Eastern Sierra Workshop part 4

After returning from the South Lake area we stopped for lunch at Schat’s bakery, in Bishop.  It is a huge bakery making sandwiches, cakes, cookies and all sorts of breakfast goodies.  We picked up sandwiches, relaxed a bit before starting on the road to our next destination; the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.

We are still in the Inyo National Forest this time in the White Mountains.  I’m not supplying directions to the forest, once you are on the road just watch for the signs; there are very few places to turn off.  It’s approximately 25 miles of windy uphill paved road to the visitor center.  We stopped there for a few minutes to admire the view then went up another five or so miles on a rough dirt and gravel road.  This is the location where high clearance vehicles ARE needed.  At Bishop we started at an elevation of approximately 4200’, when we arrived at our destination we were at 10,800’.  We are literally at the top of the mountain.  By walking a few feet in one direction or the other we can get a 360° panorama of the Owens Valley to the west and Death Valley far to the southeast.

Some of the trees here are up to 4,000 years old, the oldest living non-clonal organisms on earth.  We arrived an hour or so before sunset and started shooting the trees looking at all the textures and features of the ancient wood.  It is easy to see lots of different objects in the wood; one just has to use their imagination.  I found my favorite, a small rock sticking out of a river with the water flowing around it.

The sunset was somewhat uneventful since there were no clouds to light up and turn color but the earth’s shadow creeping across the sky was stirring.  We watched and photographed the pink sky climbing higher and higher with the blue shadow line following behind.  All the while the bristlecone pines watched as another day passed.

The dark drive down was longer because we had to drive slower over the dirt road and the windy paved road, but it was definitely worth the trip. 

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark