Betsy and I–Team Alpine Tortoise–had another epic Sierra climbing adventure over six glorious days in June 2024 during which we summited two high peaks: White Bear Peak (12,780 ft) and Mt Julius Caesar (13,213 ft)! The backpacking was exhausting, while the peak summiting was exhilarating. We crossed creeks flush with snow melt and saw some seldom-seen animals, such as a sooty grouse, two pikas, and several Yosemite toads. We did not see anyone else for three days! Those of you who are younger than I am, and are not inclined to take as many photos and videos as Team Alpine Tortoise, could do this trip much faster. Here is what we did each day.
Day 0 (Friday, June 14): Drive from the Oakland airport over Tioga Pass to the Pine Creek Trailhead. Spend the night there in Betsy’s van.
Day 1 (Saturday, June 15): Backpack 7.9 miles up the Pine Creek Trail from the trailhead at 7,400 ft to Honeymoon Lake at 10,500 ft. This takes us 10 h 50 min. We do two challenging crossings of Pine Creek.
Day 2 (Sunday, June 16): Backpack 5.6 miles up the Italy Pass Trail from Honeymoon Lake through Granite Park and over Italy Pass at 12,400 ft to a campsite at 11,900 ft on a bench above Jumble Lake. This takes us 11 h, including more than 30 minutes to find our good campsite.
Day 3 (Monday, June 17): Backpack to Italy Lake on an indistinct trail to try to get closer to Bear Creek Spire, our original climbing objective for the following day. Change our objective to the much closer White Bear Peak after finding that going beyond the lake involves a terrible talus traverse. Return to our previous campsite where we spend two more nights. We end up backpacking only 2.9 miles in an exhausting 7 h 20 min.
Day 4 (Tuesday, June 18): Make the first ascent of the year of White Bear Peak (12,780 ft)! We do 3.4 miles of easy climbing with daypacks in 8 h 20 min, including 50 min on the summit. We start very late at 10:40 am to let the snow soften up, since Betsy forgot to bring her crampons.
Day 5 (Wednesday, June 19): Backpack to the elevation of Italy Pass, where we switch to our daypacks for the climb to the summit of Mt Julius Caesar (13,213 ft). Enjoy 50 min on top before going back to retrieve our backpacks and packing over Italy Pass to our last campsite in Granite Park at 11,600 ft. We go 3.5 mi in 9 h 50 min.
Day 6 (Thursday, June 20): Backpack 9.4 mi back to the trailhead in 8 h 50 min. Drive to the Mono Vista RV Park in Lee Vining where we clean up and spend the night in Betsy’s van.
Photos and commentary follow.
Red columbine blooms in the forest. 
White thimbleberry blooms nearby and takes on a pale blue hue in the muted light. 
Red Indian paintbrush and white Nuttall’s lanthanus bloom together as we climb across the drier slopes above the forest. 
Royal penstemon adds a brilliant blue to the trail. 
Betsy rests on a giant tree stump at a switchback. This stump seems out of place, since nearby trees are smaller. 
The north side of the lower canyon is dominated by the giant Pine Creek Mine. Operations stopped in 2001, but for many years before that it was one of the two biggest tungsten producers in the country. 
I climb higher on the trail and leave the mine behind with Owens Valley and the White Mountains in the distance. 
Pine Creek tumbles down the canyon in this impressive cascade. We will cross this roaring creek twice later in the day. 
Betsy refills our water bottles from a side stream after a long dry stretch of trail. 
We enter the John Muir Wilderness. 
Pink flowers of Newberry’s penstemon are nestled among the rocks. 
The time has come to cross Pine Creek. The footbridge is a log that is underwater at its far end, so we opt for the stock crossing. 
Betsy wades across the creek in her bare feet.
Day 2: Sunday, June 16. Today is Father’s Day, and Betsy and I are ready to start another day of backpacking. 
We have a nice view of Honeymoon Lake from the trail. 
Betsy wades across another creek in her bare feet. The water is colder than the day before because we are higher! 
Betsy lies down to warm her feet.
We can cross this creek with our boots on. 
