Joe ✅Just the same bristlecone in full (if not exactly “living”) color. It’s protected better these days, with lots of signs saying to stay on the trail, and that it’s illegal to take photos from off-trail, which is nice to see… #bristlecone #bristleconepine #whitemountains #california #discoverytrail #ilovecalifornia
RealGravitas -Citizen Saboteur@biffnix Love the picture and the reminder. Love those Bristlecones! Visited both the 10,800 level and 12,300 level in around 1983 in my Ford Pinto (which really had trouble running once I got it over 11,500 feet.)
@CWilbur Yes, I've taken both the longer Methuselah Trail, and the shorter Discovery Trail. I've heard from the staff up there last season that climate change has been adversely affecting the bristlecone throughout their range, which was sad to hear. I remember well the old days before fuel injection and air-mass sensors, when we had to adjust carburetor jets if you were dirving in high altitude climates...I don't miss that at all. :)
@biffnix I think the one is named “The Witch Tree”.
@CWilbur I most commonly hear it referred to as “The Sentinel” tree. Can’t say I’ve ever heard it called the witch tree. That’s a new one on me…
@biffnix Supposed to be a ‘Ghost Tree’ too. Am I imagining this? Maybe. A lot can happen in the human mind in 40 years, eveif not in the world of Bristlecone Pines. 😸
Mike Nelson Pedde