Bristlecone Pine

Bristlecone pine is known as the oldest living organism on the earth today. There is some dispute about this, but there is no doubt about the beauty and character of these tough and majestic mountain dwellers.

There are two species of bristlecone: Great Basin bristlecone (Pinus longaeva) and Rocky Mountain bristlecone (Pinus aristata). The longest living bristlecone are located in California and Nevada and are of the great basin variety. There is a beautifully constructed website entitled Ancient Bristlecone Pine by Leonard Miller dealing with the ancient great basin bristlecone. You may also want to visit GORP - Inyo National Forest.

The wood we use in our boxes is the rocky mountain bristlecone. They are fairly plentiful throughout the Rocky Mountain region yet remain unknown to many simply by the nature of their location.

Bristlecone have the capacity to grow in the dry arid soils of the treeline--the highest part of the mountain above 10,500 feet (3,000 meters).

Although characterized as being twisted and gnarly, when furnished with good space, soil, light and moisture, bristlecone grow similarly to most other pines. Bushy when young, then tall and straight as they get older and compete for resources with other trees.

In approximately 1880, in the La Garita Mountains in southern Colorado, a great fire burned thousands of acres of forest, including many bristlecone pine.

Bristlecone pine are very resinous, and often the resin is so pungent that freshly exposed wood smells almost like turpentine. This wood burns very well, and very hot. The fire killed all of the vegetation on the mountain, leaving a literal graveyard of standing dead trees.

As time passed, many of the old standing dead fell, lifting their roots and exposing themselves to ground moisture and fungi which soon caused rot. Over the hundred plus years since, this wood has weathered beautifully.

As soon as the standing dead on the mountain was discovered, people from the valley below began taking it for building materials, fence materials and firewood. I run across many old bristlecone fence posts as I search for materials. Actually, as fence posts, some of the wood has been preserved by keeping it off the ground where it will not rot.

Our desire is to preserve and enhance this precious wood so that others will enjoy and appreciate it. Under the supervision of the USDA Forest Service, we take only long-dead wood that is in danger of rot and decay. Very little good wood remains and it will only disappear if left. The opportunity to use this wood will soon pass. I want only to reveal and do justice to the dignity of the bristlecone. That is why I craft and finish it so carefully; it deserves no less.

Paul Brimhall