We started at the top of Lake Ave at the normal Sam Merrill Trailhead. But instead of taking this 2.5 mile trail up to Echo, we went north and took the nearest ridge to the west of Echo Mtn. Once off the road, the gain is immediate. It reminded me a lot like Rattlesnake Peak where the incline just starts and doesn’t relent until you’re halfway up. This fire trail was created awhile ago during the last brush fire in the area. And now it seems that someone? maintains the cut out steps leading up.

Here’s a video taken by Ofir on his way up the ridge. It’s as bad as it sounds…

This trail continues on with only about a total of 150′ worth of moderate gain. The rest is just steep. But the really steep portion comes at the end. Total up to the road is about 1200′ in a little less than 1.5 miles!

This trail dumps you off at the Mt. Lowe fire road. Heading north along the road for about 200′ takes you to the Echo Mtn. trail. We skipped Echo Mtn. because we’ve all been here so many times before. Up Castle Canyon trail we went. This was pretty uneventful. Easier though.

We had a 15 minute stop here just to grab a bite to eat, chat a little, and just relax. The wind wasn’t terrible. Visibility towards LA was zero because of the clouds slowly rolling in. But at our stay here, 20+ WTC members made their way here and took a break as well. That made for a crowded place.

From Inspiration Point we scouted out our route. We would be taking the ridge that heads straight up to Mt. Lowe. It’s pretty visible and looks like it’s been used a lot lately. We followed the road until we got to the trailhead up. But we skipped the trailhead and made our own path along the ridge which did eventually meet up with the trail. We kept on the ridge though and only used the trail for a short portion.

After leaving the last trail portion, it was all steep and loose rock from here on out. There was really no visible use trail, so we just had to follow the ridge up which isn’t hard to do since it narrows a bit. After slipping and sliding a bit, we came to the really loose chute.

This was pretty extreme. I’m glad the recent rains moistened up the dirt which helped with the traction. But we took this chute and connected back to a more stable rock hopping route until we finally got to the top. The following two videos are on the descent up. This one is heading up over still bearable terrain and then looking back towards Inspiration Point.

The next one is heading up the chute. This was just loose dirt and rocks. The norm for this part is one step forward, two steps back.

Mt. Lowe itself was pretty cool. We were in the clouds and while we were there, and it started to snow a bit. That added a little more excitement to it.

I haven’t taken the western trail down before. It’s pretty nice. Lots of good views of Bear Canyon, Mt. Disappointment, and San Gabriel Peak. The trail winds its way down until you get back to the fire road. Right after leaving the top of Lowe, the skies opened up and we got some sun and a nice view of Mt. Disappointment. Here we took some pictures and just played with the snow a little.

We took the road south back to the the Idlehour trail junction is. Instead of taking the Upper Sam Merrill Trail though, or going back to Inspiration Point, we went up to Inspiration Peak. This was a nice little uphill climb that got the legs burning again.

We weren’t satisfied here though. Sure we could head back down to Inspiration Point and take Castle Canyon down, but what fun would that be? Instead we followed the ridge west along and old use trail. It looked like it hasn’t been used in quite a while, so we got to do some bushwhacking which is always pleasant. But not in shorts though.

Well, we went as far west as we could until the ridge started sloping downwards. This should have been a good sign, but the brush at this point was impassable. So we just decided to catch the trail on the north side. This was exciting. No path, lots of loose everything, hail starting to come down, branches, slippery logs…just imagine a steep descent through all of this.

We finally got back onto a trail and took this all the way back to Echo Mtn. This trail is ok. The views are nice, but otherwise, it’s pretty dull. We connected back to the Sam Merrill Trail where we ran into a loitering group of WTC’ers and a Meetup friend.

We hung out here for a good 10 minutes or so exchanging Goldfish that Andy brought. Oh those are addicting! Through some miscommunication, we left here rather abruptly and tried to jog to catch up to another member. But he went off for other reasons unbeknownst to us. So some of us jogged down most of the 2.5 miles back to the cars to catch him. Oh well, that was a good way to end the hike.

