I’ve wanted to see the bristlecones since I first learned about them and their great age. At about 10,000 feet in the White Mountains we took a short hike in the area where the trees over 4,000 years old were first discovered. 4,000 years old! There are others that are nearly 5,000. The oldest beings on earth. The longest-lived bristlecones are the most stunted, gnarled and appear mostly dead; they also live under the harshest conditions.