The Tree That Thrives on the Heights

High in the White Mountains of eastern California, bristlecone pines cling to limestone ridges where almost nothing else survives. One of them, named Methuselah, has endured for over 4,800 years. What makes these trees remarkable is not that they grow despite harsh conditions — it is that they grow because of them. At 10,000 feet, where soil is thin, rainfall scarce, and winter winds strip bark from trunks, bristlecone pines produce wood so dense it resists rot, insects, and disease.…