Sawtooth Mountain (SPring)
Date: May 17, 2022 (Tue)Trip Report #: 534Partner: solo
Route: Snow-covered Beaver Creek trail on east side (~14.1 miles round trip, ~3300 ft gain/loss, snowy)
A spring ascent of one of the classic Indian Peaks summit hikes.
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.
