The Obligatory
"Play safe. Ski only in clockwise direction. Let's all have fun together."
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Mount Lowe Redux
Way back in May (seems so, so long ago ...) I drove to Altadena to hike up the Sam Merrill Trail and old Mount Lowe Railroad. Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate how long the trail would be, or how hot the weather would get (oh, novice hiking!), and couldn't make it up to the actual Mount Lowe summit. I vowed one day to return and stand on top of the mountain that had bested me before.
Armed with this vengeance - as well as a new drive to get listed on the Sierra Club's Hundred Peaks and Lower Peaks Chapters - I drove back into the Angeles National Forest today.
This time, I decided to tackle the peak from the north, as it would both cut six miles off the hike and offer more chances for shade on the mountains' north slopes. I started off on the same steep trail I used to get to Mount Disappointment and San Gabriel Peak, a few weeks ago. Except this time, there weren't any clouds coming up all over the place, so I could actually see further than 50 feet in front of me.
This was most apparent when I reached the lower summit of Mount Disappointment, and could actually see past the ridgeline to the city below:
It certainly gives the mountain's name another meaning.
On the way up to Mount Lowe, I passed this old metal sign leading to the summit, placed there by the original promoters of the Mount Lowe / Echo Mountain Resorts. The paint had long faded, and the metal rusted beyond recognition, but the tree had also taken the unusual tactic of growing its trunk around the sign. I love it when nature gets weird like that.
When I got to the top, I had the summit and its great views all to myself. It was sunny, but not too hot. A light breeze was blowing and - most importantly - it was completely silent.
... Which was odd, since from where I was sitting, I could clearly see cars on the 210 freeway. My camera lens doesn't do haze very well, but I could make out a great deal of the L.A. basin - from Palos Verdes to the Santa Monica Mountains and San Fernando Valley ... but still, I could hear nothing. It was like watching the city on mute.
I sat on a stone outcropping, ate my modest hiking-style lunch, breathed in deep the fresh, cedar-tinged air and watched as Angelenos drove about below me, oblivious.
And then, of course, I was snapped out of it when I turned around to see this:
Fucking people. Seriously. A protein supplement powder bin?
I packed up what I could fit in my backpack, and took it all out with me, stopping along the way to pick up the various other pieces of litter I'd missed on the way in. Large numbers of Spanish bookmarks and lottery sheets. I'll be sure to bring a garbage bag next time.
Fucking. People.
As always, more pics up on Flickr, with some nice clear-sky vistas and views from the Markham Saddle trail.
Oh, and I'm now 5 peaks down on the Hundred Peaks, and another 5 on the Lower Peaks. On my way!
Armed with this vengeance - as well as a new drive to get listed on the Sierra Club's Hundred Peaks and Lower Peaks Chapters - I drove back into the Angeles National Forest today.
This time, I decided to tackle the peak from the north, as it would both cut six miles off the hike and offer more chances for shade on the mountains' north slopes. I started off on the same steep trail I used to get to Mount Disappointment and San Gabriel Peak, a few weeks ago. Except this time, there weren't any clouds coming up all over the place, so I could actually see further than 50 feet in front of me.
This was most apparent when I reached the lower summit of Mount Disappointment, and could actually see past the ridgeline to the city below:
It certainly gives the mountain's name another meaning.
On the way up to Mount Lowe, I passed this old metal sign leading to the summit, placed there by the original promoters of the Mount Lowe / Echo Mountain Resorts. The paint had long faded, and the metal rusted beyond recognition, but the tree had also taken the unusual tactic of growing its trunk around the sign. I love it when nature gets weird like that.
When I got to the top, I had the summit and its great views all to myself. It was sunny, but not too hot. A light breeze was blowing and - most importantly - it was completely silent.
... Which was odd, since from where I was sitting, I could clearly see cars on the 210 freeway. My camera lens doesn't do haze very well, but I could make out a great deal of the L.A. basin - from Palos Verdes to the Santa Monica Mountains and San Fernando Valley ... but still, I could hear nothing. It was like watching the city on mute.
I sat on a stone outcropping, ate my modest hiking-style lunch, breathed in deep the fresh, cedar-tinged air and watched as Angelenos drove about below me, oblivious.
And then, of course, I was snapped out of it when I turned around to see this:
Fucking people. Seriously. A protein supplement powder bin?
I packed up what I could fit in my backpack, and took it all out with me, stopping along the way to pick up the various other pieces of litter I'd missed on the way in. Large numbers of Spanish bookmarks and lottery sheets. I'll be sure to bring a garbage bag next time.
Fucking. People.
As always, more pics up on Flickr, with some nice clear-sky vistas and views from the Markham Saddle trail.
Oh, and I'm now 5 peaks down on the Hundred Peaks, and another 5 on the Lower Peaks. On my way!
Labels: hiking
that one guy you know, 5:42 PM
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1 Comments:
I'd *love* to go hiking in some of these gorgeous places you're posting pictures of...
Hi, this is Heather (Caunt-Nulton, from Berlin), and I was on AIM and just poking around people's profiles, and found your blog there...mine's at www.livejournal.com/cherrytreedusk/, but it's friends-only for the most part (especially recently)...so I'd have to add you if you cared to read it.
Anyway, it seems like you are delving into the same things far too late in life as I am... DnD, going to the gym, walking around in beautiful outdoorsy places... good stuff.
-Heather
Hi, this is Heather (Caunt-Nulton, from Berlin), and I was on AIM and just poking around people's profiles, and found your blog there...mine's at www.livejournal.com/cherrytreedusk/, but it's friends-only for the most part (especially recently)...so I'd have to add you if you cared to read it.
Anyway, it seems like you are delving into the same things far too late in life as I am... DnD, going to the gym, walking around in beautiful outdoorsy places... good stuff.
-Heather
