I absolutely love this little hike!  If you decide you want to hike to Mt. Pinos and then Sawmill Mountain, there's only one or two reasons not to finish it off with making it to Grouse Mountain to complete the 3-2-1 Challenge.  Trail conditions would be one of them and when I say conditions, I mean snow and ice.  There's always a certain amount of danger inherent with this sport and icy trails certainly increased that danger, but these peaks can be pretty safe in winter months, especially Pinos.  Although the challenge will change drastically once you pass this first peak, so be sure you have some experience before going further.  This really is a good place to sink your teeth into to the joy of hiking in the snow.  Having my son Jake with me, who has never hiked in icy conditions, was certainly something I considered before venturing out past Mt. Pinos.  Sawmill was fairly straight forward if you know the trail, but we had to go off trail so having a navigation tool really is a huge help.  I use Gaia.  Moving past Sawmill we saw little to no broken trail and trudging through some snow slowed our pace.  Gaia helped even more.  Decent footwear, gaiters and microspikes made this section much more comfortable.  The snow started to really come down after leaving Grouse Mountain, it made for a very fun trip.  The celebratory In-N-Out Burger after the hike was better than ever due to the extra effort from the wintry hike!

Click the link to view the video of this hike posted on my YouTube channel, Coleman Outdoors.