On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
We’re making some changes here, so for now I’m taking down the links to the form and email account. I’ll be posting what I’ve got, but please do not submit any more pictures right now, just hold on to them for a few days.
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter ?BillinGlendaleCA.
In one of my first submissions to “On The Road” on April 12th I documented a hike my step-daughter(aka my nurse) and I took to Mt. Lowe. Unfortunately, as is usually the case when the kid and I hike together, the view was not optimal(though interesting in it’s own way). There was a solid cloud deck over the basin and the clouds ended up whipping over the summit once we got up there(the links are broken on the original post, IT WAS ALL MY FAULT, but I provided links in the comments). Being that the kid was on-call at the hospital and her mom had to work Thanksgiving afternoon, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday instead. I decided to redo the hike to Mt. Lowe Thanksgiving morning if the weather was clear. I woke early and checked the local news webcams(ABC7) and it was really clear, so I headed up to the trailhead. It seems that a few other folk had the same idea, I ended up having to park across the road from the trailhead since the lot(more like a wide spot in the road) was full.
The trail follows the Mt. Lowe fire road from the Mt. Wilson road, through the Mueller tunnel, until you reach the saddle between Mt. Markham and San Gabriel Peak. Then a single track trail climbs the west side of Mt. Markham to the saddle between Mt. Markham and Mt. Lowe. The trail then climbs the north side of Mt. Lowe to the summit.
View from Eaton Saddle just prior to reaching the tunnel.
Taken on 2017-11-23
Eaton Saddle, Angeles National Forest, CA
This is the view looking south down Eaton Canyon, this is the first indication of how good the view will be once you get to the summit. You can see the trailhead to the left and Mt. Markham to the right. Catalina Island is visible to the left of the eastern slope of Mt. Markham.
The Mueller Tunnel.
Taken on 2017-11-23
Eaton Saddle, Angeles National Forest, CA
Trump’s go in but they don’t come out.
Single track trail to Mt. Lowe.
Taken on 2017-11-23
Top of Bear Valley, Angeles National Forest, CA
Notes: Apologies for the sun glare. The trail up to now has been following the Mt. Lowe Fire Road which runs from Eaton Saddle on the road to Mt. Wilson to Pasadena(partially along the old railroad bed from Echo Mountain). The single track trail to Mt. Lowe(and Mt. Markham) is in front and the trail to San Gabriel Peak is behind me. The fire road continues around Mt. Lowe to the Mt. Lowe trail camp and Inspiration Point. I ran into a few people on the trail: a Boy Scout Troop and a group of folk that had camped out at the Mt. Lowe Trail Camp(it’s at the base of Mt. Lowe by Inspiration Point).
View to the southeast from Markham Saddle.
Taken on 2017-11-23
Markham Saddle, Angeles National Forest, CA
The eastern slope of Mt. Lowe is on the right and Saddleback in Orange County is in the center. I wasn’t sure what the mountain to the left and behind Saddleback was until I got home and checked Google Maps…it’s Palomar Mountain in northern San Diego County, 90 miles away!
View to the southwest from Mt. Lowe summit.
Taken on 2017-11-23
Mt. Lowe, Angeles National Forest, CA
The view(top to bottom, left to right): Catalina, Santa Barbara Island, Sandstone Peak(at the right, it’s south of Thousand Oaks) and Santa Cruz Island; Palos Verde, LAX, West LA, the Valley; East LA, downtown LA, downtown Glendale; downtown Pasadena, the Rose Bowl, JPL(partially obscured by a hill and a bush), the Verdugo Hills and the Crescenta Valley.
View to the north from Mt. Lowe summit.
Taken on 2017-11-23
Mt. Lowe, Angeles National Forest, CA
The view( left to right): San Gabriel Peak, Mt. Markham, Twin Peaks, Occidental Peak(named after the college).
Thank you so much ?BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
?BillinGlendaleCA
Here’s a link to the full panorama that I shot that day. It’s not perfect(there’s a frame where the white balance seems to be different than the others and makes the sky a bit browner and the gigapan site seems to make all the panoramas a bit cooler that the original. But it’s an extraordinary view, 100 mile visibility!
Mary G
I have only been up there once out of hundreds of times when it was that crystal clear and it’s unforgettable. The sky is gorgeous. Those bring back some good memories, thanks, Bill.
Mary G
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Your website is spiffy, too!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: I was really surprised that I could Palomar Mountain and even a mountain in back of that. On the full panorama I can see San Clemente , Catalina, Santa Barbara, San Nicolas, Santa Cruz and possibly bits of Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands. The only Channel Island that I know I can’t see in Anacapa Island.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: Thanks, I need to do some work on in the next week.
debbie
That top shot’s a real beauty!
Baud
Ha ha.
Quinerly
?
rikyrah
Bill,
those views were amazing. Thanks :)
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Morning to Poco and the tribe ? ?
stinger
If only.
Great pics! I’m a flatlander, so the mountain that is ninety miles away — amazing! I always think what it must have been like for native residents and European explorers and settlers. “Trudge, trudge, pant, pant, just let me get up this ridge — oh no! Yet more ridges!”
J R in WV
@stinger:
That’s why the guys who found the Cumberland Gap in the southern end of the Blue Ridge were – still are – famous explorers. Finally people had a way around most of the giant southern mountain ridges of the eastern continental divide.
The same for the Rockies, the guys who found the path now taken by the railroad, with the most gradual climb, are famous names known to history.
Mueller Tunnel… heh, that’s pretty good. They don’t come out!!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie: The trail(actually fire road) runs in in semi-circle on the south face of San Gabriel Peak and looks straight down Eaton Canyon. Eaton Canyon has a bunch of nice waterfalls with the last one with a height of 50 feet and water all year long, though much nicer in the spring.
@Baud: Couldn’t resist.
@Quinerly: Thanks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: Thanks and you’re welcome. The kid and I are trying to get her mom out more in the wilderness, this is a pretty easy hike: a mile and a half each was with only a 500′ climb.
@stinger: I’ve been hiking since I was a teen, there’s always another ridge. This is a nice hike since the summit affords a view almost down to the base of the foothills.
@J R in WV: The Mueller Tunnel was blocked for several years by rock slides off the southern face of San Gabriel Peak, so they could get trapped in there.