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24 Sam Merrill Trail-Altadena to Echo Mountain

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24 Sam Merrill Trail-Altadena to Echo Mountain ----. ------ 'r- -------------· --------- 72 Hike #52 TRAILS OF THE ANGELES One Hundred Hikes 73 Sam Merrill Trail-Altadena to Echo Mountain Nothing but ruins :remain today. To commemorate 24 what once was here, 4¼ bronze plaque is embedded in 5 miles round trip; 1400' elevation _gain -cement n-e1-t theto o)d inclinebullwheel. Among the foun· Classification: Mo,derate dat.fons,young Coulter pjnes anci incense cedars, planted Season: Novembe:r-May by conservation groups in 1941 and 1948, are growing tall. Topo maps: Pasadena, Mt. Wilson This trip takes you up the Sam Merrill Trail to Echo Mountain, gives you a guided tour of where once stood the White City, and returns you the same way. 'FEATURES If lit wer-e not !o-r t'he efforts ,of a han-OlfoI of public­ DESCRIPTION s_pi.i.itced and :sent.imen(t:.al Pata((lenaand Att.ad,ena cid�zens, Drive tothe north end of Lake Avenue in Altadena and ) theMou 1lllt Lo�\e1?ailwey would h·e ail baatforgottentoday. park alongside the road. To your right (east.), marked by a "f;h.ese people Illfl'<',e giwen &el!:Ay,;,{ tiae ir' tUirilieiarrnd i:effort in sign painted on a stone pillar, is the beginning of the Sam -.r:est.0.-atiiwe prn j,_ e-ct.s, :ev.ralbl!ing::ttGm a ,1/1£. w[siwr t4Jlrefo,-"e som� Merrili Trail to Echo Mountain. ) ,if t�:s bygor�:e ,era wtnm es.b!ce tetu,s ra!.ld tr&1fa,yi dunbed Follow the trail east alongside a fence, then rlown high on the itntDuI'lte.in.. \ , across Las Flores Canyon, and up the eas�- sbpe of fie 0,!ll'e 'Of these •v.ohrntee.r 'e.ffort'SW/&5' tb.e co:r:.s'.trm:Uon Md canyon. After three zigzagg;r!g miles, JO\.! reach L'1e ·:dge maintemmt<e :o{ the Sam M-er.cill fuii! tr.om Alt-atl.e,rnra to behind (north of) Echo Mountain. Here you intersect the .Edm .Mou.nm-in. The trail was built thmring the '$Os hy old rsilway bed (sec Trip 23). Turnright (south) and follow Chvl�s Warner rand the forest Consien1ath1m Clmb ,of the railway bed about 100 yards to the Echo Mou11tain Pns�oens to replace the orlgin,aJ. ,overgrown ifoot_p:ath .. ruins. You come first to the commemorative plaque and Duringthe• 40s it w-asmaintained and im.prov,etlb y Samuel the old incline bullwheel, embedded in -cement. Just Merrill of Altadena,. retired d,erk of the Superfor Court of beyond, the wall on your left is the foundation of Echo Los Angeles. After Merrill's death in 1948, the pathway Mountain House, and the pile of concrete rubbleahead is was named in his honor. Today it is kept in good condition what remains of the incline depot and powerhouse, dyna­ by the Altadena Trail Blazers, a group of high school and mited by the Forest Se.rvice in 1959. From the steps of college students who care about their local mountains. Echo Mountain House. you can look directly down the Back in the early years of the Mount Lowe Railway, incline bed,descending 1300' intoRubio Canyon. (Do not Echo Mountain was knownas "The White City." Perched descend the incline; footingis looseand it is dangerous.) on top were two hotels-Echo Mountain House and The East of the Echo Mountain House .site, 100' down the Chalet-a powerhouse, a machine shop, a dormitory, a ridge, is the site of theChalet. Nothing remains of this first reservoir, a small zoo, the Mt. Lowe Observatory and, so it "hotel. The Mt. Lowe Observatory,housing a 13-inch tele· would not be forgotten after dark, the world's most power­ scope, was located behind Echo Mountain, ¼ mile up the ful searchlight. Allbut the searchlight were painted white, ridge. Directly below the observatory was the reservoir. clearly visible from the valley below. To reach the White : {Several sections of the trailwere washed out following the City, tourists were hoisted up the cable incline in "White -Pinecrest frre in 1979 and heavy rain in February 1980. Chariots." 'Volunteer work has now made the trail passable, but ' Through a series of fires and windstorms,· the White -proceed with care. Inthe event new washouts occur on the -' City was destroyed-Echo Mountain House frrsq1900), precipitous middle section, proceed direc�y up the ridge , then all but the observatory (1905), and finally the obser­ from the powerline crossing, hal{way· .up, to Echo Moun· vatory itself (1928). The incline was abandoned in 1938. tain, steep but not difficult.) • ..l . ·. · _ ' . ' f' -·.:·... ---7-����-!'---��--��-.
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