Some pics from the day:

Pictures from the rest of the day: My album

Reviews from the Meetup site: Meetup site

Check out Zé’s review. He’s got a lot of cool vids from the ascents: Zé’s report

	#	Latitude	Longitude	Elevation	Distance	Time	Avg Speed
	1	N 34° 12' 12.09"	W 118° 07' 50.74"	521 m	0.000 mi	0s	-
	2	N 34° 12' 38.92"	W 118° 07' 45.44"	821 m	1.000 mi	48m 20s	1.24 mph
	3	N 34° 13' 04.31"	W 118° 07' 23.39"	1029 m	1.005 mi	35m 50s	1.68 mph
	4	N 34° 13' 04.31"	W 118° 07' 05.89"	1026 m	0.996 mi	19m 40s	3.04 mph
	5	N 34° 13' 08.46"	W 118° 06' 35.51"	1302 m	1.003 mi	35m 20s	1.70 mph
	6	N 34° 13' 39.69"	W 118° 06' 23.35"	1498 m	1.001 mi	51m 00s	1.18 mph
	7	N 34° 14' 01.15"	W 118° 06' 41.57"	1563 m	1.003 mi	1h 13m 00s	0.82 mph
	8	N 34° 13' 28.22"	W 118° 06' 34.44"	1367 m	0.996 mi	24m 50s	2.41 mph
	9	N 34° 13' 30.61"	W 118° 07' 14.00"	1337 m	1.003 mi	53m 20s	1.13 mph
	10	N 34° 13' 07.93"	W 118° 07' 12.45"	1135 m	0.994 mi	24m 30s	2.44 mph
	11	N 34° 12' 53.61"	W 118° 07' 23.94"	942 m	1.005 mi	30m 40s	1.97 mph
	12	N 34° 12' 24.76"	W 118° 07' 21.48"	756 m	1.000 mi	20m 20s	2.95 mph
	13	N 34° 12' 14.46"	W 118° 07' 44.02"	562 m	1.004 mi	19m 10s	3.14 mph
	14	N 34° 12' 14.37"	W 118° 07' 50.23"	552 m	0.115 mi	3m 21s	2.05 mph
			Summary	5906 ft	12.124 mi	7h 19m 21s	1.66 mph

The total feet is way off due to the changes in the barometric pressure. Total gain is about 4800′ not 5900′!

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Once you pass the houses, there’s a creek below right, to the left is the mountain, and straight ahead is a pretty well worn trail. Follow this trail until it almost dumps you off in the creek, but keep an eye to the left as the trail cuts upwards. This is the fun section. After some gain, you get to “switchback alley.” It’s about a 10′ wide lane with the switchbacks winding up about 100′ until you get to the first foundation of the old railway incline.

Once you’ve had a short breather at the top of the switchbacks, look to the left of the other foundations. There’s a rope tied around a branch which signals the way up. This does help assisting you up, but it can be negotiated without it. You would just have to use your hands.

Continue to follow the trail from this point on. It heads up along the ridge a little ways until it eventually starts to follow the contours of the mountain. This trail ends at the southeastern corner of Echo mountain.

If you’re in for some more adventure though, bypass the trail all together and stick to the ridge. There is a lot of scree here, and heading downhill is not advised. But going up is loads of fun. This part is steeper and there is no trail. So pick your routes and work your way up. This part of the trail will put you at the stairs at the south end of Echo Mtn.

I believe that this is the funner way up to Echo Mtn. It’s steepness, off trail ascent, and canyon overview makes this route up a pleasant challenge.

For some history, here’s an awesome article written about the old Great Incline. In it, are some rather spectacular photos. If you’re planning on doing this hike, then this is a highly recommended read.

This trail starts at the top of Lake Ave in Altadena where the gate of the Cobb estate is located. The first trail (Sam Merrill trail) takes you up 2.5 miles up to Echo Mtn. This trail is well maintained and is really popular among the locals. But this also means that aside from being crowded at times, it gets very hot during the summer. During the summer and sometimes fall months, the best time to head up is before 9am. This way the eastern sun stays behind the mountain and offers you some shade for the ascent.

The first major stop is Echo Mtn. By this time, you would have gained about 1400′ in those 2.5 miles. A nice workout already. The picture below left sums up how the Sam Merrill trail is like all the way up. Below right is some kids hanging out and enjoying the view at Echo Mtn.

Once at Echo Mtn., you can do some exploring of this historical site and check out what was left of the old resort.

After you’ve explored a bit, head back the way you came for about 100 yards. The trail you’re looking for is Castle Canyon. If you take the Sunset trail, you’ll immediately start ascending. This is not the path. Castle Canyon actually is level for a little bit until you reach the other side of a small creek. Here is where the elevation gain begins.

The Castle Canyon trail is composed mostly of switchbacks and at parts is exposed to a slight drop off. But it’s nothing too much to worry about. As you near the top, the trail makes a sharp right and you’re greeted with the picture below.

From this point, it’s about 200 yards. But if it’s hot, this will the toughest section of the day. This portion is nothing but exposed, and the rocks along the trail just radiates the heat back up. But if you can, finish it strong. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.

Once you’re done relaxing here, head back the same way. Getting back shouldn’t pose too much of a problem unless you’ve run out of water and the temperature is 100+. Otherwise, its easy.

Total gain is roughly 2700′ at about 9 miles.