Could use some advice on Sawteeth

[steppinwolf]

I've done the more "road accessible" 11 or 12 peaks such as Algonquin, Giant, etc and am considering a hike with a friend who's in good aerobic shape but has only done a few high peaks. We're researching Sawteeth and have heard differing versions from people who weren't sure....some saying it's very steep, as in scary steep, and some saying it's not that bad if you take your time. Would appreciate any feedback by some of you veteran climbers who have done Sawteeth, the best way to hike it or perhaps if we should tackle something less formidable in steepness for our next high peak.

I've done McKenzie, which I know isn't a high peak, a couple times recently and thought that the main section was pretty steep, and was wondering if Sawteeth is even steeper. I guess what we're looking for for our next high peak is something with a good view that's not one of the more road accessible peaks, yet that's not more than 9-13 miles round trip. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[bushwacker]

sawteeth is steep, but nothing scary or that hard.
plenty of views if you take the scenic trail from the lake.
it is a long climb up, but definitely worth it.

 

[Doc McPeak]

I'll be doing the Scenic Trail for the first time tomorrow, but have done it from the Pyramid junction (up and back) a couple of times. Not particularly steep going in that way. In fact I've always combined it with Gothics. However the Scenic is supposed to be good and steep. I'll post a report and mention thoughts on both sides for you.

 

[Rick]

The Scenic trail is steep, especially going down (If you do a counter clockwise loop) but I never thought of Sawteeth as anything extreme or even difficult.
I just remember being tired as we came back along the Ausable Lake and then hitting the road for 3-3.5 miles of huffing on the way out - What really pained me was the bus drove by (This wasn't long after we couldn't take the bus any longer) and I was hoping the driver would take pity and just pick our tired souls up and drop us just our of site of the gate. But Alas, to no avail.
Good luck on your climb!!!

 

[steppinwolf]

Thanks for the info on Sawteeth. It's very helpful. We're not planning on going until the second week of July so I'll be looking for some more input if anyone wants to add it.

Doc, have a great hike tomorrow. Will be looking forward to your report. Thanks.

 

[mavs00]

Agree with the above........

The up the scenic trail down the weld trail (from the pyramid/sawteeth col) is a great loop. It's steep but not scary, as described. I would even consider heading up to pyramid if you had the stamina for a little extra. The views are "by far" worth it.

I have a pretty detailed hike description on my site that may help. Just ignore the Pyramid and Gothics info. Trip report is -HERE-

 

[Raymond]

We climber over Sawteeth back in August 1999, not long before Hurricane Floyd did a number on it. I think some nondescript rock beside the trail was the true high point.

Anyway, we went up the Weld Trail (Pyramid side) and down the Scenic Trail; counterclockwise, as Rick said. My son didn't have any particular problems, and he was just seven years old at the time. I do recall one drop down some rocks; a couple guys who were headed up (and changed their minds when we told them how much farther they had to go) helped Cam get down there. A little lower down was a wooden ladder. Maybe two. There was a steep spot on the Weld Trail, just before the summit, but there wasn't anything scary about it. Just an eroded stretch, and for all I know the trail my have been rerouted away from it because off all the blowdowns on the top.

We probably wasted some time checking out each of the numbered scenic overlooks on the descent, but they seemed worth it at the time. We didn't get a particularly early start on this one, so we walked out the Lake Road in the dark, geting back to the car about 9:30 p.m., I think. The Noon Mark Diner was still open, anyway.

I've actually had a couple 8x10 photos that were taken on this hike (one on top, one at an overlook) standing on my chest of drawers the last several years.

 

[steppinwolf]

My friend wasn't sure if he'd have enough time to do it next week, so my wife and I decided to do Sawteeth yesterday after reading your input in this thread, and we did the clockwise loop going up the Scenic Trail and down the Weld trail. It was steep going up but definitely not as steep as what I thought it could be from looking at Burnside's graph at the start of his Sawteeth chapter.

I thought the steep section of McKenzie Mt, which I did recently, was actually a little more of a steeper ascent, although we were definitely huffing and puffing going up Sawteeth yesterday and were taking more than our fair share of short timeouts catching our breath and stopping to enjoy the fantastic outlooks over the lake.

Beautiful hike. Thanks for all your help. BTW, mavs, I've enjoyed your site for quite a while and find it very helpful. We didn't opt for the Gothics part, as you suggest in your Sawteeth chapter, because we got a late start and we weren't sure if we had enough gas left in our tanks anyway .

 

[mavs00]

Thanks................

Thanks............ That's very kind of you to mention. It pretty much why I put it up there. Glad you found use for it............ Also, if you ever find your way back up that way (or on top of Gothics), you MUST find your way to the top of Pyramid.

I never understood what poetry was all about, until I saw the view from Pyramid . ITS THAT GOOD. Literally will take your breath away.

Peace, and glad you had a good hike.