Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board TR - 7 Days Around Pine Crk Pass

Last week I did a 7-day trip that had Pine Creek Pass as its pivot point. On day 1 I hiked from the Pine Creek TH to Honeymoon Lake. The trail starts in a moist low woodland but soon emerges to one of the ugliest stretches of trail in the Sierras - an old mining road with a big tungsten mine on the other side of the valley that dominants the view. But after a while, less time than it seems, the trail enters the forest below Pine Lake and becomes more pleasant.

On day 2 I went a short distance up the Italy Pass trail to the first major creek crossing. I left the trail and headed southwest into a funnel that leads to a chute that goes to Royce Lake #2. There was a little snow in the chute but it was no trouble walking up or skirting it. Royce #2 is beautiful and rockbound, right below Royce Mtn. It was frozen except for a thin band of open water around the edge. It was more trouble, but nothing harder than Class 2 or low-level Class 3 to skirt the east shore of Lake #2 to get to the outlet and go down the chain of Royce Lakes. At Royce Lake #5 I headed on a bearing of 64 degrees and came out right above Pine Creek Pass. It was an easy scramble down to the Pass and then I hiked down French Canyon to an area of campsites just below where the creek from Merriam Lake crosses the trail.

On day 3 I crossed the creek first thing and hiked up the hill to the V-notch that leads to Alsace Lake. From there I worked my way up to and around Puppet and then Roget lakes. As I was getting ready to go up Carol Col I met a man and his 10-year old son who had just come down the col on an 18-day hike of the entire Sierra High Route. I went up the col but not without more trouble than I should have had. I kept ending up in big talus when I could see better routes on either side. The abrasions on my legs will heal. From the top of Carol Col it's an easy hike to Mesa Lake where I camped and took the next day as a lay-over day, walking around the lakes on the bench above Desolation Lake.

On day 5 I hiked down from Mesa to Tomahawk lakes and then downhill to where I intersected the Piute Creek Trail. A short hike down took me to Hutchinson Meadow where I spend the night.

Side note: The mosquitoes are worse this year than I have ever seen them. Maybe that's because although the winter was dry the spring has been warm and wet. I ran out of insect repellent and was going crazy with itching and swatting. When I got to Hutchinson Meadow a woman was sitting there wearing a brimmed hat and netting. I offered to give her everything I owned for the hat. She didn't give me the hat but she did douse me in bug spray and when her companion came up he gave me a bottle of GI-type repellent which he said he didn't like. From then on I smelled terrible but had less mosquito trauma.

On day 6 I headed up French Canyon and at the pass took a side trip to French Lake. It rained a little that afternoon, the first and only precip on the trip. I went back to Honeymoon Lake and pitched my tent in the same spot I used on day 1.

On day 7 it was a short hike back to my car.

Do any fishing at all?

Great TR Burt!

No fishing. I learned years ago that the fish are smarter than I am.

Hey Burt, nice TR and thanks for sharing.
As usual , I was in the vicinity and got this pano from the top of Bear Creek Spire on Friday (July 17th)
You can see (I think) Mt Julius Caesar (lower left of the lake), Lake Italy, and Mt Hilgard at the west end of Lake Italy.
Lake Italy has some really nice sandy shores on the north side....the Italian Rivera of the Sierra
Beautiful country!


Cheers,
Rick

Hi Graham, that's a great pano shot-really makes it clear how isolated Lake Italy is. But if the sandy beach is the Italian Riviera of the Sierra, shouldn't someone put up umbrellas and sell Peroni beer?

I have a 1/2 baked plan to hike in over Lake Italy Pass, out via Gabbot Pass, up the Mono Creek trail and over Mono Pass to the Rock Creek trailhead, then up and over Morgan Pass back to my car.

Hi Burt, Not getting the Gabbot Pass part of your itinerary, what is your planned route?

Joe, IF I do it, and that's a big if at this point, I would start from the Pine Creek TH, go through Granite Park and over Lake Italy Pass to the lake. Gabbott Pass, between mts Gabb and Abbott, is an easy Class 2/3 way out of Lake Italy to 2nd Recess on Mono Creek. (I think it was the first solo cross-country route I ever did.) Then up Mono Creek to the pass, down to Rock Creek TH, make an almost U-turn and head up Little Lakes Valley to Morgan Lake and Morgan Pass then down to my car at Pine Creek. That's a lot of walking to avoid having to hitch-hike back to my car. That's probably more detail than you asked for.

Burt, I'm good with the detail, thanks. I wasn't looking at the map right as to the location of Gabbott Pass,that's what threw me off. Anyways always looking for new ideas for trips, made up with crosscountry are my faves.