Tonga Ridge / Mount Sawyer — Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

TL;DR: The dog and I decided not to finish the ridge hike in favor of gorging ourselves on huckleberries on Mount Sawyer. Someone saw a bear on the way in! Tiny parking lot that was almost full at 8:15am when I showed up. Clocked just barely over 6 miles to Mount Sawyer, around the top a bit, and back to the trailhead.

Long Version:
Are you comfortable navigating a few places with potholes (mostly around the bend in the switchbacks) and a little bit of a raised middle of the road due to it settling on the sides from water? Then you and your Ford Focus could make it! Otherwise, higher clearance vehicles recommended. I showed up at 8:15am and there were 5 other cars, and when I returned at 11:30am it was full and cars were parking down the road. The parking lot is little more than a wide area at the dead end of a forest service road that can comfortably fit 5-6 cars. After that, it's just parking along the road.

The trail itself was in great shape, though brushy in some spots on the way up to Mount Sawyer. I'm glad I had my map out because like a hidden driveway, I didn't see the trail off to the left until I was almost past it! I did not see the sign high up in the trees as mentioned in another trip report, but once found, it's easy to follow (for reference, my family frequently wonders how I get anywhere). It's narrow and brushy until it opens up to the huckleberry field, where it's exposed and warm in the sunshine and the views really open up! Unfortunately there wasn't one place on top with 360 views, but there are multiple little paths that all lead to different lookout spots so you still get views from all angles! Annoying flies at the top but it seemed like I was the only one being pestered. Very dusty in some places.