Hike Log

Sawmill Mountain Winter Trek (aka Misadventure in Deep Snow ?)

Trailhead:

Three Peaks Trailhead From Nordic Station

Type of Hike:

Day hike

Trail Conditions:

Obstacles on trail

ROAD:

Road suitable for all vehicles

Bugs:

No bugs

Snow:

Trail snow-covered at times – Gear and expertise recommended

Link:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/sawmill-mountain-snowy-mis-adventure-d46e1fc?u=i

I wrote this review in AllTrails and is specifically for those who may want to hike to the so-called tree peaks from the Nordic Station in the winter. At this time, the whole trail is covered with snow and mid-morning temperatures are in the high 30s. The Three Peaks Trailhead starts behind the vehicle metal access gate at the start of the Condor Summit Road to the back and left of the Nordic Station. From the parking lot, all the ground and the whole trail are covered with more than a foot of snow. It is closer to two feet in some areas. The Three Peaks trail follows the Condor Summit Road until you reach the junction to turn right towards the ridge and around to the summit of Mt. Pinos. My wife and I missed the junction because of the snow and continued along Condor Summit Road. It is about 1.5 miles from the start of the trail to the point along the snow-covered road where the observation tower on the top of Mt. Pinos can be seen from below. Since our goal is to summit Sawmill Mountain, my wife and I decide against finding our way back to the summit of Mt. Pinos and continue for another mile along the Condor Summit Road until the Mt. Pinos Condor Observation Site. The trail up until this point, or about 2.5 miles from the Nordic Station, is made up of snow-packed tracks created by foot traffic from hikers the previous days. From this point, using the downloaded trail map from AllTrails, we follow the snow-covered Vincent Tumamait Trail towards Sawmill Mountain. From the trailhead to the start of the switchbacks, we can still see the outline of the trail even with the snow. But as we get lower down the trail the snow also gets deeper. All we can see are maybe day-old shoe marks embedded in almost two feet of snow. The shoe marks didn’t follow where the trail should be but rather indicate that whoever was here the previous time was also trying to find their way around just like us. Using our downloaded AllTrails map we often have to create our own tracks and then find ourselves rejoining the old tracks. We trudge in knee-deep snow going down for about 500 feet and another 500 feet up for the mile or so until we reach the summit of Sawmill Mountain. It is tiring especially on our legs but so far we feel ok. But then, we have to do the same trek in deep snow for another mile coming back. That’s when we start feeling really tired we’re already dragging our feet out of the deep snow each time. Without the snow, I understand why this trail is popular with avid hikers. The views at the top are gorgeous and the hike itself is more moderate than difficult. However, based on this experience, I would not recommend hiking to Sawmill Mountain in deep snow during the winter. This hike experience will be much better and more fun when the temperatures are warmer and the trails are dry. We will definitely hike this trail again (minus the snow) for next year's SoCal Six-Pack of Peak Challenge.

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