Underappreciated Muir Peak

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

I mentioned in an earlier post why I like to do my training hikes from the Cobb Estate in winter. Like any area with numerous interconnected trails, the number of people one sees gets significantly smaller as the distance to get to a spot increases. In the case of the numerous spots reachable by day hiking from the Cobb Estate, the first two most people attempt to reach are Echo Mountain, and Inspiration Point. On weekends the hike to Echo Mountain is packed, but at Inspiration Point, there are usually only a few people. So, it’s easy to strike up a conversation. After hiking to Muir Peak last winter–which is only about 0.7 miles east of Inspiration Point, I’ve started asking people if they have hiked to the peak. Nobody has told me yes yet–which I find unfortunate. To be fair, Muir Peak is not labeled on most maps, others have it improperly placed to the west of Inspiration Point, and I haven’t yet seen any map that shows the Muir Peak Trail.

View toward Mt. Lowe from Muir Peak. (click to enlarge)

Part of my hike last Sunday included reaching the summit of Muir Peak. After having another four conversations where nobody had visited the Peak, I decided to finally add this hike to my blog (which is more direct than my Sunday hike that included Mt. Lowe).

View from Inspiration Point down the One Man & Mule Railway Trail and toward the West Bump of Muir Peak.

While Inspiration Point has a great view, being located in a saddle results in it having blocked views east and west. Also, from Inspiration Point, Mt. Lowe is close by and blocks views of Mt. Markham and San Gabriel Peak. It is worth the effort to make the trek to Muir Peak and its 360 degree views far enough from higher peaks to take them in fully, and its better vantage point to see the city below.

View along the One Man & Mule Railway Trail.

The Muir Peak Trailhead is reached after a short half mile walk on The O.M. &M. Railway Trail. The first time I hiked it I was surprised to find such a well-maintained trail. There is a small sign on the trailhead marker reading “This trail reconstructed by volunteers from the J.P.L. Hiking Club” (now known as JPL Hiking +). I appreciate their efforts as the short trail to the summit is in great shape and offers a nice variety of views.

View toward Mt. Wilson from the Muir Peak Trail.

You are likely to have this peak to yourself–even on weekends.

Gallery Update #10: Trails

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

My Gallery Updates are about sharing photos I’ve added to the gallery section of this site. The galleries are my way of creating a visual approach to searching for hikes by having collections of photos that link to information about hiking to where each photo was taken.

This week I added five photos to the Trails gallery.

February 2013

Above view from the Tom Sloan Saddle Trail.

November 2012

Above view from the Upper San Gabriel Peak Trail.

November 2011

Above view from the South Fork Trail.

October 2012

Above view from the Silver Moccasin Trail between Three Points and Bandito Campground

November 2012

Above view from the Valley Forge Trail.

Sunset And City Lights From The Sam Merrill Trail

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

I’ve finally started training again. I’ve been taking it too easy lately and have put on some of that weight I lost while training to hike to Mt. Whitney. Presently, I’m training to hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim and back in April.

My favorite hikes to train in winter are those departing from the Cobb Estate. I have three pragmatic reasons. First, with the shorter days I need to take advantage of the shorter drive time from my house. Second, even after 9 pm I’ve seen people going up the trail as I make my way down it. This makes me feel more comfortable hiking in the dark. Finally, there are numerous destinations that exceed a 15 mile round trip effort to reach. So, an entire winter season of weekly training can be of different hikes starting from the same place.

Last Friday I hiked from the Cobb Estate to Tom Sloan Saddle. On the way back I enjoyed another great sunset and views of city lights to finish off a long day of training. The Sam Merrill Trail has continuous unobstructed views west and south as far the Pacific Ocean often including a view of Catalina Island. This orientation has the practical benefit of providing natural light later in the day compared to other trails where the mountains block the setting sun. At its darkest, the view of city lights beyond provides something to look at outside the range of a headlamp. I find these two transitions are a wonderful way to end my day providing me with something else to fixate on other than my tired feet. Below are photos from last Friday’s sunset and views of city lights. Click on any of them to enlarge.

Snow Hiking In Los Angeles: Gabrieleno Trail

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

For awhile I’ve wanted to find more snow hikes that don’t have so much snow on the trail that snowshoes are required and aren’t so steep that microspikes or crampons are required. We had a short snow storm last week with snow levels getting down to around 2,500 feet yielding a great opportunity for me to find another one. So, last Saturday I went to Red Box and snow hiked the Gabrieleno Trail from Red Box to Valley Forge. This trail turned out to work so well to snow hike in just my waterproof trail runners that I snow hiked it again with a group of friends and family the following day. The San Gabriel River also runs next to this trail and crosses it at several points.

Red Box is at about 4,600 feet in altitude and Valley Forge is at about 3,500 feet. These elevations are important as they are high enough to receive snow several times a year and low enough for the snow to melt within around a week of clear skies with lingering patches on the north slopes a little longer. While the snow is pretty much gone right now, another storm is expected Tuesday and Wednesday with expected snow levels forecasted to once again get down into the 3,000 foot range. This is a great introductory snow hike especially for those just wanting to experience the snow without needing special equipment. Click on any image below to start a slideshow.

Nature Question #9: What Species Of Bird Is This?

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Kyle Kuns

What species of bird is this?

November 2012

Photo taken along the trail between Eaton Saddle and Mueller Tunnel.

The answer to the last question turned out to be a Golpher Snake. It could be a San Diego Gopher Snake, a Pacific Gopher Snake, or a mix of the two. I looked at photos from several web sites and can’t really tell the difference. Unless someone comes forward and can explain why it’s one of the above options, I’m going to settle for the larger classification of gopher snake. As more information is shared, it will appear on the Golpher Snake Forest Life Page where there are already links to more information.

I’d like to thank Sue from the blog Backyard Biology for narrowing it down to a gopher snake and making it manageable for me to research and also providing a link to a photo of a San Diego Gopher Snake.

This week nobody sent me any links to blog articles and I was unable to find any articles using the search feature in the WordPress Reader.

If you notice this post and have written (or decide to write) a post on gopher snakes, send me a link and I will add a link to its forest page and create a reference page like the one for 1Year. 365 Species to your blog.

My Nature Questions are about my asking for help from the blogosphere (and other internet users) to learn about species living in Angeles Forest and to share that learning with others. I’m really hoping that this turns out to be a viable and meaningful way to share knowledge.

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