Great Basin National Park is south of Route 50 in eastern Nevada. There you will find both Wheeler Peak and Bristlecone Pines.
At 13,065 feet, Wheeler Peak dominates the area around Route 50 near the Utah border. There is a glacier near the summit, although, as a result of climate change, how much longer is not clear.
Inside the park, you can drive up the side of Wheeler Peak, with views of the valley below.
If you’re hardy enough, continue to the highest parking lot, get out of your car, and hike. At about 10,000 feet, you’ll reach the Bristlecone Pine grove.
Bristlecone Pines are the oldest known individual life forms on earth, and the minute you step into the grove, you’ll be in the presence of living things that are more than 3,000 years old.
These trees grow longest in harsh environments, which is one reason why the oldest members of their species live high up in Great Basin National Park (and also at the top of the White Mountains of California, near the town of Bishop).
Given their longevity, it’s not surprising that Bristlecone Pines attract the attention of scientists, and this led to an unfortunate outcome.
In an effort to more fully understand how these trees have survived, in 1964 a scientist selected a tree in the Great Basin grove and …
Cut. It. Down.
It turned out the tree was more than 4,900 years old.
There was no vandalism involved in this act, and the actual age of the tree was not known until it was evaluated after it was cut down. Still, consider how it would be to know you had killed a living thing that was almost 5,000 years old.
When the seed of that tree sprouted, Gilgamesh was alive, the Great Sphinx was being constructed, weaving looms were just being invented, and the very first iron objects were being made.
When the seed of that tree sprouted, it was more than 1,000 years before Stonehenge became a cultural center; more than 1,500 years before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt; more than 2,000 years before Beijing was founded in China; more than 2,500 years before Sophocles wrote plays in Greece; and 3,000 years before Julius Caesar conquered Gaul.
Today, the oldest Bristlecone Pines are not identified to the general public, but if you visit Great Basin National Park, you can sit quietly, surrounded by trees you know are more than 3,000 years old.
What’s more, you can run around and touch the young trees in the grove. If climate change doesn’t do them in, you will have touched living things that may still be alive in the year 5,000.
