"i have done a couple bad things"


number of years i have lived on this earth
over 30

keesh
@keesh

On my trip to the sierras, I finally made it out to the ancient bristlecone forest. These trees, the Great Basin bristlecone (pinus longaeva), are the oldest on earth. When you go to see them, you are walking through a forest where there are trees close to 5,000 years in age. They grow in an environment very few other things thrive in and, in that harsh environment, are able to make it to extraordinary ages. They grow slowly and have dense, rot resistant wood - that means that the trees stick around for a long time even after they’re dead. From a combination of living trees and dead wood, dendrochronologists (scientists who study tree rings) have been able to construct a tree ring timeline stretching back 10,000 years. That’s a lot of data about the climate. That tree ring timeline was also instrumental in refining radio carbon dating and making it more accurate. We’ve learned a lot from these incredible trees.

Now I am a certified Nature Nerd (TM), so I did enjoy learning the fun facts along my hike. But the main feeling was awe. I was moved by these ancient beings - twisted by time and the elements. I was moved by the baby bristlecones. It is good sometimes, to feel small. To be reminded of the broader, bigger, fantastically improbable world out there. The bristlecones did that for me. I cried a few times on that hike, feeling overwhelmed by these strange, ancient sentinels. What beautiful trees.

I’ll be thinking about that day for a long time.


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