Thriving where other trees fail bristlecone pines endure extremes of climate, altitude and drought in scattered forests found in high-mountain regions of a few Western states.
Because it can be found in many of Nevada's isolated mountain ranges, this tree has been named one the state's two official trees, the other being the ubiquitous pinion pine common to much of the West. Stands of bristlecone pines may also be found in the White Mountains of California and in central and southern Utah.
In central Arizona, northern New Mexico and Colorado, a slightly different variety can be found. To further confound observers, a related species, the foxtail pine, is found in the high Sierras and in Northern California.
Because of their similarity, the Bristlecone is sometimes called foxtail. If you can find downed ones, the difference will be very apparent. The bristlecone pine drops cones with very sharp, urged barbs or bristles, while he foxtail's cones have tiny pines or prickles. The foxtail's range is somewhat wider as it tarts to appear at 6,000 feet, while the bristlecone starts at an elevation of about 7,500 feet. ,Both kinds grow up to timberline t about 11,500 feet. To see stands of the handsome long-living bristlecone pines, you need to go no further than our own Spring Mountains to the east of Las Vegas. As the roads into Kyle Canyon and Lee Canyon, as well as the connecting Deer Creek Highway, climb ever higher, stands of bristlecone pines become the dominant evergreen.
At the highest elevations along the network of trails traversing the mountains, you will see nothing but BristIecone. At lower elevations in mixed stands with other trees, the BristIecone seem lush, their branches clothed with twigs bearing massed clumps of five short needles all around. As you see them at the highest elevations, they take on a twisted, wind-blasted appearanceÑvery picturesque, often with only a strip of living bark feeding the limbs and the rest of the tree naked and weathered to beautiful wood.
Two hiking trails in Toiyabe National Forest atop the Spring Mountains will quickly bring hikers to pure stands of bristlecone pines. Park atop the summit of Deer Creek Road at a scenic overlook to start the trail to a saddle near Mummy Mountain. Along this trail with its numerous switch backs, you will see plenty of BristIecone.
To see stands of the handsome, long-living bristlecone pines, you need to go no further than our own Spring Mountains to the west of Las Vegas.
At the saddle, located near the base of the cliff known as Mummy's Toe, is a grand dad among BristIecone. Not very tall it has the characteristic gnarled appearance of the trees at high altitude. Its trunk is large enough that it would take the linked arms of three or more hikers to reach around it.
At the end of Lee Canyon Road is the beginning of Bristlecone Trail, so named because of the stands of trees found there. This is a popular trail with hikers mountain bikers and equestrians.
The BristIecone you encounter may be of greater age than you think possible. BristIecone attain great age due to their ability to adapt to environmental conditions. They almost cease growing in years with adverse conditions and resume growth in more favorable years. That 6-foot-high, twisted specimen you pass on your hike may be nearly 1,000 years old, far older than the grandest of the big, old ponderosa pines nearby.
One of the oldest BristIecone was found near Ely. At nearly 4,000 years of age, it was a young tree when the earliest Egyptian pyramids were being built and of middle age when the Christian era began. It would be growing still if it hadn't been cut down so its growth rings could be counted. Since that tree was discovered, less drastic means of counting growth rings have been developedÑmethods that do not destroy a tree. Cores are now drilled and the rings matched up, with the tree left intact.
When vacationing in southern Utah, look for BristIecone among the spruce and other evergreens on the high plateaus. Near Cedar Breaks National Monument, one particularly fine stand will be found quite close to the highway near a campground. Ask rangers where else you might look for these venerable trees.
Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada, south of Ely, has pure stands of bristlecone pines accessible from its high trails. Take the beautiful drive past the visitor center into the Wheeler Peak Scenic Area. Several trails begin along this road, including one into an ancient stand of BristIecone, among the oldest yet dated. Most of the trees along the flanks of the Snake Range at the higher elevations are BristIecone. Nevada's second highest mountain, Wheeler Peak, towers over all at 13,063 feet.
It is bested in elevation by less than 100 feet by Boundary Peak on the Nevada-California state line at the northern end of the White Mountains. It is in these mountains that very extensive stands of bristlecone pines are showcased in the Ancient Bristlecone Pines Forest, part of Inyo National Forest. The dated trees in this area are very old, some nearly 5,000 years old, placing this group among the oldest living things on the planet. You will pass the turnoff to the ancient pines as you negotiate Westgard Pass, Highway 168, from Lone Pine on U.S. Highway 395. Turn there to reach the visitor center, which is open summers only. There are two self guiding trails you may follow among the ancient trees.
For more information on bristlecone pines, visit the local USDA Forest Service office at 2881 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 16 (873-8800). When in Utah, stop at one of the information stations or the offices of Dixie National Forest in Cedar City for an excellent booklet on the bristlecone pine published by the Inter mountain Region of the Forest Service located in Ogden, Utah.
A Sunday, July 20, 1 997 Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun Pg. 3L&4L
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