I put on my gaiters and cross the snow in Granite Park. 
Italy Pass and Mt Julius Caesar come into view. 
I climb the last snowfield before the pass. 
Betsy takes a break at the pass and is dwarfed by Mt Julius Caesar, which we will climb three days hence. 
The imposing peak on the left on the other side of the pass is White Bear Peak, which we will climb two days hence. We pack across the snowfield to a campsite above frozen Jumble Lake in the center. 
We search a long time for a campsite before Betsy finds this nice one on a sandy bench with running water nearby.
Day 3: Monday, June 17. Betsy mixes orange Skratch on a cold morning. 
We pack down past Jumble Lake. 
Lake Italy comes into view. 
The snow steepens so I put on crampons. 
We reach Lake Italy and find much of it still frozen. Mt Hilgard is beyond to the west. 
Bear Creek Spire is to the northeast on the right skyline. Our intended approach to it is along the shore of the lake, which is blocked by terrible talus. 
We look behind us and see White Bear Peak beckoning, so we decide to climb it instead the next day. 
Betsy climbs past Jumble Lake, with White Bear Peak above, and is almost back to camp.
Day 4: Tuesday, June 18. We are ready to climb after waiting until 10:40 am for the snow to soften up. White Bear Peak is behind us. 
Our route goes up the snow above camp and traverses to the right beyond the edge of this photo. 
The going is easy on the snow. 
The snow traverse continues on the left to the final climb on rock. 
I put on crampons and pull ahead of Betsy 
Betsy reaches the edge the snow traverse. 
I follow Betsy on the rock. 
Betsy is on the summit of White Bear Peak (12,780 ft)! 
Betsy finds the summit register 🙂 
Betsy enters our climb in the register. We make the first ascent of the year! 
We celebrate the climb with our traditional Dr Pepper toast 🙂 
This view to the north looks down to Jumble Lake and our camp above it and then beyond to Bear Creek Spire and Mt Julius Caesar, right next to each other. 
Going down is easier than going up 🙂 
We have a dramatic view of Jumble Lake just before we get back to camp.
Day 5: Wednesday, June 19. Our wet clothes from climbing on snow the day before have dried overnight. 
A tiny tree is taking advantage of climate change to grow at a higher elevation. 
I wash up in the small stream next to our camp. My pants feature a tape patch that Betsy added after I blew out the seat on rocks the day before. 
Betsy waits for me while we pick our route to the top of Mt Julius Caesar. We decide to climb directly up to the west (left) summit, which is the higher one. 
I cross the last patch of snow before getting to the rock where I switch from my backpack to my lighter daypack.
Betsy conquers Mt Julius Caesar (13,213 ft)! 
I join her on the summit. Mt Dade is on the left, and Bear Creek Spire is on the right. 
We celebrate with our Dr Pepper toast 🙂 Despite an extensive search, we do not find a summit register. 
This is the view back to where we started the day above Jumble Lake. 
Betsy starts down the mountain. 
Betsy continues down with Italy Pass behind her. 
I reach Italy Pass wearing warmer clothes as the temperature is dropping. 
I head down the pass in the fading light. 
Betsy finds a nice campsite for us in Granite Park. 
Betsy organizes her gear in the tent after dinner as night falls.
Day 6: Thursday, June 20. This is our campsite in Granite Park before we pack up for the last time. 
The ground before we get to this snowfield is covered with snowballs that were the tops of suncups. 
The scenery in Granite Park is spectacular! Mt Humphreys towers in the distance. 
A lonely western wallflower adds some color. 
I take a photo of some more wildflowers. This is one reason we are so slow 🙂 
Betsy crosses the outlet of a small lake on big rocks. 
I slip on a steep snow traverse and do an unintentional sitting glissade. 
Betsy takes a video of rushing water at a small waterfall. This is another reason we are slow 🙂 
I traverse the upper crossing of Pine Creek, this time carrying my own, lightened backpack 🙂 The tops of the rocks are exposed now, whereas they were under water when we packed in. 
Prickly pear flowers appear as we near the trailhead. 
Betsy and I get back to her van to conclude another epic adventure!