Among the ancients

Before leaving Mammoth Lakes this morning, I stopped to grab something for breakfast at the popular Schat's Bakery.  Everything looked so good, but I settled for a cheese bagel with cream cheese.  Yummy!  I was driving south on U.S. Hwy 395 when I spotted something unusual on the side of the road.  As I drew closer, I saw it was a large wooden wagon pulled by two draft horses, with a third trailing behind.  I wonder what that was all about?

My destination for the day was the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, part of Inyo National Forest.  After turning off State Hwy 168, I drove up a long and windy road...with the emphasis on up.  I passed a 7000 foot elevation sign, then another at 8000 feet.  And, still I was going higher!  When I finally reached the Schulman Grove Visitor Center, I knew I was very high up.  Inside the visitor center, I got a trail brochure and asked about the elevation.  Just over 10,000 feet!  Wow!  Even though I wanted to see Methuselah, the oldest tree in the world, the Methuselah trail seemed a bit too strenuous, especially considering high elevation means thinner air, and thus, makes it harder to catch your breath.  Instead, I settled on the Discovery Trail, which at one mile, was shorter and less strenuous.  Besides, this trail had equally old trees...we're talking 4000 years old...that could be just as old as Methuselah.

As I started up the Discovery trail, I stopped often to take photos.  This also allowed me to minimize tiring myself out.  One thing I learned from the interpretive signs along the trail, the taller trees are less likely to be the oldest.  I noticed some trees had been hit by lightning, evident from the scorched branches.

With so many old trees came so many photo opportunities.  And, I took a LOT of photos!  I got there fairly early, so there was almost no one on the trail...or they chose to take the Methuselah trail.  It was a perfect day for a hike.

 

After I got back to the parking lot, I had a bit of lunch, then decided to check out the old mining cabins on the Bristlecone Cabin Trail.  Snow had fallen recently, and there were still patches of it on this trail.  One thing that was interesting...there were a number of younger trees growing around the cabins.  There was speculation that human disturbance caused cones to be buried, which resulted in the younger trees.

Before descending down the same road I came up, I stopped at a viewpoint to take some photos of the surrounding mountain range.  As I walked the trail to the viewpoint, I encountered a young guy coming from the opposite direction huffing and puffing.  When he reached me, he stated that he wasn't used to the elevation.  Turns out the guy was from Belgium, and doing a solo road trip.  He told me that none of his friends wanted to accompany him, so he was going it alone.  At one point, he described a harrowing hike back to his car at Canyonlands National Park in Utah...in the dark!  Thankfully, he had THREE flashlights with him, and he made it back safely!  I asked him if he had seen the movie 127 Hours...he had!  It was nice to talk to a fellow solo road tripper.

When I returned to Hwy 395, I continued traveling south, and who did I encounter?  The man with the horse drawn wagon...again!  In the four hours I was looking at pine trees, the wagon caught up to me, despite the slow speed.  I guess it goes to show you, it's not how you do it as long as it gets you there!