Mid Sierra Musings: Pine Creek Trail To Honeymoon Lake Part I

Dale Matson

Hike Route Day One

6 Miles, 3,000’ gain 7hours hike time

It was a joy to leave the smoke-filled Central Valley for the Eastern Sierra Nevada. Our friends Carlos and Carol joined Sharon and me on our hike to Honeymoon Lake on the Pine Creek Trail near Bishop CA. It is in the John Muir Wilderness of Inyo County. Because of Covid, our wilderness permits were mailed to us.

We decided to schedule a packer to take our packs up and scheduled the Pine Creek Pack Station for August 25^th. We dropped off our packs by the scale at 7am and talked with Dee, the manager We then began our hike with the packers following us about an hour later. We were only half way to the lake when they passed us. They dropped off our packs at Honeymoon Lake. I think Honeymoon lake is kind of a basecamp for many folks but the other camps were quiet.

There were virtually no mosquitos, plenty of water crossings for resupply except only one on the switchbacks. Much of the trail was created to an abandoned Tungsten mine. I think the creek crossing could be difficult in spring and the two logs were so slanted, they were useless.The air was clear. We arrived at Honeymoon lake to find our packs by the shore and set up our respective camps.

We had dinner together at our camp and I went to bed. Even without a back pack, my day pack and camera were heavy enough. I used the Sony A7R4 with the Sony 16-35 GM 2.8 lens and the Sony 85mm 1.8 lens.

We passed Pine Lake, Upper Pine Lake also and took breaks to take in the beautiful scenery. Peppermint Peak was a prominent feature at 12,680’

Pine Creek Trail is kind of a Gateway to Italy Pass, Pine Creek Pass and Granite Park.