Bristlecone Pine - Bao Ha photo - Olympus DSLR Challenge photos at pbase.com


10-AUG-2014

Methuselah Grove trail (Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Big Pine, CA)

Olympus OM-D EM-1
1/320s f/2.8 at 12.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Michael Ramsay		20-Aug-2014 18:21
I did hear that these pines are the longest lived of all trees with some over 5000 years old. So just think what has walked past it in the past. I like the colours of the live tree against the dead parts.

Olympus DSLR Challenge		19-Aug-2014 00:37
Thank you for the lesson -- beauty is one thing; resilience another. Here, we have both. --Stefan

Bao Ha		18-Aug-2014 23:18
Thanks for the comments, Brad and Shirley! This Bristlecone pine is probably 3,000-4,000 years old. The oldest one in the 9,000 ft altitude Methuselah Grove area is almost 5,000 years old. The 50-100 year old young'uns can be found in the higher altitude Patriarch Grove, about 11,000 ft, are about my 5'7" height. These Bristlecone pines are very resilient. As the earth is heating up, they have moved to higher altitude. Above 12,000 ft, beyond the current tree line of the Patriarch Grove, it looks like a very lively nursery with so many seedlings and young trees. And there are not many of us at the high altitude to bother them.

Shirley Haden		18-Aug-2014 22:06
I've heard that these majestic trees that are nearly as old as dirt, are dying away and may become extinct. Don't you wish these trees could talk.

Brad		18-Aug-2014 21:31
I bet that tree is hundreds of years old, I like the rich golden brown color & deep green, against the monochrome floor of the desert

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