Robinson Peak

The Sawtooth Ridge region is one of the most scenic in all of the Sierra. I visited this area earlier in the summer climbing Matterhorn Peak, Finger Peaks and Kettle Peak in an aesthetic loop – the “Sawtooth Loop.”  The highlight view was from Finger Peaks with a complete panorama of impressive Sawtooth Ridge from the south. On this outing I ascended infrequently visited Robinson Peak (10,793 ft) which features the mirror panorama of Sawtooth Ridge from the north. This trip was all about the views and it’s truly a staggering vista with over 5,000 vertical feet of rugged terrain across the Robinson Creek valley.  The climb itself is not aesthetic, but it’s a great workout. I started from a small RV park on the east side of Twin Lakes (~7,100 ft) and took an old 4wd road into a canyon until it ended (~1 mile). From here I continued up the canyon to its head and then up steep slopes with prickly sage and other high desert vegetation. This 3,000+ foot climb over only 2 miles from the start finally deposited me onto Sawmill Ridge where the tremendous views opened up. From Sawmill Ridge, it’s another couple miles of easy cross country hiking along the ridge through grass, sage and patches of pine forest to the foot of Robinson Peak. A final 600 foot climb and I was at the top gazing over Robinson Creek and the jagged crest of Sawtooth Ridge, including Matterhorn Peak, Dragtooth Peak, The Doodad, Three Peaks, the Sawblade, Cleaver Peak, Blacksmith Peak, Eocene Peak, and the Incredible Hulk. There was also some pretty fall color on the mountainsides and in the Robinson Creek drainage. In all, it’s only a bit over 4 miles to the summit of Robinson Peak and took me about 1h40m. After 30 minutes admiring the staggering panorama, I headed down the ridge. On the way back, I took a variation staying on the ridge longer and dropping down the entry canyon on it’s east side. While a bit longer, it was a good descent route and I was back to the car in a little over an hour after departing the summit. Strava route here.

Not to be confused with Robinson Peak, the next day I climbed Mount Robinson (12,967 ft) as part of a trip up the North Fork Big Pine Creek to Sam Mack Lake and Mount Winchell. Mount Robinson has an amazing view of the Palisades from Sill to Agassiz. Both Robinsons are among the finest viewpoints in the High Sierra and it was pleasure to visit both of them on the same weekend. The photo immediately below compares the view from the Robinson summits. More on the North Fork Big Pine trip in a future blog post.