After picking up our permit in Mammoth Lakes, we started hiking from the Pine Creek Trailhead around noon. It was very hot.

The old Tungsten mine near the trailhead. There’s some fascinating history and information about the mine on this website.

A mineshaft of the Brownstone Mine in the rock along the trailhead.

Pine Creek cascading down a waterfall below Pine Lake.

The view of Pine Creek and the Owens Valley below from near the top of the initial climb to Pine Lake. From the trailhead, the trail climbs 2,500’ to the first lake along Pine Creek, Pine Lake. The climb is never particularly steep, it’s largely on an old mining road, but the heat of the Owens Valley can make it tough.

Great alpine views from Pine Lake.

A lovely spot along Pine Creek, just above Pine Lake.

A lovely Brook Trout caught in Honeymoon Lake.

We made it to Honeymoon Lake by mid afternoon and decided to camp there, rather than push on to a higher elevation. We enjoyed a good afternoon fishing in Honeymoon Lake before the mosquitos set in.

Honeymoon Lake.

Upper Pine Lake.

We spotted this animal flying around near camp and debated whether it was a hummingbird or a moth for a little while. Eventually we settled on moth, but only after getting a good picture of it. Turns out, it was a White-Lined Sphinx Moth, and we weren’t the first to struggle with this question.

Sunset on one of the mountains on the Pine Creek / Rock Creek divide.

Indian Paintbrush on the shore of Honeymoon Lake.

This evening, mosquitos descended on us, forcing us into our tent shortly after dinner. Despite it being mid-August, they were still full-on summer mosquitos. We hoped for some relief over the next few days.