A passenger car trip to see The Oldest Thing Alive NOT EXACTLY what botanists call "tree people," my husband, Jack, and I are still curious about unusual botanical specimens. Last fall we were told that the rare Bristlecone Pine stretches its weird limbs on the peak <strong>of</strong> a mountain overlooking one <strong>of</strong> our favorite Nevada vacation spots—Pioche. Partly because we always like an excuss to visit Pioche and partly because we'd never seen a Bristlecone, we pointed our Pontiac in the direction <strong>of</strong> Nevada and headed north. A few miles south <strong>of</strong> Pioche we regretted we hadn't brought the camper, however, as we've long wanted to stop at the beautiful, uncrowded campground at Cathedral Gorge and 32 / <strong>Desert</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> / August-September, 1966 summer and fall is an ideal time <strong>of</strong> the year, here for camping. Late the next morning we left our motor lodge and found the Highland Mountain road out <strong>of</strong> Pioche. Climbing upward to 9300 feet, with 23 switchbacks, it passes from the gold and orange terrain <strong>of</strong> Pioche into a pygmy forest <strong>of</strong> juniper, then suddenly melds into fat pinon pines. As the good dirt road ascends, the forest thickens and fir and spruce join the juniper and pinon. Soon we arrived at a small picnic ground amid a grove <strong>of</strong> tall trees. Seven in number, red-barked and over 100 feet high, they surround two picnic tables provided by the forest service. These are the Photo opposite page: Cathedral Gorge near Pioche, Nevada by Choral Pepper trees which once stimulated a local controversy. Referred to as "the big trees," for the simple reason that they are big, they are still no relation to the famous Sequoia, also known as the "Bigtree." These are giant Ponderosas, and they provide a pleasant stop for lunch. As we drove along, we stopped to examine each new kind <strong>of</strong> pine, wondering if we'd recognize a Bristlecone if we saw one. What we did know about the Pinus aristata, in addition to its Latin name, is that it is also popularly called the Foxtail pine because its plumage resembles a tail. These are the oldest living things on earth, some in the Bristlecone Forest <strong>of</strong> Inyo National Park in California having been assessed at 4600 years. What causes their longevity is an ability to stop growing during long periods, especially during prolonged drought. But the surprising thing about the whole business is that even if a patriarch tree remains in a state <strong>of</strong> suspended animation for as long as 25 or more years, when it does begin to grow again, it experiences a complete biological renaissance, producing new cones with life-producing pollen pods. And even more surprising, this may continue to happen when a tree's 4000 years old. If scientists ever isolate that gene, our population will really explode! Photos <strong>of</strong> the Bristlecone inevitably depict a broad-trunked, knarled arrangement <strong>of</strong> empty branches with occasional <strong>of</strong>fshoots <strong>of</strong> sparce bristle. Outside <strong>of</strong> an area high up in the Inyo National Forest, which is confined within a National Park were guided tours along designated paths are available to tourists, Bristlecone are hard to see. There's a fine stand in the mountains above Ely, Nevada, but you have to pack in to get near them. I've heard reports from helicopter pilots that a few grow atop Mt. Charleston above Las Vegas and a couple were recently reported near Cedar City, Utah, but, again, a four-wheel drive vehicle or hike is necessary in order to reach them. If this passenger car road within a morning's drive <strong>of</strong> Pioche would reveal a Bristlecone forest in which you could
I'iW vm
- Page 1 and 2: AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1966 double issue
- Page 3 and 4: Volume 29 CONTENTS August/September
- Page 5 and 6: people, Cushing describes wondrous
- Page 7 and 8: and then it became this . . . but c
- Page 9 and 10: y Roger K. Mitchell where Jeffery,
- Page 11 and 12: to return the next day. However, he
- Page 13 and 14: ? v' i by Jack Delaney EY CAP, look
- Page 15 and 16: separating the gold from the pulver
- Page 17 and 18: • All-steel construction • "No-
- Page 19 and 20: po Expo '67, Place Ville-Mane, Mont
- Page 21 and 22: tered California, so the Captain sa
- Page 23 and 24: We who enjoy eastern Sierra resorts
- Page 25 and 26: Part Three of a Six-Part Series Exc
- Page 27 and 28: August-September, 1966 / Desert Mag
- Page 29 and 30: was stationed far enough from shore
- Page 31: Dig That Bottle by Grace Kendrick T
- Page 35 and 36: Old Capistrano Town by Joan Weiss f
- Page 37 and 38: y Eugene McAllister BEAR FACTS PERH
- Page 39 and 40: For a real summer adventure Outpost
- Page 41 and 42: Old mission wall still stands. this
- Page 43 and 44: location of these mines. When the '
- Page 45 and 46: package. He took it to his camp and
- Page 47 and 48: out holes for grinding acorns on fl
- Page 49 and 50: a coat quiet frtace later tenant wh
- Page 51 and 52: NEW KINGMAN ADDITION - Kingman, Ari
- Page 53 and 54: vague in reference to the San Xavie
- Page 55 and 56: Hawaii-on-the-Snake Y OU'D HAVE to
- Page 57 and 58: horses, neither of which had been r
- Page 59 and 60: INDIAN ARROWHEADS hold a fascinatio
- Page 61 and 62: • MAPS TREASURE FINDERS WESTERN G
- Page 63 and 64: Letters requesting answers must inc
Change language