Climbing Sawtooth Peak, Sequoia NP

L

lambertiana

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I have done a few summits with a friend of mine, and he really wanted to climb Sawtooth Peak (12,343') in Sequoia NP. It is clearly visible from the valley, and I have told him that it is one of my favorite summits. So I planned a trip for him. As luck would have it, his work schedule changed and he couldn't make it, but that didn't stop me from going anyway, with eight others who wanted to tag along. One of those is Russell, known on this forum as Hikingmano.

Friday afternoon we drove up to Mineral King in Sequoia NP. As we got near, we could see Sawtooth standing proud
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Here is the crew at the trailhead. One of my friends brought his 10 year old son along, and he was a real trooper
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As we started up the trail toward our destination for the day (Monarch Lake, 10,400') we could see Mineral King Valley
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As we got higher we could look across to the ridge on the west side of Mineral King
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Finally we were getting closer and could see Sawtooth up close
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There were some interesting gnarled foxtail pines in that area
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Our camp at lower Monarch Lake, in the evening light
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Russell got a really taught pitch on his shelter for the night
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Lower Monarch Lake, as the sun went down. Note the size of the boulders next to the tent on the right
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After a star-filled night (for some in the group it was their first time to see the Milky Way really stand out clearly) we got up early this morning and headed for the summit. The first 1200' vertically was a slog up a sand/gravel slope, and it was really tiring. But once we got to the top of the ridge things got better. This is Sawtooth Peak from Sawtooth Pass.
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From there is was just a matter of traversing the ridge and then heading up to the summit block. The main reason I like Sawtooth so much is that it is a very small, pointed summit. You can't go more than a few steps in any direction and you really feel like you are on top of something. Here are some shots of people on top. In the second picture, Russell is on the far right.
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Views from the summit. First, northeast toward the Kaweahs
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North
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West
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South
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I neglected to get any pictures looking east toward the Whitney group, but here is one from a previous trip
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The summit is composed of some large blocks, here is the group descending from the top
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On the way down we took a different route that allowed us to visit upper Monarch Lake, which I find to be a very picturesque lake
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Once we got back to lower Monarch Lake, we packed up and headed back down to the trailhead. Just as we got back to camp, I was hit with the worst case of altitude sickness that I have had in a long time, so the trip down was not a pleasant time for me. But, despite that, we all had a great time and enjoyed some beautiful scenery.
 
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Thanks for the excellent photos! Man, that is God's country right there...simply beautiful and breath-taking!

ROCK6
 
Great photos and route description. Love the late light camp shots.

Jeff
 
You truly have some amazing places available for hiking. Thanks for sharing these trips, reading peoples' trip reports from the high mountains is as good as it will get for me this year.
 
John, excellent pictures as usual! :thumbup: I'll add a few of my own later, if any aren't redundant. I've got a few from the day before as well, when I day hiked to Mosquito Lakes.

I'd like to thank you again for having me along on this trip; it was truly spectacular :) Climbing Sawtooth was an amazing experience, definitely a highlight of the trip. I'm looking forward to tagging along on more of your trips, and exploring Sequoia and Kings Canyon a bit more on my own too.

I didn't realize you were really suffering from altitude sickness after we returned from the summit. I thought you were just eager to get down the trail and head home. I hope your 9 day trip coming up presents no problems for you.


ETA: Let me contribute one quick video for now. Views from Sawtooth Peak Summit, watch in 720 :thumbup:

[video=youtube;oOzzZ96oLQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOzzZ96oLQA[/video]
 
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wow. just awesome. a place i may never get to. so, i thank you for all the pics.
 
Don M said:
Worse than the first time on Whitney?
Click to expand...

Not quite as bad, but close.

Russell - I didn't start to feel it until just after we passed Upper Monarch Lake on the way down. Then it hit hard and fast. But I started feeling better again just before we got back to the trailhead. I normally feel a little altitude sickness when I do trips like this, but not that bad.

That video gives a good perspective on how small the summit it. What you see on the 360 view is all there is. Where he starts is a 1400' vertical drop.
 
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Great pics! That last part going up the summit looks scary! I wish I could have come along but I don't think I would have made it.
 
Ray, I got to check out a couple samples of your work :D I handled John's knife and the one you made for Stan's son, Nate. They only reaffirmed my desire to pick up a knife from you one of these days :) Your work is so clean :thumbup:
 
Awesome T/R!!!! What a great hike - looks like some serious sunscreen would have been going on! Great weather and good company always makes the trail more pleasant.
 
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