Hiking Mt. Lowe Trails, Quest For The Incline, Echo Mtn. Echoes Spring 1998

Hiking Mt. Lowe Trails.

To the Top of Mt. Lowe
the Easy Way
By Jake Brouwer

I’m sad to say it but if you have a schedule like mine the only way to the top of Mt. Lowe is the easy way. Getting up early on a Sunday morning my son-in-law Jesse and I drove up beautiful Angeles Crest Highway to the Ranger station at Red Box. We turned in here and admired the view before we drove on to Eaton Saddle, which is the first spot on the road you can look to the south over the San Gabriel Valley. We parked near the Mt. Lowe fire road gate being careful not to block it in any way. As we walked the road in a slight gradual climb off our left was the sprawling Eaton Canyon. Soon we were rounding the south face of San Gabriel Peak and entering Mueller Tunnel. Before entering the tunnel I told Jesse that a few months ago at a slide show, John Robinson told of his hair raising venture across what was then called the old Cliff Trail. Jesse asked where it was and nearly died when I showed him the trail along the sheer rock face in front of us. "No way." He yelled. "Not for us, that’s for sure." I said.

Continuing on to the saddle between Mt. Markham and San Gabriel Peak we were soon passed by a trio of mountain bikers on the long trip down to Pasadena. Just past the saddle a well-marked trail led us up across the southwest slope of Mt. Markham on finally to another saddle which turned out to be Markham and Mt. Lowe. From here we traveled around the east side of Mt. Lowe. When we were last there the trail was in good shape and well marked.

Jesse spotted an old sign in an oak that the tree had grown around. We could make out that it said "TO MT. LOWE." There was an arrow and a what looked like the distance in miles but we could not read the rusted sign that well. Thanks to this old oak this is one of the few remaining signs along the Mt. Lowe Railway.

Once on the top we were greeted by cool breezes and spectacular views. This was a three mile roundtrip. The easy way to Mt. Lowe.

For more information concerning Mt. Lowe trails consult Trails of the Angeles by Robinson and Hiking Guide to Historic Mt. Lowe by Rippens.

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Last modified: February 12, 1999