Hiked: 6/5/2022
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip on dirt road and trail
Summit Elevation: 8831' (Pinos), 8818' (Sawmill)
Prominence: 4800' (Pinos), 418' (Sawmill)
Elevation Gain: 1353'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.1
Round trip time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Los Pinos Trailhead
Difficulty: Easy
Mount Pinos (HPS #37) is the highest peak in Los Padres National Forest. Despite being a simple stroll down a dirt road, Pinos sports 4800' of prominence as the range high point. Nearby Sawmill Mountain (HPS #38) is a scant 13' lower with 1/10 the prom. Both are HPS Star Emblem Peaks. These mountains ticked off multiple boxes for me. The drive was paved all the way to the Pinos trailhead.
There was some kind of dog training event in the parking lot when we arrived. At least 20 dogs were involved. We didn't engage with the crowd to find out what it was about, just quietly started up the trail. The trailhead was at 8300', the weather cool and sunny. The short hike to Mount Pinos was on dirt road and took about 45 minutes. The benchmark was there but beat up a little. Large solar arrays and a radio tower were the highlights. Views were good in two directions, but relatively flat looking west. We took a few photos, then continued on toward Sawmill.
There was a condor viewing area at the start of the single track trail to Sawmill and a few other info plaques. The trail was officially named Tumamait after a Native American storyteller. Though the drop to the saddle between Pinos and Sawmill was less than 500', the trail made wide, shallow switchbacks to reach it. Two short hill sections took use to the top of Sawmill. At the summit was a famous, 10' cairn, exceeding the impressive one on Dawn's Peak. Views in general were better than Mount Pinos. Two other groups were taking a break at the summit. I couldn't find any marks around the summit area. We signed the register before heading back. We passed one of the parties we had seen on Sawmill just after the saddle. I decided to leave the trail to scramble up some class 2 boulders while Leisa continued through the switchbacks. I met her on the trail above saving 5 minutes for the effort. It added a dash of butter to an otherwise plain toast hike. Mount Pinos was the most pleasant and gentle area I've seen in Los Padres.
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