The miners in the White Mountains around the turn of the 20th Century cut down these bristlecones that were hundreds of years old … or more. They used them for mine timbers and to build cabins for the few months of the year they could live at 10,000 feet. A complete travesty. Thoughtless carnage in the pursuit of a hopeless dream. We can just be happy that there was no large seam of high quality ore. If that had happened, the bristlecones would likely have all been logged.
Such interesting trees! Ever think of making a book of trees for publishing? The same thing happened along the Aegean—ancient shipmakers stripped the coastal slopes of trees. Still barren today.
Yes, I have thought of a tree photo book.
Maybe I’ll work on it one of these days.