The White Mountains in California are located east of the much better known Sierra Nevada Mountains. They are much dryer and hardly visited at all. The major attraction are the Bristlecone Pine trees located at about 11,000ft altitude, which can be reached on a relatively well maintained dirt road, after leaving the pavement at about 8000ft altitude. This normal access road to the region can be found when leaving US395 to the east at the northern end of Big Pine, CA. There are plenty of signs indicating the proper turnoffs. The views to the Sierra are superb, especially close to the end of the pavement where a vista point has been established.

The dirt road that begins here is very easy to drive, and I have seen many non-4WD vehicles make it to the highest point (11,500ft), although in early summer you may have to make it through or around some snowfields. The Bristlecone Pine trees can be found in several groves, with the oldest (3600yrs) trees located in the Patriarch group. (WhiteMount2.jpg).

The end of the road is located several miles north of the Patriarch grove and is marked by a locked gate that keeps vehicles other than those with access to the botanical research station higher up out. From this gate at 11,500ft, it is a nice 6 mile hike (12 miles round trip) to White Mountain Peak, which is over 14,200ft tall and rivals the highest peak in the Sierras visible in the west, only separated by the deeply cut Owens Valley. Bring a lot of water if you attempt the hike. It is technically no challenge, since a jeep road leads right to the summit of the peak (I'd love to drive this thing once - only once, please...). The high altitude does require some fitness, though. Before you get to the peak you walk past the research station and once you cross the ridge behind it, you walk through a terrain that is more like northern tundra, than anything in the Sierras visible in the west.

I usually park my truck at the gate and stay overnight to do the hike early in the morning. The purple and orange light of the disappearing sun behind the sierra is a great background to some fancy propane cooking (No open fires up there, and you need a fire permit from the rangers in Bishop if you want to use any open flame up there -see SilverCanyon4.jpg).

The trip back down to Owens Valley was a real treat for me in 1992, since I never had taken the "shortcut" through Silver Canyon to Bishop. Rangers had told me it was ok for 4x44s for uphill, but should not be attempted downhill... Before I got back to the turnoff, I had to ride back though the barren highlands above the old pine trees (WhiteMount1.jpg).

It is pretty easy to spot the turnoff, since a television antenna is located on a small peak right next to it. Before you drive up to the antenna, make sure your vehicle has a tight turning radius - I had a pretty hard time getting my longbed Toyota turned around up there - and it is definitely too steep and rocky to back down in reverse. Great view up there, and knowing my readers, I can't really say that you should walk... Then you can turn your attention to the Silver Canyon road back down to Bishop, which drops about 6000ft over a very short distance. The beginning looks so easy, that I decided to drive as far as I dared and was able to turn around. Soon it got steeper... (SilverCanyon1.jpg). The really steep drop came in the upper third, but road conditions were really much better than the rangers made me believe. The steepest stretch of gravel was located right before a sharp left turn, and is due to uphill traffic digging its way through the rocks quite rough. The picture doesn't really show the 15" holes and steps one encounters right there (SilverCanyon2.jpg).

Once the Canyon gets wider, the road levels off, and once can actually drive pretty fast along the banks of a small creek. The only time you need to slow down is either when the dust is getting out of hand, or when you need to cross the tiny creek. It washed the dust right off the vehicle, so you can go ahead and cake on another layer. (SilverCanyon3.jpg.

The end of the drive, which at the time was one of my first "daring" drives in my truck is marked by a sign telling uphill traffic that there is trouble ahead. (pictures SilverCanyon5.jpg). The road hits pavement right next to Laws railroad museum, at the north-east corner of Bishop. If you get to Bishop around lunchtime - don't forget to eat in one of the best Mexican Restaurants in the state! I learned this secret from a retired restaurant owner while hiking in the Sierras: "La Casita", right on Main street, may not look like much, but the burritoes are larger than your head and the meat just falls out of them... and it's cheap! (it's located right across the street from the Toyota dealer at the southern end of town, western side of the street - really small, so look hard - it's worth it).