Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

This past weekend I jumped in the Bronco and took a drive to the Eastern Sierra’s. I’ve only been over

there a handful of times and I fall in love with the area each time. MY Focus for this trip was heading

up to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. I’ve been wanting to visit this site for a long time, but this is

more than just a day trip. So, once I had a free weekend I jumped in the Bronco and started driving. I

left at 4:00 am and arrived in Lone Pine at 8:00. Since the Park didn’t open until 10:00 I decided to have

breakfast in Lone Pine. After Breakfast I drove up into the Alabama Hills for some early morning images

of the Mountain Range. Then it was back onto Hwy 395 to the town of Big Pine. From there a right

turn and a steep climb of 5000 feet in elevation.

I spent an hour or so hiking around the visitor center then jumped back into the Bronco. I took the

White Mountain Road that was to bring me to the Patriarch Grove. This 12-mile dirt road was a bit

rough, I’ll just say I was glad I had the bronco and not our car! The drive was amazingly beautiful up on

top of the White Mountains. Views to the west of the Sierra’s and the valley below were absolutely

stunning!

Once at the Patriarch Grove I got to enjoy the trail relatively by myself! It was so quiet and peaceful!!

Bucket List Checked.