Four days later and I'm still savoring Sawmill Mountain!

From the wildflowers, to the sun hitting the hillsides, this hike had all the views.

I started my hike on Monday, July 5th at approximately 6:30 AM from the Mt. Pinos Nordic Base. It was an absolutely beautiful morning to make my way through the forest canopy, before the trail opens up to the valley below Mt. Pinos. Weather was clear and bugs were hardly noticeable.

From the radio tower atop the summit of Mt. Pinos, there are stunning views of the valley below and the trail you just hiked up from. From here, as you continue on through Chumash Wilderness you will make a quick descent down switchbacks into the basin between Mt. Pinos and Sawmill Mountains. The trail ascends again and then flattens out along the ridgeline to Sawmill Mountain.

I missed the right hand turnout to the ridgeline at first, but thankfully AllTrails alerted me that I was going off trail and I was able to quickly correct my mistake about a quarter mile from my destination.

The 8.1 mile journey took me 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete, with 2:50 of that being moving the time, the other hour spent soaking in the sights and taking as many photos as possible. I saw about a dozen hikers on my way back out, but I seemed to be the early bird and was lucky enough to have the peak to myself for about 25 minutes before running the downhill portion to make up time heading back to my car.

10/10 would definitely hike again — See you soon, 3-2-1 Challenge!