Here's a picture of the map we were vaguely trying to follow:
We have gone up the Sam Merrill trail to Echo Mountain and the Castle Canyon trail up to Inspiration point dozens of times (It's a 20 minute drive, and the parking is easy even on crowded days). This was our first time going farther than that though. We wanted to summit Mt. Lowe for a total elevation gain of 3,796 ft over roughly 7 miles (14 miles round trip).
As we got to Inspiration point, we couldn't believe how clear of a day it was in Los Angeles. Days like this are rare, and I usually don't even take pictures on this hike. As we climbed a little higher above Inspiration point, the views got even better. Optimal Picture time:
Inspiration point is in the middle of those two peaks
The trail was almost completely exposed, and we both got burned. I had only put on one layer of sunblock before we left home. Rookie move (especially for my white skin).
Information board from the summit of Mount Lowe:
Old cables from the trains are still there:
The view from the actual summit looking toward LA wouldn't have been that great taken with my iPhone, so I didn't take any. As clear as it was, the iPhone just wouldn't pick up on the details I would have wanted to capture.
There are viewing tubes all along the trail all over this mountain pointing to particular land marks. I love standing on one peak and gazing across a valley and other mountains at other peaks we have bagged. In this case, Mt Baldy was clearly visible (and covered in beautiful snow):
Here's a closer view (I zoomed in a little):
We took the Upper Sam Merrill Trail Back to Echo Mountain en route back to the car. The views from this side were new to us as we had always taken Castle Canyon:
It was a successful day of hiking, which I will remember by this:
DOH!
Are the viewing tubes real "binoculars"? That one looks very rudimentary…probably so it won't be stolen! Great hike and views, but that sure is an awful burn! Hope it's healing!
ReplyDeleteThey aren't real binoculars, just metal tubes pointing at things. There are some that aren't labeled along the trail and its not clear what they are pointing toward.
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