Trip type: scramble
Elevation gain: approx. 1,195 feet
Car-to-car time: 5 hours 10 minutes
USGS Quad: Scenic
In Areas: Highway 2 Corridor, Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Trip Report
Lindsay and I parked on Road 310 at the west end of Tonga Ridge trail and hiked up the trail. When we were near the pass between Mount Fin (point 5280+) and Mount Sawyer, we left the trail and ascended via the west ridge of Mount Sawyer. This was a little brushy with nice views and optional rock scrambling.
I was surprised to hear voices as we neared the summit of Mount Sawyer. Who knew there was a trail to the summit? Apparently many people, judging by the number of parties on the summit. These people gave me funny looks when I arrived at the top, one asked me why I took the bushwack route. It's not on either of my maps, but a well-traveled trail ascends the SW side of the mountain.
We spent more time sunning on the summit than we spent hiking to the top. Good trip.
References
- Summitpost.org: Mount Sawyer (I should have read this *before* scrambling it!)
Travel Times
Car-to-car time: 5 hours 10 minutes- 1 hour 39 minutes ascending from Tonga Ridge trail head (west) (3,965') to summit of Sawyer Mountain
- 1 hour 39 minutes descending from summit of Sawyer Mountain (5,160') to Tonga Ridge trail head (west)
Scrambling up the west ridge of Mount Sawyer
Lindsay on west ridge of Mount Sawyer, Mount Fin in the background