Mt Lowe, Mt Markham, Mt Disappointment and San Gabriel Peak Sunset Viewing Hike

THIS IS AN INTERMEDIATE –ADVANCE LEVEL HIKE. THIS HIKE IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS. THERE WILL BE NO "PLUS ONES" ALLOWED TO ATTEND THIS HIKE. IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT REALLY WANTS TO GO ON THIS HIKE, HAVE THAT PERSON SIGN UP SO HE/SHE CAN READ THE HIKE DESCRIPTION AND THE WAIVER OF LIABILITY.

Please be in good physical hiking condition to sign up for this hike. Do not assume that it will be an easy hike just because it's posted on Lazy Ass Hiking. You must be in good physical shape for this one.

We will meet at Red Box Station at 1PM. We will organize a car shuttle on Mt Wilson Red Box Road (Paved Road) for 2 miles to the trailhead at Eaton Saddle. We do this because there is limited parking at the lot. Since we are all descending down San Gabriel Peak at the same time the wait time for fast hikers won’t be much of an issue since its only 1 ½ miles from the summit back to the parking lot.

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Come and experience one of the most beautiful sunsets in all of Southern California from San Gabriel Peak.

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Bring Your Camera!

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Bring some snacks and your favorite beverage to share with the group to make this a festive sunset viewing atmosphere!

We begin the hike just off Mt Wilson Red Box Road at Eaton Saddle about 2 miles from Red Box Station.

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From Eaton Saddle we hike Mt Lowe Road and pass through Mueller Tunnel. We then connect to the Mt Lowe East Trail and ascend up to Mt Lowe.

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We descend back down Mt Lowe East Trail and will connect to the ridge that leads us up to Mt Markham. Once we reach Mt Markham Peak we descend down as we came up Mt. Markham and reconnect to the Mt Lowe East Trail and make a right turn. As we reach the saddle we make a left turn towards Mt Disappointment and San Gabriel Peak. This is the San Gabriel Peak Trail. We reach a saddle that leads to Mt. Disappointment Road to the left.

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We head left to peak Mt. Disappointment. We descend down Mt. Disappointment road until it connects to the San Gabriel Trail. There will ascend San Gabriel Trail to reach San Gabriel Peak and take in the sunset!

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We descend down San Gabriel Trail until it connects with Mt Lowe Road where it will lead us back to the trailhead.

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We will hike each peak in the following order:

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Peak 1: Mt Lowe—Named for Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who built the Mt. Lowe Railway. The foot of the mountain is where the train ride concluded for passengers. Total elevation is 5606 feet.

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Peak 2: Mt Markham—This is a steep climb up to an elevation of 5728 feet. There is some rock scrambling the last ½ mile up to the peak. Hiking poles will be handy for the descent down. This is the most difficult of the four peaks and would be ranked as advanced level while the three other peaks fall in the category of intermediate levels.

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Peak 3: Mt Disappointment—Elevation 5963 feet. Surveyors in 1894 spotted the peak from the Santa Susana Mountains and thought it to be the highest peak in the area. To their disappointment nearby San Gabriel Peak was higher and thus Mt. Disappointment earned its name. Today it’s a communication site that serves both government and business purposes.

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Peak 4: San Gabriel Peak –Elevation 6164 feet. This will be the final peak of the day. We will enjoy one of the best sunsets in the mountains of Southern California. Sunset on April 2nd is scheduled for 7:15PM so we will plan on arriving to the peak by 6:15PM.

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If you are a super-fast hiker bring cards or board games to entertain yourself and fellow fast hikers. Make it fun in case you are looking at a longer sunset wait than 1 hour.

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The descent down to the trailhead is about 1 ½ miles. We will descend down shortly after sunset so we will arrive back to the trailhead between 8PM-8:15PM. Bring a headlamp or flashlight for the descent.

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HIKE STATS:

Mileage (round-trip): 7 ¾ Miles

Starting elevation: 5110 Feet

Highest elevation: 6164 Feet

Total Ascension of Hiking all 4 Peaks: 2770 Feet

Duration: Estimate 7-7 1/2 hours including breaks, 1 hour sunset viewing party and descent down

Difficulty: Advanced- Intermediate--This is not for beginners!

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WHAT TO BRING:

What to bring:

Adventure Pass for parking

At least 2 liters of water

Sun hat

Sunscreen

Plenty of lunch/energy snacks for you

Snacks and/or Beverage to Share for Sunset Viewing Party

Hiking poles if you use them.

Good hiking attitude

Flashlight or Headlamp for hike back to the trailhead following sunset

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DIRECTIONS: Drive up the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) 14 miles from La Canada to Red Box parking area at the junction of Mount Wilson Road. This is our meeting place where we will organize the two mile shuttle ride to the trailhead at Eaton Saddle.

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WAIVER OF LIABILITY: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR THIS EVENT. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS EVENT YOU AGREE TO NOT HOLD THESE ASSISTANT ORGANIZERS OR MEETUP LIABLE FOR ANY HARM TO YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY. THESE ASSISTANT ORGANIZERS ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL HIKERS AND ARE NOT TRAINED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. HIKING IS AN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS ACTIVITY THAT CAN LEAD TO INJURIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FALLS, FRACTURES, RATTLESNAKE BITES, ELEVATION SICKNESS, POISON OAK, HEAT STROKE AND FROSTBITE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE YOU ARE PREPARED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HIKE BY HAVING THE APPROPRIATE SUPPLIES/EQUIPMENT AND BY KNOWING YOUR OWN ABILITIES. ALWAYS LET THE HIKE ORGANIZERS KNOW IF YOU ARE LEAVING THE GROUP FOR ANY REASON. STAY ON THE TRAIL AND NEVER HIKE ALONE.

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BAD WEATHER OR FIRE CLOSURES CANCELS THE HIKE. CHECK MEET UP PAGE/COMMENTS THE DAY BEFORE AND PRIOR TO LEAVING ON A.M. OF THE HIKE.

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