Last year I completed Mt. Pinos, Sawmill Mountain, and Sawmill Mountain West as a winter hike with snowshoes; this trip was quite a bit easier as it was a beautiful July afternoon! I had just spent a week in Yosemite National Park, climbed Half-Dome via the Cables, and decided to stop and hike Sawmill Mountain on my drive back from Yosemite.

This hike is the furthest from my home, so stopping and doing this hike as I was driving through saved me a 3-hour trip (each way) later in the season.

I left hot weather and a wildfire in Yosemite and was happy to reach the parking lot at Mt. Pinos Nordic lodge and experience moderate temperatures in the 70s. I geared up and hiked about a half-mile into the trail before I remembered that I had not put my parking pass out; I returned to the car, set out the pass, and re-started my hike. Since I started late in the day, I opted to do Mt. Pinos and Sawmill, passing on Grouse Mountain and the 3-2-1 Challenge. (I'd done it a couple of years ago).

My objective for this trip was to locate and document the Mt. Pinos Azimuth mark. When I was here last year, the mark was covered in snow, and I couldn't find it. Today's recovery was straightforward, and I climbed Sawmill Mountain to bag peak #4 for this year's SoCal 6POP Challenge.

Please visit coachdalehill.com for all my hiking trip reports and Survey Mark Scavenger Hunt results.