Sawtooth Mountain (SPring & Summer)

Sawtooth Mountain, named for its shape that resembles the edge of a saw blade and visible from some areas in Boulder, is the farthest east point in the Continental Divide. The route starts at Beaver Reservoir, follows 3.3 miles of 4WD roads to Coney Flats Trailhead, follows a broad pleasant path through forest and tundra, climbs steeply to Buchanan Pass, and then meanders over half a mile of open tundra to reach Sawtooth's flat summit. At 14.1 miles and 3300 feet gain/loss, it makes for a good day of exercise.

Since I chose to do the route in the spring, the approach still had a fair bit of snow. This made foot travel a bit more effort, but also resulted in solitude and pretty snowy landscape and views. My car to car time was just under 8.5 hours, which includes a 30 minute break on the summit reading the register, enjoying the view, and having a snack. I was slowed down by snow on the trail and postholing on the way out, and speeded up by being solo and ditching my pack 1000 feet below the summit for the final stretch to the summit.

Below is a sampling of photos from my gorgeous morning summit lap. 

I was just two days out from my attempt on the "LA Freeway", a 38(or so)-mile ridgeline traverse from Longs Peak to Arapaho Peaks. I had wanted to go in July when there was still water at certain spots along the ridge, but a strong monsoon pattern in July had pushed my attempt into August. Knowing that water was unlikely to be found along the route, I decided it would be wise to stash some water on the ridge. Buchanan Pass—which I predicted to be roughly the halfway point and perhaps a good place to spend my one night on the traverse—seemed like an ideal location. So I made a morning hike up there to stash a gallon. I also tagged the summit of Sawtooth. My car to car time was about 6 hours and 15 minutes, quite a bit faster than my spring ascent.

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