Grouse Mtn, Sawmill Mtn, and Sheep Camp

The view into Pine Mountain Club from the Cerro Noroeste trailhead

Finally. A day without some superseding priority. But too hot for any low-land trails. So up to 8k and the rolling forest between Mt Abel (Cerro Noroeste) and Mt Pinos. The Tumamait, one of my favorite standard trails in the SLP

I prefer to start this route from it's western trailhead at Mt Abel. A rapid descent into a dense cedar forest ends in a moderate climb up the western flank of Grouse Mountain. The trail ascends through a thick collection of spruce, pine, and cedar and during this climb I spooked a pair of young deer who quickly disappeared into the woods. The air here is simply delicious, dry and richly scented with pine. New growth saplings have sprung up everywhere, mostly spruce. Eventually the path levels off, passing beneath the summit of Grouse, where a simple rock cairn indicates the use trail to the summit. Cresting the peak I spooked a pair of young deer. The view from the top looks southwest over an ocean of trees toward Reyes Peak. Looking northeast through the trees one can see my next stop, Sawmill Mountain.

View south from the western trailhead.

New growth spruce.

The use trail ascending through cedars to the summit of Grouse.

The view toward Reyes Peak from the summit of Grouse.

The rounded summit of Mt Pinos, from the west.

On the way to Sawmill I spotted a pair of older does. I paused to watch these graceful ladies fade into the woods before resuming the gentle climb up to the summit. On arrival I realized that the prayer flags adorning the summit cairn were looking pretty sad, so I set about restringing the whole arrangement. This is a unique little spot. The cairn, the open views to the north, the ever-present breeze, all of it combines to make Sawmill feel very different than the typical Los Padres summit experience. Granted, there's nothing difficult about getting here, but some places don't need to put one through their paces to be rewarding.

View from Sawmill. The big peak dominating the right side of the frame is Antimony. Following that ridge left and past the nameless middle hump, one can see Eagle Rest Peak.

The newly rehabilitated cairn on Sawmill.

On the return trip I detoured down the trail which leads to Sheep Camp, Lilly Meadows, and all the way down to the Boy Scout Camp in Lockwood Valley. It had been many, many years since I'd seen Sheep Camp and fond memories came percolating up from the ether. This is one of the quintessential Los Padres campsites, a small vale tucked beneath whispering cedars, graced by a flowering meadow beside a seasonal ground spring. A short climb above the camp reveals stunning westward views, a primo sunset spot. Sheep has a well deserved reputation for beautiful seclusion. It is also a notorious wind tunnel, but today was perfect. After a walk around I sat very still on a log, just enjoying the place. Within about five minutes the character of the place came alive. Dozens of little birds, woodpeckers, and jays forgot that I was there, and a chorus of chatter quickly rose to ridiculous heights. A couple chipmunks darted out from behind a large cedar and a huge gray squirrel descended from a hidden perch. I took it all in for about twenty minutes before turning back uphill to the main trail.

A mild, pleasurable day. One without challenges, struggle, or oppressive heat. Sometimes this prickly forest of ours is a real giver.

The trail down to Sheep Camp.

Sheep Camp.

And the meadow immediately below Sheep Camp.

Cuyama Wash dominating the distant view, from somewhere east of Grouse.

The San Emigdio Mesa and Cuyama Badlands, taken from Cerro Noroeste Road.

Tumamait Trail, 05/18/13

Ever kick yourself for not having been somewhere? That's how I felt while walking the vista-licious Tumamait Trail last weekend. This route connects Mt Abel/Cerro Noroeste with Mt Pinos and offers brief side excursions to the summits of Sawmill Mountain and Grouse Mountain. A nice high walk in the pines, what could be better?

Lockwood Valley at sunrise

Since this is a ridge walk, there are two directions which this trail can be done from: Mt Pinos Rec Area east to west, or from Mt Abel east toward Pinos and back (leaving a car at both ends would be a significant hassle). Since I was planning on spending the night at the beautiful Campo Alto atop Abel/C. Noroeste (Mt Abel is the old name for this mountain. The name was changed to Cerro Noroeste ({northeast mountain}), I figured I'd do the route from Abel and return the same way. This was a good call as I prefer to get as much uphill out of the way at the beginning of the day as possible, and there's a good bit more of the steep stuff on the way to Pinos than there is on the return trip. This ridge is about the southern most remnant of the Sierras and the flora and geology are very reminiscent of the Edison Lakes, Bass Lake, and many other parts of the Southern Sierra. Pretty country. 

