Nature Science

BN FAVE: ANCIENT TREES EMBRACE ANCIENT STARS NOW

ANCIENT BRISTLECONE PINE FOREST

Some of the planet’s oldest living trees reach up to touch the stars as they all hurtle around the universe at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Their magic is captured, with breathtaking vision and clarity by renowned photographer, Stuart Palley.

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet (3,000–3,400 m) above sea level within the White Mountains, just east of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. They are protected within the Inyo National Forest.

While they are incredibly hardy, strong winds and harsh weather have sculpted the trees’ trunks and branches into beautifully gnarled shapes. Annual tree growth rings are so thin and hard, they render the trees resistant to heart rot and other diseases and keep them living an exceedingly long time.

The trees in Bristlecone Pine Forest are among the oldest in the world, including the world’s two oldest trees -- one just under and one just over 5,000 years old. They are located in Methuselah Grove and in Schulman Grove, respectively. Both are unmarked for their own protection.

At the end of the Bristlecone Pine Forest Scenic Byway, just past Schulman Grove, lies Patriarch Grove, home of the Patriarch Tree, the largest Bristlecone Pine in the world.

There is almost no light pollution at this altitude, making for some of the best stargazing conditions anywhere, especially after a day of thunderstorms yields a crystal clear sky, perfect for Palley’s star studded photography.

As the starlight shines down from the Milky Way, illuminating the Bristlecone Pines, Palley uses long-exposure photography to capture the light trails. “The angle of the Milky Way in the sky seems to mimic the ethereal forms of individual Bristlecone Pines throughout the night,” Palley explains.

Born and raised in Southern California, Palley has photographed for National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. His work has appeared Time Magazine, New York Magazine, and The Washington Post.

See Palley’s website for more of his work. And, if you’re interested in hiking the trails of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, check out the Forest Service’s site.

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