Summit Hike – White Mountain Peak, Inyo National Forest

White Mountain Peak (14,246) is the third highest peak in California and the highest outside of the Sierra Nevada. It is part of the Inyo-White Mountains which are composed of some of the oldest sedimentary rocks in California with fossils nearly 600 million years old. The White and Inyo Mountains to the south are in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada which creates a striking desert-like appearance and the perfect conditions for the world’s oldest living trees, the Ancient Bristlecone Pines. Methuselah, the oldest of these trees, is over 4,700 years old and tree-rings have been used to create a record dating back over 8,600 years.