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| The Patriarch Tree (Largest Ancient Bristlecone) |
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| The Patriarch Tree (side view) |
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| Terrain behind Patriarch Tree |
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| Parking lot of Patriarch Grove |
Four Las Vegas AtBF club members caravanned up through Beatty, Nevada and turned onto SR 168 to cross into California and drive up White Mountain Road. If you have never before experienced White Mountain Road, there are 10 miles of narrow pavement on sharp curves and high cliffs, then there are another 16 miles of dirt road over alpine terrain. The two times I have travelled the dirt road portion, the road has been in fairly good condition. (Just watch for sharp rocks!) We stopped at the end of the pavement where there is a visitor center and piled into one car for the remaining drive. And, oh, what a lovely drive! We stopped at the Patriarch Grove to view the largest bristlecone tree which grows very close to the parking lot. Then, we continued up toward White Mountain Trailhead.
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| White Mountain Road |
Before you reach the trailhead, you are given a view of White Mountain as seen below. Otherwise, you are above the tree line where you can see for miles around. It is rife with life, however, it is also desolate!
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| White Mountain and Road |
We were lucky enough to see a marmot crossing the road at one point. And, as we saw later, there were interesting high altitude plants and flowers living among the rocks.
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White Mountain and Road
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We parked at the trailhead and noticed that one car had a marmot prevention cover under the chasis. (Marmots will get under your car and eat the electrical wires.) When we returned from our hike, we saw that the marmots were in the parking lot and there was a place where it appeared they had been under that same car. Ugh! Anyway, we passed the gate and began our hike up the road. The parking lot is already up above 11,600' in altitude so you can feel your legs a little heavy unless you are well acclimated. At around 0.85 mile, we stepped off the dirt road and into the high altitude terrain. I'm not sure if this is frowned upon or not but it was truly an adventure! There are plants and animal evidence that I was not familiar with. So much to learn! We had our sights on Mount Barcroft in the distance and the terrain between the road and the peak was a gradual ascent.
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| David, Brenda and Rita at White Mountain Trailhead |
All four of us spread out over the field and found various interesting things to look at and take pics of.
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| Sierras from White Mountain Trail |
Just as we reached the final ascent up to the peak, the terrain became more rocky. As the going got tougher, Rita and I were left to climb the peak alone. We reached the last saddle before the very rocky peak rose another 200' in altitude.
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| Hiking the Road in Altitude |
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| Heading up to Mount Barcroft |
Now, I must tell you the other half of the story! The wind was reaching gusts of around 45 to 50 mph! Yes! It was horrible! The struggle of the altitude and climb was matched with the addition of the ongoing winds. When Rita and I crested the last saddle, we no longer had any windbreak at all. One attempt at about 10 feet of climb convinced us that it wasn't safe to continue in the rocks. So, we turned around to follow David and Brenda down the hill. What an experience! We didn't reach the target of 13,000' but we did get to about 12,800' and that's higher than Charleston Peak by more than 800' and more than Mono Pass (that we would do the next day) by 900'. Our goal of altitude acclimation was accomplished.
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| High Altitude Terrain |
Since we could see so far in the barren terrain, we were able to follow our footsteps back to the road without a problem.
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| High Altitude Flowers, Marmot Skull and Rodent Tunnels |
Back on the road, we quickly descended back to the car as we started feeling the pangs of hunger! There was still about an hour and a half of driving before we would get to the hotel in Bishop!
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| Starting the Final Ascent |
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| Peak from Last Saddle |
It had been a very interesting and enjoyable day albeit windy. We were tired. So, after checking into the hotel, we walked down the street to get some food. California was still requiring masks until the end of the next day due to COVID. Some people were already pushing the limits and going without. Rules in the hotel were archaic and the complimentary breakfast was a joke. If you plan to travel ... even now ... bring your own food. Otherwise, the bed was very comfortable and we had a good night sleep!
4.25 miles; 1400' gain
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