Outdoors: The never-ending beauty of the White Mountains

California’s remote White Mountains are a magical lure for me like few other places in the state.

Perhaps it’s the tortured landscape, shaped by extremes, including hurricane-force storm winds, arctic winter temperatures, punishing elevations and the lack of oxygen.

Surely, the kind of place thought of by Irving Stone in his epic novel, “Men to Match My Mountains.”

Maybe it’s the fact this is home to the highest-elevation public road in California, or the true wilderness that surrounds the thin dirt path following the spine of the mountain range.

Or it could be the ancient bristlecone pines that are said to be the oldest living things on Earth and likely attract the most visitors.

What touched my heart most deeply during several visits here were the chance encounters with a legendary wild horse known as Campito, named for the mountain and meadow where lucky visitors might get a glimpse as he galloped across the sagebrush flats with his raven mane dancing in the wind.

For more than a quarter-century, Campito roamed free and thrived alone in this harsh place and became legendary as the Mystery Mustang of the White Mountains.

Sadly, I wrote about it when word came from the U.S. Forest Service in 2022 that Campito had died, his remains found by a hiker in a lonely corner of the wild and free range he loved.

For a few months each year when the veil of winter has faded, the road into the White Mountain Range is opened, allowing the curious and the adventurous a chance to explore this unique place.

This is that time when visitors can leave U.S. Route 395 at Big Pine and climb 6,000 feet on state Route168 through a fascinating landscape.

In 13 miles, turn left on White Mountain Road and continue north for 10 more miles until arriving at the Schulman Grove parking lot and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center.

There are no services beyond Big Pine, so come with food, water and a full tank of gas.

From the visitor center the road continues north but turns to dirt, ending in 16 miles at the White Mountain Peak trailhead. This is not a route recommended for standard passenger vehicles.

Travelers along this section of the Bristlecone Forest Scenic Byway will also pass several iconic groves of the ancient pines and endless, prime photo spots as they gain elevation and watch the landscape transition from sparse forest to a barren panorama.

At an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet there is trailhead parking for those wishing to climb White Mountain Peak.

This is one of California’s 15 fourteeners, a desolate monolith towering to 14,252 feet and accessible by a 15.2-mile round-trip hike through a moonlike landscape.

Beyond the gate at the parking area, hikers will pass the Barcroft Research Station, a seasonal, high-altitude research facility operated by the University of California.

There is also a high-altitude research station at the summit of White Mountain Peak.

Unlike the High Sierra Range to the west that attracts millions each year for fishing, skiing, backpacking and outdoor adventure, visitor counts in the White Mountains number in the thousands.

This is a vast, lonely and wild place, offering nothing but open space, wilderness and a connection with some of nature’s most unusual creations.

In addition to the ancient bristlecone pines, there is unique wildlife here, including bighorn sheep, endangered trout, marmots, and a tiny rodent known as a pika.

The visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the summer season and offers exhibits and interpretive programs that tell the story of the bristlecone pines. Entry is $3 per person older than 18 with a maximum of $6 per vehicle.

From the visitor center, hikers can follow the self-guided Methuselah Trail through the oldest living forest.

Bristlecone pines have been dated to nearly 5,000 years old and are only found at extreme elevations of the Western United States.

The harsh environment where they are found contributes to their slow growth and their weathered, twisted and contorted appearance.

Sitting alone among these ancients can be a profound experience.

As a young man, I roamed this wild place, much like Campito.

The oxygen-starved elevations hardly bothered me as I wandered to long-abandoned cowboy cabins, old mines, or remote canyons cut by trickling streams holding a rare species of endangered Paiute cutthroat trout.

Tearing off calendar pages has worn me out a bit, and I’m sure the mountains have gotten taller.

An elevated world with 35% less oxygen than we enjoy at sea level also seems more challenging today.

My visits now are more focused on short hikes and finding prime spots for photographing the never-ending beauty of this place.

It’s somewhere you should visit if only to marvel at breathtaking views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west or simply contemplate your insignificance when surrounded by living things nearly 5,000 years old.

Julian Dark Sky Festival

A coalition of dark sky advocates will be hosting the San Diego Dark Sky Festival at Menghini Winery in Julian from 3 to 11 p.m. Aug. 16, during the annual Perseid Meteor Shower.

The event is free and open to the public, featuring exhibitors, speakers, children’s activities and solar telescope viewing during the day.

Evening activities will include guided night sky tours, and telescope viewing of star clusters and nebulae.

For more information, visit darkskysandiego.org.

Wildlife volunteers

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife in San Diego is seeking volunteers who enjoy wildlife and nature and would like to help the department with habitat conservation projects, assisting as hunting and fishing regulation guides, hunter education classes and with licensing exams for falconry and trapping.

Those selected will attend a training academy sometime in March or April. Exact dates are not set.

Additionally, volunteers will work with game wardens and department biologists and assist with public calls for help with local wildlife.

For additional information or to register as a volunteer, contact Leslie Peariso at lpeariso@gmail.com or call 619-335-0982.

Cowan is a freelance columnist. Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com.