Final Stats:

SW Ridge of Muir Peak
Gain: 2200 ft
Distance: 3.6 miles

Great Incline to Inspiration Point
Gain: 2900 ft
Distance: 7.8 miles

A double hike

Others’ photos and Meetup link here

GPS track here

KML Google Earth file

Muir Peak SW Ridge Exploration at EveryTrail

The hike with the group was starting at 10 am, but I knew I would wake up earlier and figured I might as well do some pre-hike hiking. We had previously hiked up to Inspiration Point then over to Muir Peak and descended a small portion of its SW ridge, so I figured it would be a good time to explore the lower portion of the ridge.

Of course, one could say there is never a “good time” to hike through brush, and that’s probably the case. But it takes me a while to learn I guess. Certainly the couple who I spoke to before I departed thought I was an odd one. They asked if I was going to along the trail (Altadena Crest trail), and I pointed “I’m gonna go up that ridge over there”. Their confused faces said it all. “Why in the world would someone do that?”

To just do it, of course. And I did. I parked right off a small street than peters out just below the AC trail with a switchback leading up. I followed the trail for probably 2 minutes before reaching the bottom of the subsidiary ridge. There are multiple ridges one could choose to start then end up along the SW ridge of Muir Peak, and some others are probably better than this. There was, I guess, a slight “use trail”, but not really. Basically very overgrown on the lower end. I ended up hiking past 3 electric line towers, and continued up to point 2820. On the topo map this is marked as Mt. Lowe, and there are 2 survey markers.

From here I traversed a bith NE then a nice, steep climb, turning NW until getting to bump 3681. This was my goal and turn-around point. From here, the brush appears to lessen with a firebreak which one can take all the way up. I descended the same way, and was reminded of Iron Mt-like terrain – the terrible crumbly San Gabriel rock that is too weak to be steady on but not soft enough scree to do controlled slides on. Luckily I made it down only slipping on my ass twice.

GPS track here

KML Google Earth file

Echo, Inspiration Point via Great Incline at EveryTrail

Afterward, I drove over to Rubio Canyon for the group hike. We got started a bit after 10, heading up Rubio Canyon and the Great Incline. I still can’t believe they had a tramway here a hundred years ago!

Just as we started ascended the switchbacks out of the canyon there was a decent amount of poison oak hugging the trail for the first few switchback. It can be avoided but be careful and aware…and don’t fall into it (Ray).

We continued to switchback up to a point where an ‘easier’ trail veers east / northeast, then hikes up the eastern side of Echo. Most of us continued straight up heading NW. The use trail was adorned with yucca, one of which was gracious enough to penetrate my hand in 4 locations. But with some sense they could be avoided, which left just the 2000 ft/mile incline to deal with.

Upon arriving at Echo, the steep part was finished. From here we took the Castle Canyon trail (a front range favorite of mine) up to Inspiration Point. Since it was John’s birthday, everyone brought up food to share which we enjoyed under the shaded (thankfully) lookout. We ate, had some beer, enjoyed the pleasant weather (better than down below), and returned the way we came.

Running to the finish

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′!

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.