Bristlecone pines– the oldest tree trunks

Great Basin bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva) live near the top of the mountains high enough to have a tree line in the Great Basin portion of the Basin and Range Province. They are the oldest organisms we know of that have a trunk with growth rings, i.e. trees. The oldest verified living bristlecone is Methuselah, age 4850 years, at a secret location in Schulman Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White-Inyo Mountains. Another tree in the forest was estimated to be 5,062 years old, but that has not been verified.

12 miles past the Schulman Grove is the Patriarch Grove, named for the largest know Bristlecone. Here are photos from my side trip to the grove on my way from Tucson to Markleeville CA in 2005, transporting our bicycles for the Death Ride.