I was on-site, a state radio tech arrived. It seemed as though a branch of one of the bristlecones was impinging on the power line to the radio shelter, and he'd arrived to cut it off.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said conversationally.

"Why not?" the tech asked, also conversationally.

"Because that's a bristlecone you're messing with there. They can live better than 3000 years, and they don't like it if someone damages them. They've got ways of taking it out on the two-leggeds. You might want to consider repositioning that power line instead. Just saying."

The guy looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and went about cutting off the offending branch. Bristlecone wood is very dense and heavy; as the branch separated from the tree, it pressed upon the power line and broke it.

The tech stood looking at the downed powerline in dismay. "I supposed you warned me about that," he said, while commencing the splicing job.

The Ancient Bristlecone grove is quiet, spiritual place with trees much older than most of what we call human civilization. It is a wonderful, moving place to visit.

Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:36 pm

korfmach wrote: There are indeed many, many bristlecones in Colorado. They are a different species (Pinus aristata) than the ones in the Great Basin (P. longaeva). The Great Basin species is the longer-lived of the two, although both species can live a very, very long time.

I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate to have a couple of field sites for work that are among these trees. They are beautiful and sacred beings and not to be abused or trifled with in any way. There are quite a few anecdotes of humans damaging or even cutting down old bristlecones, and the human suffering various consequences, up to and including premature death. I've seen a mild example of this:

One of my field sites is located adjacent to a state communications facility at Kenosha Pass, southwest of Denver. One day while I was on-site, a state radio tech arrived. It seemed as though a branch of one of the bristlecones was impinging on the power line to the radio shelter, and he'd arrived to cut it off.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said conversationally.

"Why not?" the tech asked, also conversationally.

"Because that's a bristlecone you're messing with there. They can live better than 3000 years, and they don't like it if someone damages them. They've got ways of taking it out on the two-leggeds. You might want to consider repositioning that power line instead. Just saying."

The guy looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and went about cutting off the offending branch. Bristlecone wood is very dense and heavy; as the branch separated from the tree, it pressed upon the power line and broke it.

The tech stood looking at the downed powerline in dismay. "I supposed you warned me about that," he said, while commencing the splicing job.

The Ancient Bristlecone grove is quiet, spiritual place with trees much older than most of what we call human civilization. It is a wonderful, moving place to visit.

joetiger's Favorite Post of the Year nominee. Thanks for that.