Tumamait Trail

From the Abel side of things the trail is accessed from a trailhead around half a mile back down the road from the mountain top environs of Campo Alto. I dropped in at sunrise and descended through the cedars and Jeffrey Pine. It was pretty cold and windy already, with a 10-15mph breeze blowing out of the north. The trail bottomed out at Puerto Suelo and started climbing a burly track up the west side of Grouse Mountain through increasingly dense and rugged pine forest. So far I was loving this trail, where it went and how it got there. 

I figured on just walking all the way to the summit of Pinos and hitting the side dishes on the way back. The sporty little climb up Grouse ceded to a rolling, pine crusted ridge. As far as the forest scenery goes, the best of it lies in this Grouse Mtn neighborhood. I blew by the well marked take-off (cairn) for the summit of Grouse, continued downhill for a bit and started up the gentle climb to Sawmill.

Sawmill Mtn from Mt Pinos

I rolled past the junction for the Sawmill summit (also obvious) and started a long and steep downhill off the peak's east side. A last gentle climb put me over the top of Pinos. I walked over to the communication tower where two USGS markers can be found. After that I headed back to the "wildlife viewing area" where I hunkered out of the wind for a few minutes before turning back the way I'd come. The summit of Pinos is sparsely forested and the views are expansive. It took two hours to do the 4.5 miles from Abel to Pinos, after which I stopped paying any attention to the clock. Total mileage on the day for this round trip route comes to around 11 miles.

San Emigdio Peak (originally mis-ID'd as Tecuya) and Pine Mountain Club from Sawmill

I reversed my route down Pinos, climbed back up the short grind to the take off for Sawmill, and proceeded over to the summit which is only about five minutes off the Tumamait Trail. The novelty of this summit's decor sets it apart from all other SLP peaks, the main feature being a tall summit cairn very reminiscent of the Buddhist prayer cairn at the Everest Base Camp. Tibetan prayer flags catch the wind and carry prayers away, strands of the flags draped from the cardinal points. This cairn and the prayer flags kind of touched me. I completely understood the impulse behind its creation. Some of you may know that I'm a true blue atheist but I am also a long time devotee of Buddhist philosophy. Harmony and acceptance are hard states to achieve, but places like this summit are gateways to higher thought and this cairn is an expression of non-deified spirituality.  

Sawmill Mountain 8,518'

I spent at least an hour sitting by myself in the lee side of the cairn. This is a good place. I emptied my mind of all but the sound of the wind in the trees and the manic flapping of the prayer flags. It became a peaceful, restorative hour. Everybody needs something. I found mine that sunny morning on Sawmill. Guess I'm easy to please. I really liked the energy of this place. Some time later I reluctantly left Sawmill, catching the beautiful forest trail back toward Grouse.

Sawmill Mountain summit cairn

Grouse Mountain summit cairn

The short climb up Grouse is a trip through pristine forest. Huge old pines dot the hillside and the needles are inches thick. The use trail to the top is pretty easy to follow, short and scenic. The top of Grouse is very forested and the views are somewhat limited. Grouse Mtn's real treat lies in the getting there. this is a very pretty little slice of forest. The top is graced by a small rock pile and a register can be found at the base. After a break on Grouse  I headed back to the main trail and continued out to Mt Abel where I was spending the night. I liked everything about this trail.

Grouse Mountain 8,582'

A few words of advice to those interested in doing this dayhike. The average elevation of this route is about 8,500 feet, so if you're driving up from sea level it's likely that you'll notice the altitude. Another thing to keep in mind is that there's probably a 30 degree temperature differential between Frazier Park and the top of Pinos, so just understand that even in summer it can get cold up here. And I already mentioned that I personally think the best way to enjoy this route is to start at Abel.

Coms tower, Mt Abel

Campo Alto on Cerro Noroeste

The other part of the day I wanted to mention has to do with sunsets. More specifically, the best place to watch one. Sunset Point at Campo Alto has got to be one of the best places to catch the last light of day. From anywhere in the campground just wander west to that end of the mountain. There you'll see a huge pine with an equally huge branch coming off it's left side. Beyond the tree is a small grassy meadow, a beautiful place to plant your butt for the show.

Approaching Sunset Point

Sunset view due west toward Santa Maria and the Pacific.

Many more photos from this weekend at Flickr.

The end.