It was raining in LA/OC, so I decided to go a little further than usual to do the 3-2-1 Hiking Challenge in Fraiser Park – 3 peaks, 2 counties, 1 day:

-Mount Pinos – elev. 8,847′ (highest point in Ventura County)
-Sawmill Mountain – elev. 8,822′ (highest point in Kern County
-Grouse Mountain – elev. 8,583′ – because highpointing two counties in one hike is just not enough!

Sawmill Mountain is also one of the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks, and it’s also a good choice as a first peak as it’s not that steep at any one spot and it’s about 1,500’ elevation gain (2,000’ if you do all three Peaks). Be sure to check the weather and road conditions though, I went week before last and it was in the 30s( low to mid 20s with wind chill). There are also snow gates and snow chains may be required as the trailhead is at 8300’. An Adventure pass or day pass is needed.

The drive to the trail head is very beautiful and has lots of trees and really gives off a forest vibe. The parking lot itself is massive and was almost empty when I got there. There are multiple trails going from Mount Pinos Nordic base so make sure to follow Alltrails where it is called “Three Peaks from Nordic Station” or other GPS or map guidance to make sure you are on the right trail. Cell signal is pretty spotty so I would recommend downloading the offline map before you get to the trailhead.

Back to the hike itself, I am glad I did the 3-2-1 challenge as I only saw a pair of bicyclists near the beginning and one other person at the summit of Mount Pinos. Other than that, I had the entire trail to myself and I just loved the serenity!

The trail starts as a wide trail on a fire road, but even so, there are lots of pine trees around and it definitely has a forrest vibe to it. The fire road will continue until you get near Mount Pinos. There you have a choice of using a single track trail (Alltrails uses this path) or continue on the fire road to Mount Pinos. There isn’t much of a view at Mount Pinos but you will know you arrived by the telecommunications equipment. A little past Mount Pinos is a condor observation point, though sadly, I didn’t see any. After that, the trail turns into a single track trail . You will enter the Chumash Wilderness a little bit past Mount Pinos. Be on the lookout for the turnoff to Sawmill, which can be easy to miss(see the pictures). You will know you are at Sawmill by the huge cairn. Sawmill also has the best views of the three peaks. The last leg to Grouse is the most difficult, but not overly difficult by any means. There is a branch off to Grouse (see the pictures). The trail just ends once you get near the summit and I had to essentially go off trail and follow the Alltrails guidance to the teepee with the sign demarking the summit of Grouse Mountain, which is essentially in the middle of the forrest. In fact the whole section from Sawmill is very forested and beautiful.

Overall, it’s a beautiful hike through the forrest with lots of pine trees. This is a great starter peak if you are doing the Six Pack of Peaks, and also a good option if you love the less traveled road.