Sheesh, ten days since last post! OK, let’s do a bit of catch-up here. I managed to inadvertently give my camera to a street person in Eugene (by leaving it in a planter where I parked in front of the library) so photos are from phone and ipad in the meantime… This is one of those problems where the simplest solution is to throw money at it, so a replacement camera is on its way.

A beautiful ride back, almost. All mountain roads, save a short section through Reno, Carson City and southeast Lake Tahoe. Around Markleeville, however, something suddenly didn’t feel right – the Beemer felt as though I had a flat rear tire, although repeated stops to check disproved that. Finally I realized that the issue was much more serious: a rear wheel bearing had failed. I still had 130 miles to go, including two high passes. With little choice but to push on – in the mountains, traveling alone – I continued riding, keeping my speed slow in fear of a sudden seized wheel. And I made it to Owens Valley Center in Bishop, well later than planned. I packed the bike on the trailer, hooked all up and set out the next morning for the high country. And it really is UP – about 6,000′ of climbing, slowly, in low gear, watching the engine temperature, through several climate zones to a high-elevation alpine zone of subarctic plant life and limber and bristlecone pines.

This photo is taken at around 10,000′ elevation, looking past a dead bristlecone trunk to the peak of 14,242′ White Mountain in the far distance. I expect to be installing a PV system at the Summit Hut on this peak.

Where I have come is the home of the oldest living things in the world. Bristlecones are uniquely adapted to this high, dry, extreme climate, and have been extensively studied. The oldest have been growing for more than 4,700 years.

Bristlecones are both male and female, although they must pollinate each other. Here are their flowers.

Here are the immature cones that are developing. Single trees have cones in all stages of their development.

Here are the mature cones. The trees are prolific producers, with deep layers of cones at their bases. I stopped at the Ancient Bristlecone Forest Visitors’ Center, where I took these photos, then continued on another dozen miles to the Crooked Creek Station at 10,150′.

Here is my first view of the Crooked Creek station, as I dropped over a ridge to see it below. This will be my initial home before moving higher up as the work progresses.

This is the Barcroft Station at 12,570′. Much more rustic than the comfortable accommodations at Crooked Creek, this will be my home base for later work.