Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

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emcd661
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Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by emcd661 »

Have never hiked either one. Will be hiking in from the east. Just curious if one is easier than the other, or better.
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texan
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by texan »

I did these a long time ago as teen when I was in great shape. Both are passes are difficult like Shepherds. After doing do all three passes we preferred Shepherds because our main goal was fishing more than anything.

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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I have never been up Sawmill. I like Taboose because there are water sources all the way up and a good place to camp at several elevations. The key is to get an early start. You really need to be on the trail by 5AM- 4AM better yet. Camping at the trailhead is not bad. There is a nice creek. With an early start I have always made it over Taboose Pass in a day. Taboose is also well maintained and has an excellent grade- just pace properly and it goes fast.
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by Ska-T »

Some discussion here:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9127
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I read that older thread. As for permit pick-up problems, I do not recall any. I picked up my walk-in permit in the afternoon (actually the quickest I can get down there anyway), drove to the trailhead (or camp at a lower established campground) and was on the trail by 5AM. Only problem I see is if you need to pick up the permit after the office closes. By the way, you do not have to pick up the permit at Lone Pine or Bishop if coming from the north. I usually pick up my permits at Mono Lake (Lee Vining) office.
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by jcipp »

I've hiked Taboose once and Sawmill twice. In terms of which is easier, I'd say Taboose, but overall I prefer Sawmill for the scenery. Here's a quick description of my experiences with the trails:

Taboose, hiked in May 2014. It's a long continuous slog up with some nice scenery and if I remember correctly many chances for water with the exception of the first few miles after the trailhead. We made it up over the pass in one day. Our goal was to make it to Bench Lake for the night but a fresh snowfall that week and only micro-spikes meant post holing after we were up over the pass and we eventually got tired of it and set up camp with the lake in the distance. Doing that much altitude in one day on the way up definitely was felt with a nasty headache and some nausea. We ended up taking two days to leisurely make our way back down with some stops for fishing.

Sawmill, first time hiked in April 2015. The first 3 or so miles of this trail is exposed and awful, my least favorite of any. However, once past that the views and some shading make it better. Sawmill meadow is one of my favorite places to camp now, we've always had it to ourselves and campfires are allowed :) Our plan was originally to make it to Sawmill Lake and set up camp and then next day day hike over the pass and back to spend another night at the lake and come back down day 3. However my dinner the night before on the road up was not agreeing with me and my energy barely got me to the meadow which turned out to be a wonderful spot to camp and explore. We day hiked up to the lake the next morning, it was still mostly frozen. Hiked back down and spent the night at the meadow again and then hiked out day 3.

Sawmill 2nd time May 2016. Since we didn't make it up over the pass the first time and loved the meadow and lake we decided to give it a second go. Planned on 3 nights. First day hiked to the meadow and spent the night there, 2nd day we went up over the pass and the scenery is STUNNING spent once of my coldest nights backpacking at Woods Lake. Everything over the pass was still frozen, but stunning none the less. 3rd day came back over the pass spent lunch fishing at Sawmill Lake with many catches and then back down to the meadow for the night. Side note: This trip we had packed snowshoes, but with the hard packed snow didn't need them.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy hiking :)
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maverick
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by maverick »

Have never hiked either one. Will be hiking in from the east.


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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by giantbrookie »

I've done (ascended) both (and descended Taboose twice) and here are some pros and cons:
Sawmill has more elevation gain (to pass) than Taboose and it is a bit longer but the upper part of Taboose is a very rocky trail and much rougher. Taboose has much more available water lower down, whereas it is a long hard hike to the first water on Sawmill. Taboose really doesn't have a premium camping spot short of the pass whereas Sawmill has a superb one in Sawmill Lake (at about 5400' (actually more like 5600 if you count some small ups and downs) of gain up the trail vs 6800' total). It is the latter that makes me prefer Sawmill as the ascent route. This is why my last trip to this area ascended Sawmill and descended Taboose. An early start for Sawmill is highly recommended. Because of the pay-shuttle service my wife and I were using we had a very late start up Sawmill, which is bad news because that is the lowest trailhead on the the E side (4400' or something, I recall). In the summer this can be spectacularly hot, which compounds the water issue (something like 2500' of gain or more before you get first water). I was carrying 5L for me and my wife and this was gone by the time we hit the first water owing to the late start we had--something like 10 am in the morning. In fact there is another small lake a few hundred feet below Sawmill L. if you get tired before Sawmill L., but Sawmill L. is much prettier and will be more interesting if you like to fish.
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by cloudlesssky »

I've been up both and I agree with the pros and cons that others have mentioned. I'd emphasize the comment about starting early. Pick up you permit the day before and get started at the crack of dawn.

One thing others haven't mentioned is auto access. Sawmill has better access for standard vehicles than Taboose which requires about 45 minutes of driving on a dirt road. The weather this year might have degraded the road conditions enough that a 4 wheel drive might be necessary (I'm speculating). If Taboose is your primary destination and you have a standard vehicle I'd suggest you check into road conditions later this spring before finalizing your decision.
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Re: Taboose Pass or Sawmill Pass

Post by Harlen »

When we finally hiked in via Taboose pass, it was on the strong recommendation of some Sierra veterans, and, if I remember correctly, they had done both passes. We found the upper section of Taboose Creek's canyon fascinating. As one approaches there is an illusion that you are walking into a dead end canyon. High in the canyon much of the rock takes on a golden hue, and finally, there is one very striking pillar to the south side of the high canyon- it's a spur off of Goodale Mountain. We camped high in the basin to the west of the pass, and it was full of thrush songs, marmot, deer, and brilliant patches of pink mountain heather. Best of Luck, Harlen.
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