Outstanding hike and outstanding community at the village of Pine Mountain Club to spend the evening and have dinner and mix with the locals! The hike starts at high elevation (8348 ft) and at the highest point reaches 8847 ft at Sawmill mountain (included in the six pack of peaks challenge, so one more done for me!). So not a lot of absolute elevation gain. But there is a lot of up and down in between the three peaks. There is some shade, but more exposed than not. Overall distance from trailhead to Grouse mountain (with short detours to Mt. Pinos and Sawmill Mountain) is about 5.5 miles, making the out and back about 11 miles–slightly more than the 10.3 miles reported on AllTrails. We continued from Grouse Mountain and ended up at Cerro Noroeste and were picked up by a friend there. Made it a bit more challenging really because the last mile to the pickup point on Cerro Noroeste Rd was quite steep. The toughest part of the one way hike, really. Each peak has its own characteristic, with Mount Pinos the least interesting and the other two equally very interesting. The day was windy, but the wind only affected us on the peaks and now in between. The hike to Mt. Pinos was really easy, at only 1.7 miles. We got there before we knew it. From Pinos to Sawmill was the most challenging part of the hike, with some narrow paths and a more continuous uphill as it is the highest of the three peaks. From there to Grouse was quite moderate with a short bit of steep hike near the peak. As mentioned, the hike from Grouse to Cerro Noroeste was a bit tough near the end but quite enjoyable in between. Highly recommended hike. Easier than the AllTrail-stated “hard” rating for the out and back of the three peaks. I would rate it as “moderately hard,” or just moderate, really. Weather was excellent–a bit cold on the peaks but would get a bit too warm on the trail as we were dressed for continuous cold. Could get cold with lots of snow according to the locals during traditional winter months. On a personal note: we stayed at the Old Bear BnB hosted by Adrianna and Jim. Very friendly people. Several coffee shops to get a shot of espresso in the afternoon and several good eateries for dinner, with the Perch in the Pines seemingly the most popular, and we had dinner there. It is the bear country and evidently there are a lot bear activities in the area, according to the locals. Keeping food in the car is not recommended and we heard stories of black bears approaching any food source nearby. We did not see any, and were okay with that! The 2400 residents, the sample of whom we met, seemed quite nice and friendly. Being that it was near Halloween there were live bands in the village center and howling at the full moon on the roof of the Perch! Overall, a great hike and a great weekend.