The first springtime adventure in the High Sierra since 2015. Long overdue. After a warmup hike/climb of Mt Starr above Mono Pass, it was time to spend some time in a region I had only briefly visited in 2014. A day trip to Sawmill Pass is probably done all the time. But from there I knew little or nothing about the Woods Lake Basin. A Peaks for Freaks trip report showed an awesome view of the North side of Mt Acrodectes. The TR reported that the East Ridge scramble was quite nice. So, with 3 nights of food I headed back up to Sawmill Pass - starting at 4:45am to beat the heat. Couldn't find a campsite below the pass so ended up going all the way over and down to a nice little tarn at about 11,000'.. From there I had a beautiful view of the area and the the peak itself.
View Trip Map for loop details and campsite locations
EARLY MORNING VIEW OF THE EAST SIDE
THE DRAMATIC ENTRANCE TO SAWMILL CANYON
THE FULL VIEW UP SAWMILL CANYON
JEFFREY PINES AT THE EDGE OF SAWMILL MEADOW
MY PACK DWARFED BY THE SIZE OF AN ANCIENT DOUG FIR
ARRIVING AT SAWMILL PASS AFTER A LOW SNOW WINTER
EVENING VIEW FROM UPPER WOODS LAKE BASIN
EVENING TREE ART LOOKING SOUTH
THE SAME TREE FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE
ANOTHER EVENING VIEW SOUTH TOWARDS ACRODECTES
CAMPSITE VIEW AT THE END OF A LONG DAY ONE
SUNSET VIEW OF BAXTER PEAK (R)
MORNING DAY 2
EARLY MORNING VIEW ON THE APPROACH TO ACRODECTES
SUNRISE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF ACRODECTES
STOCKING LAKE BELOW THE NORTH SIDE OF ACRODECTES
CLOSE-UP OF THE NORTH SIDE OF ACRODECTES
VIEW SOUTH PAST BLACK AND MARY AUSTIN TO UNIVERSITY PEAK AND WILLIAMSON FROM THE EAST RIDGE OF ACRODECTES
SCRAMBLING ALONG THE EAST RIDGE OF ACRODECTES
ANOTHER VIEW OF SCRAMBLING ALONG THE EAST RIDGE OF ACRODECTES
LOOKING SOUTH FROM THE EAST RIDGE OF ACRODECTES
SOME COLORFUL LICHEN ON THE EAST RIDGE OF ACRODECTES
LOOKING DOWN THE GULLY THAT MEETS THE EAST RIDGE OF ACRODECTES
SORT OF OFF ROUTE AT THIS POINT
SOUTH TO THE GWD AND THE KING SPUR PEAKS
MT CLARENCE KING (12,861 FT)
NORTH TO THE PALISADES FROM THE TOP OF ACRODECTES
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STEEPER SNOW SLOPES
STOCKING LAKE ON THE WAY DOWN
SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RETURN ROUTE ONCE BELOW STOCKING LAKE
MORNING DAY 4 ON THE WAY BACK UP TO SAWMILL PASS
LOOKING BACK INTO UPPER WOODS LAKE BASIN
LAST VIEW OF ACRODECTES
ANOTHER FAREWELL VIEW OF ACRODECTES
WOODS LAKE BASIN FROM SAWMILL PASS
THE NORMALLY NON-DESCRIPT NORTH SIDE OF BAXTER
THE OLD BARELY LEGIBLE AND THE NEW PARK BOUNDARY SIGNS AT SAWMILL PASS
ANOTHER VIEW OF BAXTER PEAK FROM SAWMILL PASS
A BEAUTIFUL MORNING AT SAWMILL PASS
JUST BELOW THE EAST SIDE OF SAWMILL PASS
WHAT'S LEFT OF MULE LAKE (POND)
LICHEN AND UN-NAMED POINT FROM JUST ABOVE MULE LAKE
OUT OF THE CANYON AND DESCENDING INTO THE DESERT
SOLITARY PINE STANDING TALL
SAWMILL PASS TRAILHEAD AT THE END OF THE DAY