The White Mountains, due east of Bishop California, made a good acclimatization stop before backpacking into the alpine country of the high sierra. We spent a few days camped at BLM's grandview campground and toured the stark highlands and bristlecone pine forests.
The famed Methuselah Bristlecone Pine Tree in the White Mountains is the oldest known living tree on the planet at nearly 4800 years. The bristlecones don't look so impressive at first glance, but they grow very slowly and the wood is extremely dense -- so dense it rings like a bell! The dead wood weathers to a beautiful golden-orange color and can remain intact for thousands of years in this arid environment. Their range once spread across the great basin, but now they are found only at these isolated high altitude ecological "islands".
Sadly, just one day before we arrived, the Schulman Grove Visitor Center burned to the ground. All that was left by the time we got there was a pile of charred timber and twisted metal. Several friends had mentioned that this visitor center was world class and a must-see.
The cause of the burn is still under investigation, but arson is suspected. There has been a lot of vandalism in the area recently: the nearby White Mountain Research Summit Lab was trashed and numerous vehicles were broken into at trailheads near Big Pine and Bishop. Some believe angry anti-wilderness locals are responsible, in reaction to proposed additions to nearby Table Mountain Wilderness.
Whatever the cause, plans are already afoot to rebuild a new center, to be opened in 2010. This month is also the 50-year anniversary of the establishment of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, protecting this important ecosystem!