153. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is high in the White Mountains in eastern California. The ancient trees of more than 5000 years old grow at more than 10000 feet above sea level.

It is only about 75 miles southeast of June Lake and it is on my way to Las Vegas. But the drive to and from the area is a thrill by itself. Not only it changes thousands of feet in short distance, but it winds up and down, and sways left and right. I felt like riding on a roller coaster. It reminded me of Alaska Highway!

For a while there wasn’t any speed limit that I could find except warning signs. When I checked my GPS, I laughed out loud. It said “65 miles”. As a relative fast driver, I drove less than half of the “limit” and still had to be very cautious. No one can possibly drive 65 miles! That is why the area is closed in the winter (end of Nov to mid May).

Some of the pictures I saw online were taken during sunset. They look quite impressive. However, I wouldn’t wait until dark to leave the area. It would be too hard to drive, especially with scarcely anyone in the area to help if anything happened.